Quick Facts
Biography
Catherine Nyambura Ndereba (born 21 July 1972) is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon. Ndereba broke the women's marathon world record in 2001, running 2:18:47 at the Chicago Marathon.
In 2008, Ndereba was described by a Chicago Tribune sportswriter as the greatest women's marathoner of all time.
Career
Ndereba is from Gatunganga in Nyeri District, and went to Ngorano Secondary School where she pursued her running career. In 1994, she was recruited into its athletics program by the Kenya Prisons Service. Ndereba was awarded the 2004 and 2005 Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year awards. She was awarded the Order of the Golden Warrior by president Mwai Kibaki in 2005.
Ndereba finished seventh at the 2009 London Marathon, equalling Katrin Dorre's record of 21 sub-2:30 hours marathons. She placed third at the Yokohama Marathon later that year, finishing the course in a time of 2:29:13 hours. She did not manage to finish another marathon race until October 2011, when she crossed the line in 2:30:14 hours for third at the Beijing Marathon.
Ndereba, whose nickname is 'Catherine the Great', currently lives in Nairobi with her husband Anthony Maina and daughter Jane. Her brother Samuel and sister Anastasia are also marathon runners.
Achievements
- 1995
- Represented Kenya internationally for the first time at a women's relay race in Seoul, Korea.
- 1996
- Ranked No. 2 in USA Track and Field's World Road Running Rankings; named Road Runner of the Year by Runner's World magazine and Road Racer of the Year by Running Times.
- 1997
- Did not run
- Gave birth to daughter, Jane.
- 1998
- Named Road Runner of the Year by Runner's World and Road Racer of the Year by Running Times.
- Won individual bronze and team gold at World Half-Marathon Championships in Palermo, Italy.
- Ran world's fastest times at 5K (15:09), 15K (48:52), 12K (38:37) and 10 miles (53:07).
- Made marathon debut, finishing sixth at Boston in 2:28:27.
- 2000
- Boston Marathon winner
- Chicago Marathon winner
- AIMS World Athlete of the Year award by Association of International Marathons and Distance Races
- 2001
- City-Pier-City Loop (half marathon) winner.
- Boston Marathon winner
- Chicago Marathon winner (World Record)
- 2002
- Finished second at Boston Marathon. Also second at Chicago Marathon.
- 2003
- World Championships gold medalist
- Sapporo half-marathon winner.
- Second at New York City Marathon and London Marathon.
- 2004
- 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens - silver medalist in Marathon.
- Boston Marathon winner
- 2005
- Boston Marathon winner (the first four-time woman's winner)
- World Championships silver medalist
- 2006
- Osaka International Ladies Marathon winner
- Bogota Half Marathon winner
- 2007
- World Championships gold medalist
- 2008
- 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing - silver medalist in Marathon.