by Jesse Delerno
LSU Sports Information
When John Kosgei departed the Rift Valley Province of western Kenya — an African region world-famous for its distance-running supremacy — there was little doubt he would embark on a successful collegiate career in the United States.
Kosgei’s hometown of Eldoret and its neighboring towns and cities are fertile breeding grounds for world-class athletes who dominate international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
But even with his country’s illustrious history of distance-running success, the junior phenom continues to raise eyebrows with what he’s been able to accomplish in only two and a half years of collegiate track and field.
Kosgei’s collegiate career began at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where he earned five All-America honors in the National Junior College Athletic Association and helped the Texans win their first outdoor national crown in program history. After two sensational seasons, he transferred to LSU where he has been nothing short of spectacular in his first season.
His talent was on display in his very first 3,000-meter race of the indoor season when he broke the school record with a time of 7 minutes, 55.49 seconds at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in February, shattering the 19-year-old mark held by LSU great Terry Thornton since 1989.
Kosgei followed that feat with an unprecedented performance at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships where the captured titles in both the mile and 3,000 meters.
His victory in the 3,000 meters marked the first time in LSU history that a Tiger had claimed the event title at the SEC meet. Perhaps even more impressive was his winning time of 3:59.85 in the mile, which broke the four-minute barrier for only the second time in program history. For his efforts, Kosgei took home the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy as the top individual point scorer on the men’s side for the meet and was named the SEC Male Indoor Runner of the Year.
Assistant head coach Mark Elliott, who coaches LSU’s distance runners, did not expect his gifted transfer to have this much success right away.
“It’s almost unbelievable what he’s been able to accomplish during the indoor season,” Elliott said. “I know he’s talented, but if I said that I knew he would win both races at the indoor conference championships, I would be lying. There are a lot of great runners in this conference.”
With all of the extraordinary accomplishments he has attained thus far, it’s hard to believe that Kosgei has only been running for a few years after taking up the sport late in high school.
“Back in high school, I started jogging with my family and friends and I told myself that I should try this,” Kosgei said. “I just kept jogging and jogging, and I really liked it. Day by day, I was getting better and better and realized I could make it in this sport.”
Kosgei credits his father as an influence in his running career and pushing him to be the best he can be.
“My father didn’t think I could run early on, but he watched me get better day after day,” Kosgei said. “He kept encouraging me and bought a pair of shoes for me to run in.”
Kosgei trained rigorously in the Great Rift Valley, hoping for a chance to take his talents overseas. His break would come in 2006 when a friend and fellow Kenyan approached him about a special opportunity.
“A friend of mine who ran track at South Plains in Texas came back home looking for runners,” Kosgei said. “I was running every morning at the time, and he told me about the opportunity to run in the United States. I said, ?Hey, that’s a good deal.’”
As Kosgei started flashing the potential at SPC that would make him a national champion in the 5,000 meters and a four-time NJCAA runner-up over a two-year span, coaches from across the country began to take notice, including those on the LSU staff.
“When we were competing at nationals last year, the LSU coaches came over and talked to me about potentially running for LSU,” Kosgei explained. “I came here for a visit and decided this was a good place for me to continue my career.”
In addition to furthering his collegiate career at an elite track and field program, Kosgei also chose to attend LSU for academic reasons.
He hopes that a political science degree from LSU will allow him to make a difference in his native Kenya, which had been the scene of widespread ethnic violence and unrest until mid-April. A disputed presidential election in December 2007 led to more than 1,200 deaths and disrupted the training schedule of many potential Olympians hoping to qualify for the Beijing Games this summer.
But before Kosgei can look forward to a political career back home, he has a collegiate career ahead of him, including a chance to help the Tigers’ outdoor postseason efforts that starts with the SEC Outdoor Championships this weekend. Additionally, he is looking to post a qualifying mark for Kenya’s Olympic trials.
“Right now, he’s looking to run some pretty good times to qualify for his country’s Olympic trials,” Elliott said. “I think if he’s on his game and he’s pushed pretty hard, he’ll run extremely well the rest of the season.”