Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon will return to the scene of her world record-threatening 1500m performance when she races at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco on 21 July.
The two-time Olympic and world champion ran 3:50.37 at the Stade Louis II during last year’s Herculis EBS meeting, going close to Genzebe Dibaba’s 2015 world record of 3:50.07.
That came after the Kenyan won a second world 1500m title in Oregon and she went on to claim a third Diamond League crown at the final in Zurich.
Four current world records were set in Monaco – Dibaba’s 3:50.07 1500m, Sifan Hassan’s 4:12.33 mile, Beatrice Chepkoech’s 8:44.32 3000m steeplechase and Joshua Cheptegei’s 12:35.36 5000m – and Kipyegon will no doubt be looking for another fast time as she warms up for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest one month later.
She started her season on the right note, winning at the opening Diamond League meeting in Doha in 3:58.57.
Another world and Olympic champion, Kipyegon’s compatriot Emmanuel Korir, will also be in Monaco looking to make a statement ahead of the World Championships. After finishing second in the 800m in 2021, the 27-year-old raced the 1000m in Monaco last year but returns to his specialist distance in July – a discipline in which he won his third Diamond Trophy last September.
Kiplimo and Aregawi in 5000m head-to-head
They claimed the top two spots at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 in February and now Jacob Kiplimo and Berihu Aregawi will clash again, this time over 5000m on the track.
Kiplimo added cross country gold to his world half marathon title and world record, plus 10,000m bronze medals at the Olympics and World Championships, while Aregawi secured silver in Bathurst to go with his 2021 5000m Diamond Trophy and world 5km record.
Uganda’s Kiplimo then claimed a half marathon win in New York in March but is yet to compete on the track this year – his last track races being the Commonwealth Games 5000m and 10,000m finals, and he won both.
Ethiopia’s Aregawi opened his season at the Diamond League meeting in Doha and ran 7:27.61 to finish third in the 3000m, the distance he contested in Monaco last year and achieved a runner-up spot in 7:26.81.
They will be joined by Jimmy Gressier of France, who has twice improved the European 5km record in Monaco.
World half marathon record-holder Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda will be seeking to set a new record at Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, on Sunday 16 October.
The 21-year-old is the reigning world half marathon champion and last year ran his phenomenal world record time of 57:31 in Lisbon.
Kiplimo has already had an outstanding 2022, winning both the RAK Half Marathon in Ras Al Khaimah in February in a world-leading 57:56 and then the Great North Run half marathon last Sunday. Between those two races, Kiplimo focused on the track and won a 10,000m bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 and then a memorable golden 5000m and 10,000m double at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn improved the Delhi course record to 58:53 in 2020, but Kiplimo believes he can run the fastest half marathon ever seen on Indian soil during his first visit to the country next month.
“I have been told that the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon course is a quick one and the record suggests that you can run fast times there. It is always dangerous to make predictions about what you are going to do, but what I can say is that with a month to go to the race I am in good shape, and I will focus on preparing specifically for the race over the next few weeks,” he said.
“I had a successful track season, although I would have liked to have done a little better at the World Championships. But I have not raced too much this year, so I am still fresh and I want to show the people of Delhi and India what I am capable of.”
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and Kenya’s Mary Moraa stole the show at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday.
Thompson-Herah is no stranger to sprint doubles. Having achieved the feat at the past two Olympic Games, the Jamaican superstar replicated the feat at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday (6).
Jamaica’s Thompson-Herah at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Photo/Courtesy
Three days after winning the 100m crown in a relatively close race, Thompson-Herah won the 200m in dominant fashion, setting a Games record of 22.02 (0.6m/s) and finishing almost half a second ahead of her nearest opponent. Nigeria’s Favour Ofili took silver in 22.51 and Olympic silver medallist Christine Mboma earned bronze in 22.80.
Thompson-Herah had a comfortable lead before she reached the home straight, then her winning margin continued to increase as she neared the finish line.
She becomes just the fifth woman to achieve the 100m/200m double at the Commonwealth Games. She could add a third gold medal to her tally at these Games if she contests the 4x100m on Sunday.
Just half an hour before Thompson-Herah’s triumph, Jereem Richards won his second international title of the year by taking the men’s 200m in a Games record of 19.80.
The versatile sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago, who started his 2022 campaign by winning the world indoor 400m title, stepped back down to his specialist distance to win convincingly from England’s Zharnel Hughes (20.12). Ghana’s Joseph Amoah was third in 20.49.
