Women's Tel Aviv marathon champion Lonah Korlima Chemtai hopes to bring the gold for the country she now calls home.
By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFFUpdated: JULY 31, 2016 11:29Lonah Korlima Chemtai(photo credit: Courtesy)
Date of Birth: December 12, 1988 (age 27)Event: Women’s MarathonSchedule in Rio: Marathon – August 14Career highlight: Winning the women’s Tel Aviv marathon in February with a time of 2:40.16 hoursOutlook for Rio: The Kenyan-born Chemtai’s request to receive Israeli citizenship was only finally approved by Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri in March. She has been living in Israel since 2008, first arriving in the country to work at the Kenyan consulate. She has since married Israeli running coach Dan Salpeter and she gave birth to their son last year before turning her focus back to running and progressing in impressive fashion.