Noah Kiprono Ngeny (born 2 November 1978) is a Kenyan former athlete, Olympic gold medalist at 1500 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and world record holder in the 1000 m. Career Noah was born in the Uasin Gishu District in Kenya. Ngeny played volleyball during his school years and did not start running until 1996. Ngeny first came to international prominence by setting two world junior records in 1997—3:32.91 for 1500 m in Monaco and 3:50.41 for the Mile in Nice, and under the guidance of renowned manager and coach, the late Kim McDonald, his progression continued in 1998, improving his 1500 m time to 3:30.34 in Monaco. On 7 July 1999, in Roma, Ngeny was second to Hicham El Guerrouj when the latter set the world record (3:43.13) for the mile run. Ngeny stayed close to El Guerrouj down the stretch to finish at 3:43.40, still the second-fastest mile ever run , and almost a full second inside the old world record (3:44.39) of Noureddine Morceli. On 24 August 1999, Ngeny took the 1500 m silver medal (3:28.73) in the IAAF 1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain, behind the reigning world champion El Guerrouj (3:27.65). On 5 September 1999, Ngeny set the world record 2:11.96 over 1000 m in Rieti, Italy, breaking the 18-years-standing record 2:12.18 set by Sebastian Coe in 1981. Ngeny's time of 2:11.96 still stands as the world record with only one other runner coming within 2 seconds of the time since (Taoufik Makhloufi). The previous record had been the oldest standing record at the time. It was also the last world record of any running distance that had not been previously held by an athlete of African descent. In 1999 Ngeny recorded six sub 3:30 clockings for 1500 m and established himself as the closest rival to world champion and world record holder El Guerrouj. On 11 August 2000, Ngeny finished second to El Guerrouj (3:27.21) in the 1500 m at the Weltklasse Zürich meet in a time of 3:28.12, making him the Kenyan record holder and third-fastest ever in the event. This record was surpassed by Bernard Lagat's 3:26.34 in Brussels on 24 August 2001. Lagat achieved this record when he finished 2nd behind Hicham El Guerrouj (3:26.12). Sydney triumph On 29 September 2000, at the 1500 m final of 2000 Sydney Olympics, El Guerrouj, world record holder and twice world