Kenyan Distance Superstar Pamela Kosgei to Join Lobo XC/T&F

New Mexico Cross Country / Track & Field Head Coach Darren Gauson announced the addition of Kenyan distance superstar Pamela Kosgei to the Lobos’ roster for next season on Monday, bolstering UNM’s distance crew with one of the most accomplished distance athletes in the world under the age of 20.

Kosgei – a third-place individual finisher at the U20 World Cross Country Championships in 2023 and a U20 African champion and senior Kenyan national champ in the 3,000m steeplechase – is the sister of world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei, who won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon before earning silver in the event at the Tokyo Olympics. But she’s already made a name for herself as one of Kenya’s rising distance stars ever since her bronze finish at World Junior XC last February.

“We’re so excited to add one of the best steeple/cross country athletes in the world,” Gauson said. “Pamela is an elite athlete with a history of amazing performances on the world stage – she can make a massive difference for us.”

Kosgei’s personal best in the 3,000m steeplechase (9:35.25) would rank No. 3 in the nation this season on the NCAA Outdoor Performance list – that performance was at 5,000-feet elevation and would put her within a second of No. 1 in the nation with elevation conversions (9:22). Her cross country 10K best of 31:40 would rank No. 2 among the nation’s fastest collegiate 10,000m races on the outdoor oval this year. She currently ranks No. 52 in the world in cross country and No. 76 in the world in the steeplechase.

Already on campus in Albuquerque, the 19-year-old will compete for UNM as a freshman in the fall in cross country and immediately boost the Lobo women’s hopes of returning to the NCAA National Championship race as a team after narrowly missing out for the first time since 2007.