Amos Biwott

Amos Biwott ( born September 8, 1947 in Nandi, Kenya ) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete and Olympic champion.

Before the 1968 Olympic Games Biwott had only denied three times a 3,000-meter steeplechase. He also ran a then unusual style, for he was the first to not set foot on the hurdles and then jumped. Instead, he overcame the hurdle with a great effort in a single movement. He was the only runner who did not get his feet wet in both the forward and in the finale when skipping the moat. The finals he won by a margin of 0.6 seconds over his countryman Benjamin Kogo.

He could not repeat this surprising success. He was third at the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, sixth in the 1972 Olympics and eighth at the British Commonwealth Games in 1974. His personal best time of 8:23,73 minutes he ran in the lead at the Olympic Games in 1972. Afterwards, he ended his sports career and was employed by the Kenyan prison authorities. However, he was summarily dismissed in 1978, after he had been prosecuted for theft. Since then he has worked as a security guard of a stadium.