Rhonex Kipruto breaks course record in Sweden
Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya reacts after crossing the finish line to win the men's 10,000m race during the IAAF Diamond League competition on May 30, 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden.
What you need to know:
- Kipruto, who turns 20 on October 12 this year, said the victory was a pointer on what to expect ahead of the World Championships, where he intends to compete in 10,000m.
- The junior prodigy, who erased the meet record that was set six years before he was born by compatriot Richard Chelimo of 27:07.91 on July 5, 1993, stunned the likes of Kenyan-born Paul Chelimo of USA and Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet, who won silver and bronze medals at the Rio Olympics respectively.
World Under-20 10,000m champion Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya affirmed his entry to the senior level on track in style with a course record breaking feat in the men’s 10,000m race in Stockholm on Thursday night.
Fresh from finishing sixth in senior men’s race at the World Cross Country Championships in March in Aarhus, Denmark, Kipruto not only crashed the rich field, but also the 26-year-old meet record.
Kipruto, who was making his debut in the Diamond League, set a new meet record time of 26 minutes and 50.16. The time also happens to be a world lead and his personal best in just under one year.
Kipruto, who turns 20 on October 12 this year, said the victory was a pointer on what to expect ahead of the World Championships, where he intends to compete in 10,000m.
The junior prodigy, who erased the meet record that was set six years before he was born by compatriot Richard Chelimo of 27:07.91 on July 5, 1993, stunned the likes of Kenyan-born Paul Chelimo of USA and Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet, who won silver and bronze medals at the Rio Olympics respectively.
Gebrhiwet, who won silver at 2013 and bronze at 2015 World Championships, clocked 27:01.02 to settle second, while Chelimo, the 2017 World 5,000m bronze medallist, finished a distant fifth albeit in personal best 27:43.89.
