Daniel Njenga Muturi (born 7 May 1976) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon.

Daniel Njenga
Njenga in the 2008 Tokyo Marathon.
Personal information
Full nameDaniel Njenga Muturi
NationalityKenyan
Born (1976-05-07) 7 May 1976 (age 48)
Years active1995–present
Medal record
Representing  Kenya
Men's athletics
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1995 Universiade 3000 m s'chase

He had his first successes in 1995 as he won the steeplechase gold medal at the 1995 Summer Universiade and also the Chiba International Cross Country meeting.[1][2] He was based in Japan from early on in his early career and won the steeplechase at the Japanese Championships on three occasions.[3]

Njenga turned to marathon running and made his debut in 1995 at the Saitama Marathon in Ageo, Saitama, Japan, placing first, and then coming in tenth in his second marathon at the 1999 Fukuoka Marathon. His breakthrough year came in 2002 when he was the runner-up at the Beppu-Oita Marathon and Chicago Marathon. His time of 2:06:16 hours in Chicago made him the third fastest runner in the world for 2002, behind only Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat. He is known for his consistent, close finishes in the Chicago Marathon, finishing as runner-up three times and third on two occasions, between 2003 and 2007.[4] He was the 2006 winner of the Sendai Half Marathon.[5] He won the Tokyo International Marathon in 2004 and then the reformed Tokyo Marathon in 2007.[4] Njenga is a featured subject in the 2007 marathon documentary Spirit of the Marathon.[6]

Njenga was victorious at the 2009 Hokkaido Marathon and took consecutive runner-up spots at the Beppu-Ōita Marathon in 2010 and 2011.[7]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Kenya
1995 Universiade Fukuoka, Japan 1st 3000 m s'chase 8:27.03
1999 Fukuoka Marathon Fukuoka, Japan 10th Marathon 2:11:49
2002 Beppu-Ōita Marathon Beppu and Ōita, Japan 2nd Marathon 2:12:43
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 2nd Marathon 2:06:16
2003 Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 3rd Marathon 2:07:41
2004 Tokyo International Marathon Tokyo, Japan 1st Marathon 2:08:43
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 2nd Marathon 2:07:44
2005 Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 3rd Marathon 2:07:14
2006 Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 2nd Marathon 2:07:40
2007 Tokyo Marathon Tokyo, Japan 1st Marathon 2:09:45
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 3rd Marathon 2:12:45
2009 Hokkaido Marathon Sapporo, Japan 1st Marathon 2:12:03
2010 Beppu-Ōita Marathon Beppu and Ōita, Japan 2nd Marathon 2:10:55
2011 Beppu-Ōita Marathon Beppu and Ōita, Japan 1st Marathon 2:10:24
2014 Beppu-Ōita Marathon Beppu and Ōita, Japan 10th Marathon 2:13:50

Notes

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  • Daniel Njenga should not be confused with a similarly named Kenyan athlete, Daniel Mburu Njenga, who was the winner of the 2008 Toronto Marathon and 2009 Mississauga Half Marathon.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ World Student Games (UNIVERSIADE - MEN). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  2. ^ Chiba International Crosscountry. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (15 February 2009). Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  3. ^ Japanese Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b Njenga Daniel. Marathon Info. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  5. ^ Civai, Franco & Larner, Brett (1 September 2010). Sendai Half Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Spirit of the Marathon". Archived from the original on 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  7. ^ Nakamura, Ken (6 February 2011). "Baday wins 60th annual Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon". IAAF. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  8. ^ Campbell, Morgan (15 October 2010). Four runners, one common passion. Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Njenga Daniel Mburu". Sportsstats.ca. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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