In summary
- Evans Chebet is a two time Boston Marathon winner and is one of the finest marathoners in the globe.
- But before becoming a newsmaker, Chebet had to grapple with a difficult life.
- He lost his father at a tender age. He then dropped out of school in class six and resorted to buying and selling maize.
In April 2023, Evans Chebet conquered the toughest marathon road of Boston and clocked 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds.
Despite the Boston Marathon being known for difficult terrains and the fact that the rainy weather was unfriendly, Chebet weathered all these storms. He is the undisputed king of the Boston Marathon having won it back-to-back.
An elated Chebet would then talk of how proud he was after achieving this milestone. What’s even more wonderful is that he had a better time this year.
“Last year, it did not rain but this year there was a lot of rain so I’m happy because I have won both last year (2022) and this year,” he said.
In this article, WoK will take an in-depth look into Chebet’s career.
Dropping out of school to sell maize and charcoal
The marathoner was born and raised in a large family in Kondabilet in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Chebet’s early life was quite unfortunate. His father passed away when he was still young. In a past interview, the athlete revealed that he can’t remember how his dad looked like.
As a result, the widowed mother was forced to shoulder the responsibilities of the family’s breadwinner. However, she was overwhelmed and Chebet had to drop out of school while in class 6.
The athlete would then be taken care of by his uncle. In order to make ends meet, he would resort to grazing animals alongside other businesses such as burning charcoal and selling maize.
“I’m from a large family and had to leave school early because we could no longer afford it. I started working, making charcoal and taking care of the cattle,” he tells letsrun.
The making of a great marathoner
Chebet didn’t know that he was possibly one of the best athletes in the globe until one day he was challenged by his nephew, Isaac. He asked him to compete with other athletes in a training facility.
“I got into running thanks to my nephew Isaac. He asked me to go running with him in a place where many Kenyan athletes train,” revealed Chebet.
Isaac currently manages Chebet’s businesses.
Poor start
In 2009, Chebet finished 93rd in the Kass Marathon. Despite this, he was unflinching and continued training hard.
Serendipitously, his turning point came when he participated in a marathon held in Rwanda and came second. Chebet was motivated by this achievement and this opened doors for an illustrious career.
Never won in his first 10 marathons
In his first 10 marathons, Chebet came second in 6 of them and never did he ever clinch gold. However, he has won in 6 of his last 7 marathons.
In December 2020, he achieved his personal best of 2:03:00 when he won the Valencia Marathon. The previous year, Chebet had clocked 2:05:00 to win the Buenos Aires Marathon.
In 2022, Chebet won both the Boston and New York City Marathon.
Evans Chebet Family
He is a father of 3: 2 sons and a daughter.
Evans Chebet Investments and net worth
He has invested in agriculture by cultivation of maize and wheat. He is also a dairy farmer.
While his net worth is unknown, he has pocketed fortunes through his illustrious athletics career. Winning the Boston Marathon twice would earn an athlete at least Ksh 40 million while the New York City Marathon earned him approximately Ksh 13 million.
According to Chebet, he has spent some of his money into building houses for his relatives. Additionally, he has made immense contributions into uplifting the training facilities in his hometown in order to benefit upcoming runners.
According to his coach Claudio Berardelli, Chebet maintains a simple and humble life despite his achievements. The athlete is part of the 2 Running Club and is sponsored by Adidas. He trains alongside Benson Kipruto and Amos Kipruto.
