Kipsiro resumes chase for Olympics honours

Ugandan dreams of bettering fourth place at Beijing Games in 2008.

In London.

If Moses Kipsiro can finish in the medal bracket of tonight’s 5000m final, he will have every reason to maintain his media ban. His permissible defence will be that he came here to make history, not answer questions from journalists.

In many ways, the 5000m final is the race of utmost interest for Uganda. It is Kipsiro’s favourite distance. He has won two golds in the All Africa Games over the distance. He is a former bronze medallist at the World Championships and is the reigning Commonwealth champion. He is tried and proven. The missing accolade is an Olympic medal.

Winning it will require him to use every sinew of his muscle against a strong field of daunting champions. In Beijing, Kipsiro finished an excruciating fourth behind winner Kenenisa Bekele and Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Edwin Cheruiyot Soi.

The legendary Bekele is not there time this round, which ideally should be good news for Kipsiro. However, he now has to contend with the other Ethiopians Dejen Gebremeskel and Alamirew Yenew as well as Mo Farah, the Team GB runner, who is seeking an Olympic double having bagged 10000m gold.

There is also American veteran Bernard Lagat, whose legs are capable of outlasting the whole field, and countryman Galen Rupp, who produced a stunning final sprint to clinch silver in the 10,000m. Kipsiro’s stamina and endurance powers are unabated but his final sprint hasn’t been the best lately.

During the semifinals on Wednesday, he was in the lead heading into the final lap but couldn’t produce a devastating finish. He finished seventh in 13:17.68.

To win a medal, Kipsiro knows he will need to kick faster in the home straight. He has to fashion a strong finish from somewhere. Without it, there will be no medal for him. There is simply no room for error since he has hinted that this could be his last track race at the Olympics.