NYRR Media Center

Kibiwott Kandie is the half marathon world-record holder and will be making his 26.2-mile debut at the TCS New York City Marathon.

Last year, Kandie won a silver medal at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, and then went on to smash the world record in the distance by 29 seconds in running 57:32 to win the Valencia Half Marathon. He has run four of his last five half marathons under 59 minutes; in April he won the Istanbul Half Marathon in 59:53.

Kandie grew up in western Kenya, where his mother worked as a farmer and his father worked for the Ministry of Water. He would run the 7km to and from school twice each day, coming back in the middle of the day to eat lunch at home. Inspired by 2005 New York City Marathon champion Paul Tergat, Kandie began doing cross-country races at school and then began training full-time after he finished school in 2015. For the last four years, he has also been working with the military in a job that supports elite athletes.