Vivian Cheruiyot is trained by Ricky Simms. She was born near
Keiyo in the
Rift Valley Province, coming from the same village as another female runner
Alice Timbilili. Her breakthrough year came in 1999: at the age of fifteen she took the junior silver medal at the
1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships behind
Werknesh Kidane. At the
1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics she won the bronze medal in the
3000 metres. Cheruiyot earned a senior call-up for the
1999 All-Africa Games, where she managed a bronze medal in the
5000 metres. She became the junior champion at the
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Cheruiyot gained selection for the
2000 Olympic Games and reached the 5000 m final after setting personal bests in the qualifying rounds. She was much slower in the final and was the last runner to finish. Cheruiyot won the silver medal at the 5000 m final of the
2007 World Championships in
Osaka, Japan with a time of 14:58.50, behind
Meseret Defar in 14:57.91. In early 2009 she broke the Kenyan indoor 3000 m record with a time of 8:30.53 in
Birmingham, and won the
World's Best 10K race in
Puerto Rico. In May, she won the
Great Manchester Run 10K race. Cheruiyot won the women's 5000 m at the
2009 World Championships in
Berlin with a time of 14 minutes 58.33 seconds, while countrywoman
Sylvia Kibet took the silver. She closed the track season with a 3000 m silver and a 5000 m bronze at the
2009 IAAF World Athletics Final. She won the 2009 New Year's Eve
San Silvestre Vallecana race. Cheruiyot retained her World's Best 10K title in 2010. An appearance at the
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships resulted in a silver medal in the 3000 m behind Meseret Defar. Cheruiyot then headed the Kenyan 5000 m challenge at the
African Championships in Athletics in
Nairobi and beat Defar on this occasion to take the African title. After this, her main focus of the year was the
Diamond League. She took victories in the 5000 m at the
Meeting Areva and
Memorial van Damme and was elected the inaugural Diamond League Trophy winner for the event on overall points. She defeated
Sentayehu Ejigu at the
Continental Cup to take the 5000 m gold medal for Africa. Another gold medal in the event came at the
Commonwealth Games held that year in
Delhi, where she headed a Kenyan podium sweep with Sylvia Kibet and
Ines Chenonge. Cheruiyot returned to Kenya to train and took an 8 km win at the
Tuskys Cross Country meeting. She ended the year on a high note with a win at the
BOclassic 5K race on New Year's Eve. Cheruiyot began preparing for the
World Cross Country Championships in January 2011 and came third at the
Great Edinburgh Cross Country before overhauling
Linet Masai to win the
Cross de Itálica in Seville. A second-place finish at the
Kenyan Cross Country Championships guaranteed her a place in the Kenyan squad and, in contrast to her successes on the track, she was looking to win her first cross country medal on the world stage. Her rival Masai led the initial charge at the World Cross Country Championships, but Cheruiyot broke away on the final lap to secure the gold medal and lead Kenya to the women's team title. She started 2012 with a win at the
World's Best 10K and improved her best on the roads to 30:47 minutes. She opened the
Diamond League circuit with narrow wins ahead of Meseret Defar, first in the 3000 m in Doha and then over 5000 m in Rome. Cheruiyot guaranteed her place at the Olympics by winning the 10,000 m trial in Nairobi in June. At the Olympics, she won the silver medal in the 5000 metres and a bronze at the 10,000 metres. ==Achievements==