 Kirui on the podium after winning gold at the 2011 World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 April 1982 |
| Sport | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Marathon |
| Team | NN Running Team |
Abel Kirui (born 6 April 1982) is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with a winning margin of two minutes and 28 seconds – the largest ever margin at the World Championship event. He earned the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic marathon.
He has also won the 2008 Vienna City Marathon, the 2016 Chicago Marathon and was runner-up at the 2007 Berlin Marathon and 2017 Chicago Marathon.