Born and brought up in Kenya, Chelimo initially went to the US in 2010 to run for
Shorter College where he won the 3000 meters and was part of their winning
distance medley relay team as Shorter won the 2011
NAIA National Indoor Championship. Later that year, Shorter won the
NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship as Chelimo won the 5000 meters and 10000 meters at the championships. He transferred to the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, taking 2nd place in the
2012 NCAA Championships 5000 meters and repeated the place in
2013. Chelimo found his path to US citizenship by joining the
United States Army through the
Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program as a water treatment specialist, then entering their
World Class Athletic Program in 2014.
2016 Olympics 5000m Silver He represented the United States in the
3000 meters at the
2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in
Portland, Oregon. He qualified to the World Championships by taking second place at the
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the same track a week earlier, setting a personal record of 7:39.00. Later in 2016, he finished third in the
5000 meters at the
Olympic Trials. Running aggressively, Chelimo was the first to cover an early breakaway, which was eventually swallowed by another breakaway by previous trials winner
Galen Rupp. Again, Chelimo led the last lap charge to run down Rupp, and after catching him, Chelimo held the lead onto the final straightaway. Chelimo was eventually run down by the sprint finish of 41-year-old Kenyan American
Bernard Lagat, followed closely by
Hassan Mead. But Chelimo was able to hold his position to the finish, beating
Eric Jenkins to the line by 0.06 of a second and qualifying for the
2016 Summer Olympics. He set a new personal best of 13:03.90 in the race. Chelimo's medal was the first for the US in the event since
Bob Schul and
Bill Dellinger in the
1964 Summer Olympics, held in
Tokyo.
2017 World Championships Now an American star, he won the
National Championships by seven seconds in
record time. At the
World Championships, it was a set of familiar faces on the last lap. This time though, Edris and his teammate
Yomif Kejelcha got the jump on Farah and Chelimo going in to the final lap and Chelimo was running virtually even with Farah. In their pursuit of eventual winner Edris, both had to weave around Kejelcha then sprint for the line. In his last championship track race, Farah again beat Chelimo across the line, but this time it was much closer, barely a half meter separating the two, Chelimo getting bronze.
2018 USA Championships and London Diamond League Chelimo participated in the 3000m of the
2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships held in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. He won the race with a time of 7:57.88, thereby qualifying for the 2018 World Championships. In the heats of the
World Indoor Championships, he was one of many victims of a spate of disqualifications at that meet. After appeal, he did not get to run in the final. In June, Chelimo won his second outdoor U.S. title in the 5000m at the
2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and, later that summer, won the
London Diamond League also at the 5000m distance.
2021 Tokyo Olympics 5000 m Bronze Chelimo won his third U.S. outdoor title in the 5000m in a dramatic three-man sprint finish where he controversially drifted to lane four to prevent his competitors from overtaking him.
2023 World Championships After his success in 2021 and relatively poor season in 2022, where he finished only 11th in the U.S. Championships 5000m, Chelimo once again qualified for the World Championships with his second-place finish in the U.S. Championships. He also competed in the 10,000m and placed fifth. At the
2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Chelimo placed 15th in the 5000m.
2024 Olympic Cycle Chelimo competed in his first marathon at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in hopes of qualifying for his third Olympics. He dropped out mid-way through the race. In June, Chelimo took his second attempt at qualifying for the Olympics, this time in the 10,000m. He placed tenth. In his third and final attempt at Olympic qualification, Chelimo placed twelfth in his heat of the 5,000m and failed to advance to the final. == Major competitions ==