About
Philemon Kiriago is a Kenyan mountain and sky runner born approximately in 2002 in Kisii, Western Kenya — about 70 miles from Kericho — who has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in world mountain running and is the reigning World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down gold medalist. He grew up playing handball before transitioning to 800m and 5,000m track events, then found his calling in cross-country and eventually in the mountains. He competes for the Run2Gether team, supported by On, alongside compatriots Patrick Kipngeno, Michael Selelo Saoli, and Paul Machoka. His international breakthrough came at the 2023 Sierre-Zinal — the legendary 31km Swiss mountain race held annually in the Valais Alps — where he became the first Kenyan ever to win, crossing the line in 2:27:27 on his 21st birthday. He added consecutive vice-world-championship finishes at the WMRA World Championships in 2022 and 2023 before claiming individual gold at the 2025 World Mountain Running Championships in the Up and Down discipline, his first world title. He also won the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon in the Canary Islands and has established himself as a perennial contender across the GTWS and WMRA circuits. At an age when many mountain runners are still developing, Kiriago is already among the defining names in the sport.
Notable Wins
- — Sierre-Zinal 2023 (first Kenyan winner
- — 2:27:27)
- — World Mountain Running Championships – Up and Down 2025
- — Transvulcania 2026
- — Mountain Running World Cup Grand Canaria 2023
- — World Mountain Running Championships – Vice champion 2022 and 2023
Recent Coverage
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