Four days after winning the 10,000m – his first major title on the track – Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo bagged another gold medal, this time in the 5000m. And once again, it came down to another thrilling finish.
Kiplimo bided his time for the opening kilometres as world silver medallist Jacob Krop led the field through 3000m in 8:01.68. Krop’s Kenyan compatriot Nicholas Kimeli, the world leader, passed through 4000m in the lead in 10:41.08 as a gap started to appear between the leading three and the rest of the field.
Kimeli continued to lead for another couple of laps but couldn’t shake the challenge of Krop and Kiplimo. Coming off the final bend, all three men kicked hard but Kiplimo proved to be the strongest, powering his way to the finish in a season’s best of 13:08.08. Kimeli took silver in 13:08.19 and Krop finished third in 13:08.48.
Australia’s Oliver Hoare bounced back from a disappointing semifinals exit at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 to win the men’s 1500m, beating world champion Jake Wightman and 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot. Hoare won in style, too, smashing the oldest Games record in a track event.
Cheruiyot and Kenyan teammate Abel Kipsang took turns at the front for most of the race, going through 800m in a swift 1:52.1 and 100m in 2:20.3. Wightman, representing Scotland here, moved into the lead with 200 metres to go and held pole position into the home straight. But, showing signs of fatigue, he was caught in the closing stages first by Cheruiyot and then by a fast-finishing Hoare, who charged past the two global gold medallists to cross the line in a PB of 3:30.12.
The winning time took more than two seconds off Flibert Bayi’s Games record of 3:32.16, set at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch – a performance which was a world record at the time.
Cheruiyot was second in 3:30.21 while Wightman held on for bronze in 3:30.53. In a race of notable depth, the first six men finished inside 3:31.50 and the top 10 were all inside 3:34.0.
“It was a very fast race but I have been training for a fast race,” said Hoare. “It was just about kicking at the right time. I went through on the inside with a lap to go and I saw Jake next to me, and I started to panic because he is the world champion. But I tried to hold my composure.”
There was another middle-distance upset later in the day as world bronze medallist Mary Moraa overtook world and Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson to win the women’s 800m.
Mary Moraa of Kenya. Photo/Courtesy
Adopting unorthodox but ultimately effective tactics, Moraa charged through the first 200m in 25.9 but then slowed significantly once she reached the home straight, allowing Jamaica’s Natoya Goule to lead the field through the half-way point in 56.5. With 300 metres to go, Moraa was right at the back of the eight-woman field, while Hodgkinson was on Goule’s shoulder and soon moved into the lead.
Hodgkinson entered the straight in pole position with Goule close behind while Moraa had moved onto Laura Muir’s shoulder and had found her second wind.
Moraa regained the lead with about 35 metres remaining and went on to win in 1:57.07. Hodgkinson followed in 1:57.40 and Muir took bronze in 1:57.87, just 0.01 ahead of Goule.
It was the second gold medal of the day for Kenya, following Abraham Kibiwot’s victory in the steeplechase during the morning session. The world and Olympic finalist triumphed in 8:11.15, holding off a strong challenge from India’s Avinash Sable, who broke his own national record with 8:11.20.
KAMPALA, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — Three Ugandan medalists at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympic Games are set to face off with other stars when the Eugene Diamond League takes place on Aug. 21 in the United States.
Namayo Mawerere, publicity secretary of Uganda Athletics Federation told Xinhua on Monday that this will be another opportunity for the athletes to prove to the world that they are getting better and better.
The medalists include Joshua Cheptegei who won a gold medal in the 5,000m final and a silver in the 10,000m final, Jacob Kiplimo who won a bronze medal in the 10,000m final, and Perthu Chemutai who bagged gold in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase final.
Winnie Nanyondo and Halimah Nakaayi are the other two Ugandan athletes who will join the three medalists at the Eugene Diamond League.
Dominic Otuchet, president of UAF told Xinhua that they are confident the five Ugandan runners fresh from the Olympics will perform well in the Diamond League.
“The season started a few months back and the Olympics was just one of the events on the calendar,” said Otuchet.
Cheptegei and Kiplimo are expected to face stiff competition in the two-mile race in Eugene against Canada’s Mohamed Ahmed and Paul Chelimo of the United States who won silver and bronze respectively at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, Uganda’s Chemutai will face world champion Beatrice Chepkoech and Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs among others.
KAMPALA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — Three Ugandan athletes who won medals at the just concluded Tokyo Olympic Games have been rewarded with cars and a monthly stipend.
