Kamathi started running in 1995. He graduated from Njogu-Ini Secondary School in 1996. In 1997 he went to run for Toyota club in Japan, but had to leave back home only after days later due to tendinitis and Toyota replaced him with Simon Maina. Kamathi joined Kenya Police in 1998. On 3 September 1999 he made his international breakthrough by winning a 10000 metres race at the Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels by running 26:51.49, then the fifth best time ever and the world's fastest time in 1999.[1]
Fully recovered, he returned to the European cross country meets and won again at the Cinque Mulini and Itálica races.[3][4] He qualified for the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won his first major medal in the men's long race. Kamathi won the bronze medal (behind Mohammed Mourhit and Serhiy Lebid) and led a Kenyan team which included Paul Kosgei and Patrick Ivuti to the team gold medal.[6] An even greater achievement awaited him at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. He took on defending world champion Haile Gebrselassie in the 10,000 m and managed to beat both him and Olympic medallist Assefa Mezgebu to the line in the final lap, taking the world gold medal in the event. The victory, in which Kamathi sprinted from fourth to first in the final 200 metres, broke Haile's undefeated streak of 37 races.[7]
In September he competed at the 10-mile Dam tot Damloop in the Netherlands and managed to win the race in a time of 46:05 minutes.[8]
=Marathon running
He made his marathon debut at the 2007 Milan Marathon and finished fourth by running 2:11:25.[9] He finished third at his second marathon, the 2008 Rotterdam Marathon and bettered his personal record to 2:07:33.[10] He ran at the Milan Marathon in April 2010, but suffered cramps at the 30 km point and finished in second place.[11] He entered the Eindhoven Marathon in October and had a close battle with Nicholas Chelimo and Paul Biwott at the finish. Kamathi just pipped Chelimo at the line to win the race, recording a time of 2:07:38 – the same as the runner-up.[12]
Personal life
He is from the Kikuyu tribe. His manager is Federico Rosa and his coach is Gabriele Rosa.[1]
International competitions
Kamathi (right) with the leading pack at the Berlin Marathon