Lonah Chemtai Salpeter took up running as a hobby less than 10 years ago. Now, she is one of Israel’s top athletes and has her eyes set on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In Israel, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter hardly needs any introducing. After all, she is one of the country’s top athletes.
Last year alone, she won bronze medals at both the World Athletics Championships marathon and the European Athletics Championships’ 10,000-meter race.
In 2020, she won the Tokyo marathon, and in 2018 came in first place at the European 10,000-meter race. She placed second in the New York City Marathon women’s race last November.
Chemtai Salpeter also represented Israel at the 2020 Tokyo and 2016 Rio Olympics and holds a slew of national running records. Next up on her list: the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Running makes me feel free. I enjoy that my mind is free, and you feel your energy, you feel like something relaxes in the mind,” she tells ISRAEL21c.
“You have to run for yourself, to feel good,” she adds. “I also love running because you go to many countries and meet many people. You get many ideas and you can learn a lot from athletes from various countries.”
Family is her motivation
Chemtai Salpeter, 34, got into professional running less than a decade ago. She was not one of these athletes who was already busy competing as a child.
“When I was young I was running, not seriously, but just running like other kids in school,” she notes. “I started running seriously in Israel.”
Born and raised in West Pokot in western Kenya, Chemtai Salpeter came to Israel in 2008 for work. Once here, she took up running as a pastime.
“When I started seeing people running in [Tel Aviv], I said to myself ‘I can be like them,’” she recalls. “Then I met my husband, and he was encouraging me and supporting me a lot.”
Looking forward, Chemtai Salpeter hopes to motivate kids in Israel to try running and sports. She also hopes her biggest accomplishments are yet to come.
“I’ll still be doing my best, running for the marathon. It’s not short – it’s long-distance and you need to train for a long time, and you need to choose to do it. I like it, and I’m making my family proud and happy.”
Image - Courtesy of NN running team