When the late John Akii-Bua beat Great Britain’s Dave Hemery and USA’s Ralph Mann enroute winning Uganda’s first gold in a world record of 48.72 at the 1972 Munich Olympics, little did his natives know that it would take 40 years for them to reap similar success. And when marathoner Stephen Kiprotich reached the 42.625km race finish line at the XXX Olympiad on Sunday afternoon in a time of 2:08:01, not only a 16-year medal Olympic medal haul was ended but also became Uganda’s seventh medal in Olympic history.
The national record holder rounded off a corner late and simply took off, beating Kenya’s double world champion Abel Kirui to second by 26 seconds while his country mate Wilson Kiprotich settled for bronze. Kiprotich sure had plenty of crowd support. Spectators lined the course 10 rows deep in some sections, waving signs and ringing cowbells.
The runners took in the sights, breezing past Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge and the Tower of London before finishing near Buckingham Palace. The weather was ideal – at least for the spectators. Stephen Kiprotich’s victory has lifted the spirits of a nation that had lost hope. The excitement was at peak when he recieved his medal at the closing ceremony from the IOC president with millions tuned in to watch the closing ceremony.