Steeplechase legend Ezekiel Kemboi to bust myths around Kenyan distance running at sixth Ekamra Sports Literature Festival

Khel Today Bureau

New Delhi: Steeplechase legend Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi will be in the national capital to attend the sixth season of the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival (ESLF), the largest of its kind in Asia. The Athens (2004) and London (2012) Olympics champion and four-time world champion in the 3000m steeplechase, will be in his own words “looking to bust some myths around Kenyan distance running”, when he takes part in a panel to discuss renowned US producer and sportswriter Sarah Gearhart’s recent book titled, We Share the Sun: The Journey of Patrick Sang and Kenya’s Legendary Runners.

The session featuring Kemboi will be one of seven such live sessions besides online ones, discussing captivating recent publications from the world of sports. The sixth ESLF is scheduled through the day at the Indian Habitat Centre in New Delhi on November 23^rd, 2024.

Speaking on his visit to India and attending the sixth ESLF, Kemboi further said, “It is going to be a great experience in India talking about Patrick and others along with Sarah. I have had a successful time when I was in New Delhi the last time for the Commonwealth Games and enjoyed the hospitality a lot. I look forward to another wonderful trip, albeit of a different kind, this time around as well.”

Ezekiel Kemboi dominated the 3000m steeplechase event right through the first decade of the millennium and is only one of three athletes, including current champion Soufiane El Bakkali, to have become Olympic champion twice in the event.

Kemboi is also the only athlete to have an incredible four world championship crowns in the event, a feat he achieved by winning gold across consecutive World Championships in 2009 (Berlin), 2011 (Daegu), 2013 (Moscow) and 2015 (Beijing). He also won silver in three World Championships before that in Paris (2003), Helsinki (2005) and Osaka (2007).

Ezekiel Kemboi also picked up a silver at the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, a championship in which he finished on the podium in five consecutive Games from 2002 Manchester to 2014 Glasgow.

The sixth ESLF will conclude in the evening with the Ekamra Sports Book Awards, with several top titles published over the past year, in the reckoning.