Veteran Ezekiel Kemboi to grace 2026 World Masters Outdoor Athletics Championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 23.12.25. | 16:03
Kemboi dominated the water and barrier event for over a decade and claimed numerous titles, including Olympic gold, World Championships victories, and Commonwealth Games triumphs.
Steeplechase legend Ezekiel Kemboi is set to return to international competition, this time at the 2026 World Masters Outdoor Athletics Championships.
The competition is scheduled from Saturday, 22 August to Thursday, 3 September in Daegu, South Korea.
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The 42-year-old, who made history in the 3,000m steeplechase, last competed in a Masters event in 2018 in Malaga, Spain, where he ran the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase as the team’s captain.
Speaking ahead of his return, Kemboi wrote: “I will participate at the World Masters Championship next in Daegu, Korea.”
The World Masters Athletics (WMA) Championships feature a full program of outdoor track and field events, with competition organised in five-year age groups starting from 35-39 and continuing into the oldest age category.
Kemboi’s legacy in the steeplechase is unparalleled. He dominated the water and barrier event for over a decade and claimed numerous titles, including Olympic gold, World Championships victories, and Commonwealth Games triumphs.
His rise to global prominence began at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he led a Kenyan sweep, clinching gold just 0.3 seconds ahead of teammate Brimin Kipruto.
Although he struggled at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing seventh, Kemboi bounced back brilliantly to capture gold in London 2012 in a time of 8:18.56, and a bronze in Rio 2016 marked the close of his Olympic journey.
Kemboi’s World Championships record is equally remarkable. After finishing behind former teammate Saif Saeed Shaheen (formerly Stephen Cherono) in 2003, he earned silver medals in 2005 and 2007 before claiming his first World Championship gold in 2009.
He went on to win three more consecutive world titles, including at the 2011 edition in Daegu, a remarkable feat that set him apart as the only athlete to secure four consecutive World Championship golds in the steeplechase.
With a personal best of 7:55.76 set in Monaco in 2011, Kemboi is ranked the seventh fastest in history and holds the record for the fastest non-winning time ever recorded.
He is one of only five men to have won both Olympic and World golds in the steeplechase, and one of just three athletes to claim two Olympic titles in the event.
