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Great Dane of Africa

Steven LynchJune 8, 2014
Wilson Kipketer is a three-time world 800m champion and former world record-holder © Getty Images
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Which track world champion was born on the verandah? asked Robin Samuels

This one certainly got the old grey cells a bit agitated ... the answer turns out to be that it's the three-time world 800m champion (and former world record-holder) Wilson Kipketer, who won his medals for Denmark after emigrating from his native Kenya.

Kipketer, like many of Kenya's elite athletes, comes from the Kelanjin tribe, and his surname apparently means "born on the verandah". The same applies to Wilson Boit Kipketer, who won the 3000m steeplechase at the 1997 world championships. The verandah did particularly well in Athens that year, as the other Wilson Kipketer won the 800m.

According to Runner's World magazine, the Kenyan name Kipsang means "born outdoors", Kipkoech is "born at dawn", and Kiptanui is "failed to cry or breathe at birth".

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