The country’s President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday handed over the vehicles to Joshua Cheptegei who won a gold medal in the men’s 5,000m and a silver in the 10,000m race, Peruth Chemutai who won gold in the women’s 10,000m women’s, and Jacob Kiplimo who bagged a bronze medal in the 10,000m final.
Museveni told the winners that they will receive a monthly salary of 5 million shillings (about 1,400 U.S. dollars) for gold, 3 million shillings (about 850 U.S. dollars) for silver and 1 million shillings (about 285 U.S. dollars) for bronze.
Museveni also pledged to build houses for their parents.
On behalf of the athletes, Cheptegei thanked Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni and the people of Uganda for their support.
Uganda sent athletes in field and track events, boxing, rowing and swimming at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kenya’s Kandie Kibiwott set the new world half marathon record on the day that saw a record four men all dip inside the previous world record time at the Valencia Half marathon race Sunday.
Kandie beat the book favourite, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo in the Spanish city of Valencia to finish top with a new world leading time having slashed 29 seconds from the previous time.
Kandie, who is also the world half marathon silver medalist, got a sweet revenge on Kiplimo who denied him this title last October in Poland.
Kandie wiped out Geoffrey Kamworor time (58:01) when he stopped the clock in 57 minutes and 32 seconds.
Kiplimo had targeted a faster time than his previous that he attained in Poland and achieved that feat when he came in second place in 57:37 on a dramatic day that saw the top four athletes all finish inside the world record.
Rhonex Kipruto who was making his half marathon debut came in third place (57:49) as Alexander Mutiso (57:59) completed the top four on an evening dominated by East Africans.
Kandie’s pocketed a cool Sh18.09million for his triumphant victory.
The package is split into Sh4.7million (35,000 Euros) for winning the race and a bonus of 100,000 Euros (Sh13.4 million) for breaking the world record.
Jacob Kiplimo is targeting the fastest time when he competes at Valencia Half Marathon this weekend (December 6) with his major goal being to surpass his previous world performance.
The Ugandan won the world half marathon last October but wants to lower the 58:49 mark he posted in Gdynia, Poland.
He , however, has to wade off competition from Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, alongside a field of other athletes with both the world and course records also at stake in Valencia.
The course record in Valencia stands at 58:18 which is 17 second shy of the world record set by Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor in 2019.
Kiplimo will face 10 other runners with sub-60-minute PBs, among them the 2019 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon champion Stephen Kiprop (KEN), 2016 world half marathon silver medalist Bedan Karoki (KEN), 2019 Valencia half marathon runner-up Bernard Ngeno (KEN), European record-holder Julien Wanders (SUI) and African cross-country champion Alfred Barkach (KEN).
In recent years Valencia has built a reputation as a city that produces fast times, track and road world records.
KAPCHORWA, Uganda, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) — Perched on the ranges of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcanic mountain shared by Uganda and Kenya, lies Kapchorwa, a little known lush green land churning out world athletics champions.
The rich volcanic soil not only produces premium arabica coffee, cereals and vegetables, but is also giving birth to champions who have helped Uganda break the ceiling to join top tier of long distance running nations.
Every day at sunrise, Nasta Kissa, 17, joins a team of other talented athletes to run on the high altitude land, hoping that one day they will hit the world stage.
When Covid-19 hit, the country and the government-enforced restriction measures instituted to stop its spread, training was halted for nearly seven months.
“Covid-19 affected us a lot because of the restriction measures, we could not gather. Because of this, there was a halt in all activities,” David Cherop, the coach of the young talents, told Xinhua in a recent visit to the area.
Cherop added that as the government continues to ease the lockdown measures, many children have returned to camp.
The number of trainees is now in the dozens, although not yet to the over 100 as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, according to Cherop. After the morning training session on Oct. 18, Kissa told Xinhua that she is striving to improve her running skills. She has attended several competitions in the country and hopes that one day she will represent the country in major athletics competitions.
Her peer, Edwin Chemutai, 15, also shares the same dream. Chemutai’s dream is to compete in the London Marathon.
“Long distance running is the future for them. In Kapchorwa here, running is a talent. We have come to train them so that in future we shall have more runners in Uganda,” said Cherop.
All these dreams are anchored in the achievements that star athletes in this land have made.
Jacob Kiplimo, who won the men’s World Half Marathon gold in Poland on Oct. 17, is Chemutai’s idol. World champion Joshua Cheptegei, in August, conquered Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record at the Diamond League in Monaco.
