Vivian Cheruiyot established herself as one of the great distance runners of this generation in 2011 after winning the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres gold medals in the World Championships in Daegu.
In the 5,000m, she ran a final kilometre of 2 mins 41.76 secs, the fastest ever in World Championship history. In the 10,000m, Cheruiyot crossed the line in a personal best of 30 mins 48.98 secs. Earlier in the year, Cheruiyot had won the World Cross-Country Championship in Punta Umbria in Spain, clocking 24 mins 58secs over the 8km course to finish nine seconds ahead of compatriot and rival Linet Masai.
