Three Kenya-born long-distance runners will be competing at the Rio Olympics this August for Team USA. Paul Chelimo, Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir will be wearing the USA uniform in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because they are soldiers in the U.S. Army, the runners were able to apply for and receive U.S. citizenship without waiting the usual three or five years. Chelimo will compete in the 5-kilometer race in Rio de Janeiro. Kipchirchir and Korir will run in the 10-kilometer race. All of the runners competed at the recent Olympic Trials in the state of Oregon. They made the team by finishing in the top three in their events. The Kenya-born athletes had attended universities in the U.S. and were members of their school’s track and field teams.