Cheptegei is already the 2019 men’s 10,000 world champion and world cross country champion.
Cheptegei and Kiplimo are not the only star athletes from Kapchorwa. Stephen Kiprotich who won Uganda gold at the 2012 London Olympics marathon also hails from Kapchorwa.
However, becoming a star athlete in Uganda is a journey of endurance. Cherop said that many athletes are forced to train without the appropriate gear, which limits their performance. For example, Kissa took on her 8km training session without appropriate training shoes.
Despite all these challenges, these young talents are determined to make it. At times, they get inspirational talks from the senior athletes whom they look up to.
GDYNIA, Poland, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda won the World Athletics Half-Marathon Championship in Gdynia, Poland on Saturday, breaking the event record with a time of 58.49 minutes.
Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie finished second, with five seconds behind the winner, while Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn took third place.
“I feel great, it was my first time at the World Half Marathon Championships and I won. It is hard to explain because I am full of emotion. Unbelievable. The weather was really good. I’m so grateful for everyone who has supported me,” said Kiplimo just after the competition in an interview for World Athletics.
For Kiplimo it was a massive win as no Ugandan athlete had ever won an individual medal in 23 previous editions of the event. The event turned out to be special, with the first 10 athletes breaking 60 minutes, the first time that ever happened at the event.
Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir was the best in the women’s competition. She broke the women’s world record with the result of 1:05.16. Melat Yisak Kejeta from Germany came second and the Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw also stood on the podium.
“It’s unbelievable. My goal was to win this race. I did not expect that I would beat the world record, but I realized that it could happen when we passed 20km. It was a little bit windy, but the course was good for me”, claimed Jepchirchir.
This competition was scheduled to be played on March 29 but was moved to October due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the mass run accompanying the competition of professionals, to which over 27,000 people applied, was held virtually.
The next edition of the World Athletics Half-Marathon Championship will be held in Yangzhou, China. The competition is scheduled for March 2022.
KAMPALA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Ugandan star athlete Jacob Kiplimo on Tuesday won the men’s 5,000m race, out-performing Selemon Barega of Ethiopia at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czech Republic.
This win came weeks after another Ugandan star Joshua Cheptegei shattered Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record at the restart of the coronavirus-hit Diamond League in Monaco, France.
Cheptegei clocked in at 12 minutes 35.36 seconds to conquer Bekele’s previous best of 12:37.35 which was set in 2004.
Back in February before the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the Ugandan had set a world 5,000 record on road, also in Monaco. “It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home but you have to stay motivated. I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach,” he said.
“I’m also usually based in Europe, but being based in Uganda with my family was actually great.” Cheptegei is already the 2019 men’s 10,000 world champion and world cross country champion.
Cheptegei and Kiplimo are only part of the top tier of athletes that the East African country has to offer.
Over the years, Uganda has been a rising star in the world of long distance running, gunning to join the table of countries with world class long distance runners like neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Stephen Kiprotich won Uganda gold in the marathon race. He brought back the ‘sweet memories’ of the 1972 Munich Olympics where John Akii Bua won gold in the marathon race.
Uganda’s journey to stardom has been long, and full of trials and tribulations, according to analysts.
David Kimuli, a sports fan, told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite the little resources invested in sports, local athletes continue to prove that a lot more can be achieved if more is invested.
“Government should invest more in sports so that more medals are won and the country gets good branding out of it,” said Kimuli.
Jackie Nakiyingi, another sports fan, argues that recent wins are a testimony that Uganda has potential to do even better. Like Kimuli, Nakiyingi argued that government needs to invest more in sports.
Training at times with no appropriate gear like shoes, many athletes in Uganda persevere focusing on winning a medal someday.
Those with financial capabilities, cross to neighboring Kenya to train alongside the country’s giants in the sport. There has also been increased government support to athletics.
For instance the government, despite a Covid-19 lockdown, facilitated the travel of a team of athletes, headed by Cheptegei, to travel to Monaco for the Diamond League.
The country’s President’s office over the years started rewarding athletes who won medals on the international stage.
They are given a motivational token of 1,350 U.S. dollars for a gold medal, 850 dollars for a silver and 500 dollars for a bronze medal.
This is paid monthly once an athlete wins a medal at any international event. The government is also constructing a state of the art high altitude training facility in Bukwo in the eastern part of the country.
It believes that once the facility is completed by the end of this year, the country will win more medals.
