Jelimo was born on 5th December 1989 she won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She is the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal and also the first Kenyan to win the Golden League Jackpot. She holds both the 800 m world junior record and the senior African record over the same distance. Jelimo is also one of the youngest women to win an Olympic gold medal for Kenya.
She won that 800 m Olympic gold when she was only 18 years old.
Pamela Jelimo Olympc Beinjing Olympic champion |
She made her breakthrough at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics at the age of 18years. Her time, 1:58.70, was a new national junior record.
On 25 May 2008 she won 800 metres at the Hengelo Grand Prix event and set a new Junior World Record of 1:55.76. The previous record was 1:57.18 set by Yuan Wang of China in 1993. It was also a new Kenyan record, Janeth Jepkosgei held the previously one at 1:56.04 which she set in 2007.On 1 June 2008 she ran an impressive 800 m race in Berlin and won the ISTAF Golden League in 1:54.99, a new African record. The previous African record 1:55.19 was set by Maria Mutola in 1994.
On 18 July 2008 she lowered the record slightly to 1:54.97 in Paris. It was also her fourth consecutive win in ÅF Golden League, where she was one of only two remaining jackpot contenders.
On 18 August 2008 Jelimo won gold in the 800 metres at the Beijing Olympics. Her time was 1:54.87, again a record. She became the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
She continued her unbeaten streak by winning the Weltklasse Golden League meeting in Zurich on 29 August 2008 improving her personal best to 1:54.01. This is the third fastest performance ever, behind Nadezhda Olizarenko and the world record of Jarmila Kratochvílová. At the Memorial van Damme competition in Brussels, the ÅF Golden League final, Jelimo won the 800 metres with a time of 1:55.16.
As the only athlete to win the same event at all six Golden League meetings, she won the competition's jackpot of $1,000,000.
She is the first Kenyan to win Golden League jackpot.
She crowned her unbeaten season by winning her race at the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. After the event she returned to Kenya for the first time since the Olympic trials and was welcomed by major festivities. On 18 September 2008 in Kapsabet Town, she was rewarded with a street – Pamela Jelimo Street – .