Moses Kipsiro! He is Uganda’s top medal prospect at the London Olympic Games. The 2010 Commonwealth double gold medalist will line up alongside 28 other athletes in the 10000m final at the Stratford Olympic Stadium this evening. Kipsiro plans to complete his work on track and settle on for the road races after the XXX Olympiad but he will be disappointed if he completes without an Olympic medal.
“I will be very disappointed to retire without an Olympic medal,” the Maputo All Africa 5000m gold medalist told Daily Monitor.
Ethiopian great Bekele
While he carries hopes of many back home, Kipsiro can strive for bronze but for gold, stumbling blocks in Kenenisa Bekele and home boy Mo Farah lie ahead of him. The Ethiopian long-distance runner holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events. He is the reigning Olympic champion in both events and also won the 2004 Olympic title over 10,000M.
Bekele is the most accomplished runner in IAAF World Cross Country Championships history, with six long (12 km) course and five short (4 km) course titles. He won the 10,000M title at the World Championships in Athletics four times running from 2003 to 2009 (matching Haile Gebrselassie’s winning streak). Bekele was unbeaten over 10,000 m from his debut in 2003 until 2011, when he failed to finish at the World Championships final. With his vast array of medals, many consider him to be one of the greatest distance runners of all time. He is the older brother of Tariku Bekele, who is also in the running pack tonight.
Mo Farah
Farah holds the European track record for 10,000m, the British road record, the British indoor record in the 3000 metres, the British track record for 5000 metres, the British half-marathon record, and the European indoor record for 5000m. In July 2010, Farah won Britain’s first-ever men’s European gold medal at 10,000M. He followed this with gold in the 5000m, becoming the 5th male athlete to complete the long-distance double at the championships and the first British man to do so. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, he won silver in the 10,000m and gold in the 5000m. Kipsiro will have company of country mate Thomas Ayeko for the 25 lap race.