Linet Masai
Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
Masai became the world junior cross country champion in 2007 and set a world junior record for the 10,000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics, placing fourth in the final. She was the runner-up at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships three times consecutively from 2009 to 2011. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, she won her second world track medal, taking third in the 10,000 m.
Biography
Masai was born in Kapsokwony town, Mount Elgon District, and was raised in from Bugaa village, four kilometres away. Born to John Barasa Masai and Leonida Cherop, she is the fourth born out of ten children. She went to Kapsagom Primary School and then Bishop Okiring Secondary school from where she graduated in 2005. She started running in 2005, when her older brother Moses Ndiema Masai won 5000 and 10000 metres at the African Junior Championships, hoping she would emulate his success. Her younger siblings Dennis, Ndiema and Magdaline are also runners. Their father John Barasa Masai is also a former runner, while Ben Jipcho is their distant uncle. She is based at the PACE Sports Management training camp in Kaptagat.
