Catherine Ndereba
 ![]() Ndereba at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.  | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
|  Representing   | ||
| Women's athletics | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
|   | 2004 Athens | Marathon | 
|   | 2008 Beijing | Marathon | 
| World Championships | ||
|   | 2003 Paris | Marathon | 
|   | 2007 Osaka | Marathon | 
|   | 2005 Helsinki | Marathon | 
Catherine Nyambura Ndereba[1] (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.[2]
Career
Ndereba is from Gatunganga in Nyeri District,[3] 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.[4] Ndereba was awarded the 2004 and 2005 Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year awards.[5] She was awarded the Order of the Golden Warrior by president Mwai Kibaki in 2005.[6]
Ndereba finished seventh at the 2009 London Marathon, equalling Katrin Dorre's record of 21 sub-2:30 hours marathons.[7] She placed third at the Yokohama Marathon later that year, finishing the course in a time of 2:29:13 hours.[8] 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.[9]
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
 -  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
 -  2001
- City-Pier-City Loop (half marathon) winner.[11]
 - 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[12]
 
 -  2007
- World Championships gold medalist
 
 -  2008
- 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing - silver medalist in Marathon.
 
 
Bibliography
- Catherine Ndereba: The Marathon Queen, by Ng’ang’a Mbugua. Sasa Sema Publications, 2008[6]
 
References
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catherine Ndereba. | 
- Catherine Ndereba profile at IAAF
 - Famous People from Kenya
 
- ↑ ESPN Profile
 - ↑ Chicago Tribune, October 8, 2008: Ranking the Top 10 women marathoners
 - ↑ Catherine Ndereba. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-10-17.
 - ↑ The Standard, October 28, 2007: Catherine Ndereba: Racing to conquer the world
 - ↑ IAAF, March 2, 2006: Athletes dominate Kenyan Sports Awards
 - 1 2 Daily Nation, Lifestyle Magazine, November 15, 2008: Fitting tribute to Marathon Queen
 - ↑ IAAF, April 27, 2009: Ndereba matches Dorre’s record total of 21 sub-2:30 marathons
 - ↑ Catherine Ndereba. Marathon Info. Retrieved on 2011-10-17.
 - ↑ Jalava, Mirko (2011-10-16). Kiprop and Wei Xiaojie triumph in Beijing. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-10-17.
 - ↑ AIMS/ASICS World Athlete of the Year Awards
 - ↑ City-Pier-City Half Marathon - List of winners
 - ↑ IAAF website, July 31, 2008: Joseph and Ndereba win at the Bogota Half Marathon
 
External links
- "Catherine Ndereba", n°38 on Time’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
 - "Catherine Ndereba" Documentary Project
 
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 
Women's Marathon World Record Holder 7 October 2001 – 13 October 2002  | 
 Succeeded by | 
