Winner: Steven Kiprotich (2:09:51)
Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich has won the 42 KM Marathon at the 14th World Athletics Championships in the Russian Capital of Moscow returning a remarkable time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 51 micro seconds.
Kiprotich’s feat eventually earned the East African nation, code named the ‘Pearl of Africa’ her only gold medal at the championships having had majority of the athletes bow out in the respective races.
He beat off a strong and spirited challenge from Ethiopians who took a 2-3 finish in moderate Luzhniki temperatures of 21 degrees centigrade. He has been way off his seasonal best 2:08:05 and Personal best times 2:07:20.
Kiprotich broke clear off the leading pack of Ethiopians Lelisa Desisa, Tola Tadese and Tsegaye Kebede plus a Japanese, Kentaro Nakamoto with about 2 kilometers to finish and he even borrowed off time to wave periodically to the hugely enthusiastic watching crowd. This could partly explain his slow timing.
Another Ugandan, Jackson Kiprop endured the 42.198km KM race, finishing 10th with a timing of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 12 micro seconds. The other Ugandan, Abraham Kiplimo completed the race in the 46th position after initially keeping pace with the leading pack.
The 24-year-old national record holder has taken the main spotlight to save Uganda’s chances. He came to rescue last summer when he landed gold after a magnificent finish in London. “I will go out there to run my own race,” he said with Moscow weather least of his worries. “I have been working hard and I am hopeful I can finish among the top three.” the athlete vowed before setting off for the games.
TOP 10 at 2013 World Championships Marathon:
1 Stephen Kiprotich, Uganda 2:09:51
2 Lelisa Desisa, Ethiopia 2:10:12
3 Tadese Tola, Ethiopia 2:10:23
4 Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopia 2:10:47
5 Kentaro Nakamoto, Japan 2:10:50
6 Solonei da Silva, Brazil 2:11:40 SB
7 Paulo Roberto Paula, Brazil 2:11:40 SB
8 Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopia 2:11:43 SB
9 Peter Kimeli Some, Kenya 2:11:47
10 Jackson Kiprop, Uganda 2:12:12
Who is Stephen Kiprotich
He was born on 27th February 1989 in Kapchorwa district. He is the 2012 Olympic champion in the marathon, with a winning time of 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions.
This was the first Olympic medal for Uganda since 1996, the first gold medal since 1972, and the first ever in the marathon.
He is the youngest of seven children of subsistence farmers from Kapchorwa District, near the Uganda-Kenya border. As a child, he missed three years of elementary school due to an undiagnosed illness. From 2004 to 2006, he quit athletics to concentrate on school.Then, at the age of 17, he quit school and moved to the Eldoret region of Kenya, in the Rift Valley, to train for the marathon with Eliud Kipchoge. He was assisted by A Running Start, a non-profit foundation based in New York.
He ran a personal best in the marathon of 2:07:20 in 2011 at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands, which set a new course record for the Enschede Marathon and a new Ugandan record in athletics.He finished third in the 2012 Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:07:50.
He was inspired in part by John Akii-Bua, the only previous Ugandan Olympic gold medalist, who won the 400 metres hurdles in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, setting a new world record in the process.He then went on to win the London 2012 Olympic Marathon, ahead of Kenyan runners Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich who finished second and third respectively.
In 2012, Kiprotich won the Nile Special-USPA Sports Personality of the Year award, the Ugandan sports award.
Kiprotich is considered a national hero, mostly based upon his gold medal, but also his other athletic achievements.
