Daniel Njenga

Who is Daniel Njenga?

Daniel Njenga Muturi is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon.

He had his first successes in 1995 as he won the steeplechase gold medal at the 1995 Summer Universiade and also the Chiba International Cross Country meeting. He was based in Japan from early on in his early career and won the steeplechase at the Japanese Championships on three occasions.

Njenga turned to marathon running and made his debut in 1999 at the Mombasa Marathon, taking fourth place, and then coming tenth at the Fukuoka Marathon. His breakthrough year came in 2002 when he was the runner-up at the Beppu-Oita Marathon and Chicago Marathon. His time of 2:06:16 hours in Chicago made him the third fastest runner in the world for 2002, behind only Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat. He is known for his consistent, close finishes in the Chicago Marathon, finishing as runner-up three times and third on two occasions, between 2003 and 2007. He was the 2006 winner of the Sendai Half Marathon. He won the Tokyo International Marathon in 2004 and then the reformed Tokyo Marathon in 2007. Njenga is a featured subject in the 2007 marathon documentary Spirit of the Marathon.