Alumni include Ibrahim Hussein, winner of three Boston Marathons and one New York City Marathon; Peter Rono, a 1988 Olympic gold medalist at 1,500 meters; Wilson Boit Kipketer, a 1997 world champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; Matthew Birir, 1992 Olympic gold medalist at the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and David Rudisha, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and world record holder at 800m.
Inspired by the success of Kenyan long distance runners, Leong founded the cycling team in the small town of Iten situated 2,400m above sea level and home of the High Altitude Training Centre (HATC), which offers runners from all over the world high altitude training camps.
Born in Eldama Ravine, Matthew Birir started running, when he attended at the famous St. Patrick's High School in Iten, where many great Kenyan runners are rosen.
He attended St. Patrick's High School, Iten where he was trained by Brother Colm O'Connell, an Irish Patrician missionary and headmaster of the school at that time.
She completed a spell of high-altitude training in Iten, Kenya and then came close to a 3000 m lifetime best at the Aviva International Match in January 2011, finishing with a stadium record run.
Living in Iten, a small town 30 km far from Eldoret, she met the Italian coach Renato Canova, and started training with him.