Lonah Chemtai: From maid to medalist
In 2009, Chemtai, a long-distance runner left Kenya in search for better jobs outside athletics.
Before leaving for kyekyo, Chemtai had been an active athlete in primary school and also high school but options remained dim after failing to make a breakthrough in Kenya’s star-studded athletics.
She then left for Israeli working as a maid to the then ambassador to Israel. It was at her job that she met Dan Salpeter, a former Israeli middle-distance runner, who encouraged her to continue practicing her passion.
Salpeter would later become her coach and the two graduated to lovers before making the union official as husband and wife thus enabling Chemtai to acquire citizenship.
In 2016, they got married.
“Slowly, I got into long distance running, but it was only after meeting my husband and coach, Dan Salpeter that I started to enjoy real success”, she told World Athletics.
She posted a time of 2:20:18, behind Gotytom Gebreslase, and Kenya’s Judith Jeptum Korir to win bronze.
She becomes the first Israeli to win a world marathon medal.
