Paul Chelimo is a track and field athlete who has competed for the United States. He competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Chelimo was selected to the U.S. track and field team for his first Olympics in 2016 after securing the last of three spots in the 5000 metres at the trials. During the final, he stayed near the leaders throughout the race, launching every stride to chase against the defending champion Mohamed Farah. He was the last runner to follow Farah in an attempt to outlast him for a sprint race to the finish line but the duel never happened. On the scoreboard, he was initially declared the silver medal winner until his name removed from the results, along with Mohammed Ahmed and Muktar Edris. All three of them were disqualified for straying inside the rail; however, the U.S. track and field officials successfully filed an appeal to have Chelimo's silver medal reinstated. Chelimo became the first American runner to ascend the Olympic podium in the event's history since Robert Schul in 1964.
Five years later in Tokyo, Chelimo returned to his second Olympics as the sole medalist from Rio de Janeiro in the 5000 metres. He fought off a sprint challenge against the Kenyan runner Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli through the closing stages of the race for the bronze. The exhausted Chelimo stumbled upon five metres before the line, causing him to get ahead of Kimeli. He managed two more steps falling forward and with an off balance angle across the line before crashing to the track, saving his second straight medal for the bronze by twelve-hundredths of a second.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Men's 5000m | 
|
| 2020 | Men's 5000m | 
|
2016[]
| Discipline | Stage | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 metres | Heats | 13:19.54 | PR |
| Final | 13:03.90 | PR |
2020[]
| Discipline | Stage | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 5000 metres | Heats | 13:30.15 |
| Final | 12:59.05 |