Uganda junior champ Jacob Kiplimo’s road to stardom
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet celebrate with Jacob Kiplimo who won gold for hosts Uganda in the junior men’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship on March 26, 2017 at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. Amdework Walelegn from Ethiopia was second position while Richard Kimunyan from Kenya took third position. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Home boy Jacob Kiplimo looked destined for the junior men’s gold medal in Sunday’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala right from his confidence at the starting line.
- Those who knew him pointed warning fingers, telling the Kenyan runners to beware of him since he was capable of pulling off a surprise. And he did!
- Kenyan fans who travelled to Kampala in their hundreds were left wondering if indeed he was a Ugandan, or he was one of many Kenyan runners who have changed citizenship.
In Kampala
Home boy Jacob Kiplimo looked destined for the junior men’s gold medal in Sunday’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala right from his confidence at the starting line.
Those who knew him pointed warning fingers, telling the Kenyan runners to beware of him since he was capable of pulling off a surprise. And he did!
Kenyan fans who travelled to Kampala in their hundreds were left wondering if indeed he was a Ugandan, or he was one of many Kenyan runners who have changed citizenship.
However, Kiplimo comes from the Sebei community which lives at the slopes of Mt Elgon in Uganda.
He is the first athlete to win a World Cross Country Championship gold for Uganda.
When Nation Sport caught up with him at the Hotel Africana, where Team Uganda had been booked for the championship, and he said he knew Kenyans were tough and had to do more training.
“When I got a chance to be in the team, I knew Kenyans and Ethiopians were tough and I had to do a lot of training to tackle them,” said Kiplimo who ran a tactical race, avoiding burn-out since the weather was hot and humid, and sending the Ugandan fans into wild celebrations as he crossed the finish line.
“I had to run ahead of the Kenyans and Ethiopians to avoid a mistake and I knew if they increased their pace, I would be in a better position to win,” said the athlete who is managed by Rosa Associati and based in Italy.
“I increased my pace and when I saw that they didn’t react, I knew it was time for me to take the gold.”
Greeting his president Yoweri Museveni after winning the race was another sweet moment for the youngster who had only seen Museveni on television.
“It made me proud since I had never met him before. I was happy the head of state was there to see me win gold for our country,” said the champion.
Kiplimo said that he is going back to training and is eyeing August’s World Championships on the track in London since he is not sure if he will participate in the World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi in July.
“I’m still young and I want to do more in this career of athletics. I saw it has a bright future and I’m eyeing the two championships ahead - the World Championships and the World Under-18 Championships, although I haven’t decided which to participate in.”
When Kiplimo is not in school at Kiamanga Seed Secondary School, he is training in Italy with the Tuscany Athletics Club.
Last year, during the Rio Olympics, he was the youngest athlete in the 5,000 metres in which he finished 26th.
