Paul Chelimo

Cross Country/ Track & Field

UNCG (2011-2013)

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Bio

Paul Chelimo, who was a five-time All-American, was named the 2013 Cross Country Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year.

The Chebiemit, Kenya, native finished his collegiate career with seven SoCon titles, three coming in cross country and four coming in track & field. He was named the SoCon Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Chelimo was named the SoCon Runner of the Week seven times and the SoCon Runner of the Month four times.

In addition to his athletic prowess in Greensboro, Chelimo earned Academic All-SoCon honors on four occasions (Fall 2012, Winter 2012-13, Spring 2013, Fall 2014) and in 2013, he was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Chelimo was also the recipient of the Aaron Bobb Scholarship and the Irwin Belk Athletic Scholarship, which are two prestigious UNCG scholarships.

He turned pro in 2014 and after leaving UNCG, entered the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program and earned U.S. citizenship, which led to him becoming the first-ever U.S. Olympian in UNCG history. Chelimo went on to win the silver medal in the 5,000-meter run at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. He followed that with a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in the 5,000-meter run.
 
Chelimo was named to the SoCon's 100th Anniversary Cross Country Team in 2021.