Famous marathon runner Tegla Loroupe will represent the team of refugees at the 5th Asian Games in Ashgabat
The team of refugees at the 5th Asian Games “Ashgabat 2017” will be represented by 5 athletes, lead by the five-time world champion in the Half Marathon Tegla Loroupe.
Under the leadership of the legendary runner from Kenya, the team of refugees for the first time took part in the Olympics "Rio 2016".
Tegla Loroupe is 44 years old, she is from a large rural family (there were 25 children in the family!). From an early age she had to run 10 km to school and back home, where the countless housework was waiting for her.
Soon she began to participate and win - first in school competitions, then in more large-scale competitions and reached prestigious crosses.
She ran mostly barefoot - and won first major competitions.
She became the first African woman who won the New York City Marathon. She set world records and improved them herself.
Tegla Loroupe is a five-time world champion at a Half Marathon distance (21 km 97.5 m).
After finishing her career as a marathon runner, she became a vigorous public person. She founded the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation in Nairobi (Kenya). She is also the ambassador of the United Nation project “Sport and Peace”.
