Kiplimo stars in Poland
Kiplimo celebrates with the Ugandan flag after securing bronze. Agencies Photo
What you need to know:
Athletics. The youngest member of Uganda’s team to next month’s Olympic Games won bronze at the World Junior Championships in Poland on Tuesday
Kampala.
He is only 15 years old and has already inked his name in history as the youngest ever Ugandan to qualify for the Olympic Games.
On Tuesday night, Jacob Kiplimo added another line in his already fascinating story by winning 10,000m bronze at the World Junior Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Competing at his biggest event thus far, Kiplimo got his teammates and a few Ugandan spectators at Zawisza Stadium on their feet when he assumed the lead with five laps left.
Having earlier ran closely behind Kenyan Rodgers Kwemoi and Ethiopia’s Aron Kifle for the bigger part of the 25-lap race, that break looked like Kiplimo’s decisive moment.
Sadly, it turned out to be a miscalculation as he ran out of steam when Kwemoi strode away to win in a championship record time of 27 minutes, 25.23 seconds. Kifle pushed Kwemoi to the limit and took silver in 27:26.20 with the Ugandan (27:26.68) settling for bronze. Crucially, though, Kiplimo produced his Personal Best (PB) performance over the distance as he continued Uganda’s rich tradition of racking up medals at this event.
In 2014, Joshua Cheptegei won 10,000m gold and Kiplimo’s bronze was the 11th medal for Uganda at the championships. Julius Achon, Boniface Kiprop, Benjamin Kiplagat and Annet Negesa are some of the Ugandan runners that have previously won medals at the event. Being a teenager, some considered Kiplimo a ‘tourist’ to the Olympics but he will now travel to Brazil as one of the Team Uganda’s global medallists. In Rio de Janeiro, Kiplimo, making 16 in November, will compete in the 5,000m alongside Cheptegei and Phillip Kipyeko.
Although swimmer Jamilah Lunkuse was 15 when she competed at London Olympics four years ago, she never qualified and travelled on a wild card.
Lunkuse, now 19, is making her second Olympics appearance in Rio on invitation and will surely compete for the limelight with Uganda’s new long distance discovery.
WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
10,000M MEN’S RESULTS
Rodgers Kwemoi (Kenya) 27:25.23
Aron Kifle (Ethiopia) 27:26.20
Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) 27:26.68
A. Walelegn (Ethiopia) 28:00.14
Gizachew Hailu (Ethiopia) 28:09.57
