Bernard Barmasai

Bernard Barmasai ( born May 6, 1974 in Keiyo ) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He belonged since the mid-1990s to the world's best runners obstacle before he specialized since 2004 in the marathon.

Career as a hurdler

His first major success at the international level in the steeplechase he celebrated at the 1995 Pan-African Games in Harare, when he brought in 8:27,15 min the title.

He had the most successful season of his career in 1997. Initially, he finished at the World Cross Country Championships in Turin in sixth place in the long distance race and won with Kenya the team standings. Then he won at the World Championships in Athletics in Athens over 3000 meter steeplechase bronze medal. With a time of 8:06,04 minutes he reached the destination at the same time with his second-placed compatriot Kiptanui, who had won the three previous three World Championships, and was only two tenths of a second behind the winner Wilson Boit Kipketer. The newly crowned world champion improved a week later the world record Moses Kiptanuis about a tenth of a second to 7:59,08 min. But few days later, on August 24, Bernard Barmasai increased the ASV - sports festival in Cologne, in turn, the world record significantly to 7:55,72 min, beating Kiptanui, who also remained under Wilson Boit Kipketers record time. Barmasais record had exactly four years in hand, to the Moroccan Brahim Boulami undercutting him in Brussels. Today (March 2013) has Barmasai with his time in fifth place in the Eternal World leaderboard.

1998 won Barmasai at the African Championships in Dakar superior and presented with his winning time of 8:11,74 min a new championship record. At the Commonwealth Games in the same year in Kuala Lumpur, he won the silver medal in the steeplechase. With 8:15,37 min he was beaten by only three hundredths of a second his victorious fellow countryman John Kosgei.

At the World Athletics Championships in 1999 in Seville he could the expectations of him not be quite fair and min in the obstacle course at the end of fifth in 8:13,51. However, he won a little later in Munich with 8:06,92 min at IAAF Grand Prix Final, the predecessor organization of the World Athletics Final. Shortly before Barmasai had caused a scandal when it the Athletics IAAF had canceled due to manipulation from the Golden League series competition. Apparently he had the eventual champion Christopher Koskei asked to leave him at the athletics meeting world-class Zurich shortly before the World Championships intentionally win.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Barmasai missed fourth in 8:22,23 minutes a medal just barely. The following year, however, he managed to win the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships in Edmonton. He crossed the finish line in 8:16,59 minutes behind his teammate, the reigning Olympic champion Reuben Kosgei and Ali Ezzine from Morocco. It was Barmasais last major success as a steeplechaser.

Changed to the marathon

After Barmasai struggled since 2001 with continuing knee problems, he decided end of 2003, finally, to end his career on the track and go to the marathon.

In 2004 he gave after he first became in March at the Paris Half Marathon in 1:02:05 h in sixth, his debut on the full distance at the Rotterdam Marathon in April. There he was in 2:14:49 h Fifteenth. Things went better for him at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2005 when he finished second in 2:10:52 h in fourth place.

2006 was followed by the most successful season of his road race career. In the spring, he scored at the Paris Marathon with 2:08:52 hours, a new personal best and finished third. In September he reached the Greifenseelauf place. A month later he finished the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:08:54 h also the second rank. He had only two seconds behind the winner, his compatriot Solomon bosom you.

After Barmasai 2007 had the race at the Vienna City Marathon abandoned prematurely, he started in 2008 at the Hamburg Marathon. Up to half of the race he belonged to a large leading group, but could not hold the pace later. In the end he was in 2:13:12 hours with just under six minutes behind the winner David Mandago Fifteenth. At the Frankfurt Marathon in the same year Barmasai did not reach the target.