Nairobi, Sep 5 (AP/UNB) — Former world half marathon champion Paul Koech of Kenya has died. He was 49.
The Kenyan track and field federation confirmed Koech's death on Wednesday. He died on Monday but no cause of death was given, with the federation saying it came after a short illness.
Koech's finest hour came when he won gold at the world half marathon championships in Zurich in 1998. He finished sixth in the 10,000-meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and fourth at the world championships the following year.
Koech was a contemporary of the Kenyan great Paul Tergat and finished second when Tergat broke the 10,000-meter world record in 1997. That race made Koech the third-fastest 10,000-meter runner in history at the time.
Koech was a co-opted member of the Athletics Kenya executive committee at the time of his death.