Why Kiprotich would love tocome full circle in London

August will mark five years since Stephen Kiprotich upset the applecart by winning the men’s Olympic title in London. Having previously been only fitfully impressive, many Ugandans expected the then unknown quantity to be just that — a faint echo in the grand scheme of things.

There was no great secret to, or difficulty in, the manner they arrived at such an exposi-tion. Not that many encouraging signals had been fashioned by Kiprotich pre-August 2012 to suggest he would achieve a victory few thought possible.

Running at full tilt, he set a personal best of 2:07:20 en route to winning the 2011 Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands. Months before the 2012 Olympic marathon, a sense of energy and accomplishment filtered back into him after making a vital impression at the Tokyo Marathon. He might have placed third, but the time of 2:07:50 showed the unassuming Ugandan was getting a hang of the 42 kilometres of a marathon.

Enschede and Tokyo were not shining lightbulb moments because they are (were in the case of Tokyo which only granted the coveted status in 2013) not part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Yet, with odds heavily stacked against him, the pure relent-lessness of Kiprotich’s perfectionism helped him valiantly hold off the twin challenge of Kenyans Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang on the streets of London.

A lot of water has literally and proverbially flowed under the Westminster Bridge since Kiprotich made an assured U-turn off it and onto the main route of the 2012 Olympic Marathon course. Back on that sun-drenched Sunday in August of 2012, with intensity coursing through his veins, it was less a case of whether Kiprotich would win a medal and more of what colour it would be.

It turned out to be gold.
Kiprotich returns to the scene of his greatest triumph in August doomed — just as was the case in 2012 — to irrelevance. It’s not that he has been running with the handbrake on. No. The 28-year-old proved extraordinarily durable at the recent Hamburg Marathon, finishing second in 2:07:31.

The performance has, however, not stopped those who are endearingly sincere from acknowledging that Kiprotich long lost his edge. The Ugandan will consequently head into the 16th edition of the IAAF World Championships this August playing catchup.

Part of your columnist’s obsession with the current state of affairs is that they have a 2012 ring to them. Kiprotich, whose ready smile always masks a steeliness in him, will hope that things come full circle on the streets of London. Now as in 2012, the math heavily favours Kenyan marathoners. Kenya’s resurgence comes not as a shock but as a troubling inevitability.

Kenyans have already won top honours in three of the major marathons held this year in Tokyo, Boston as well as London. Their top marathoner Eliud Kipchoge has not taken part in any of the marathon majors. He was looking to break the two-hour barrier yesterday sporting Nike’s controversial Vaporfly Elite shoes. The special carbon fibre plate in the soles of the shoes helps increase one’s running efficiency by as much as four percentage points.

This column is not in a position to tell whether the shoes helped Kipchoge pursue the two-hour marathon milestone in Italy yesterday. It also possesses no crystal ball to tell how things will pan out at the Worlds in August.

That said, expect Kiprotich’s eyes to light up in London. The Ugandan marathoner holds great affection for the city not just because he won an Olympic gold there, but also because, in a charmingly light touch, he named his daughter (born 10 months after his 2012 Olympic Games feat) after the Queen of the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth Chelangat died at the tender age of 19 months. What better way for Kiprotich to honour her memory than put his best foot out at the scene that in-formed her christening!

KCCA FC keeper Kisembo keen to shed off softie tag

Next weekend will usher in matchday one of the Caf Confederation Cup group stage. KCCA FC will be away to Moroccan champions FUS Rabat. North Africa has always been a pressure cooker for insecurities for Ugandan footballing outfits. The Kasasiro Boys nevertheless hinted that they may forge a resistance in the cauldron with an aggregate win over Egypt’s Al-Masry in Port Said.

The Ugandan champions head to Rabat shorn of the services of Benjamin Ochan. The net minder turned in a match-winning performance in Port Said, but finds himself back-burned on account of accumulated cards.

The framework that Ochan’s surrogate — Douglas Kisembo — brings to the thinking of KCCA FC’s shaky rearguard is not in the least reassuring. Kisembo’s credibility has been vastly diminished if not demolished by the bit-part role he has played as Mike Mutebi’s side pursues silverware on three fronts.
The Rolling Stones once sang: “You can’t always get what you want.”

For Kisembo, the line rings poignantly ever so true. When Kisembo was prised away from Police FC, his suitors assured him that the position between the sticks was up for grabs. Mutebi declared at Kisembo’s unveiling that the club didn’t have an undisputed number one. Kisembo knew he had fighting chance at dislodging Ochan. Never in his wildest imagination did he envisage dropping down the pecking order behind not just Ochan but also Charles Lukwago. Yet that is exactly what happened after the former Police FC custodian discovered that there was little warmth for him in the locker room.

Recurring injuries stripped Kisembo’s cloak of near-invincibility, making it an unremit-tingly bitter experience for the lanky goalkeeper. Seen too much as a softie, Kisembo has found himself being regarded with complicated love and condescension in his first season at Lugogo. He has responded just as Mike Mutebi would want him to. His clean sheets against former employers Police (Uganda Cup) and JMC Hippos (Uganda Premier League) have pointed to a fire in the belly.

The smart penalty save in the cup win over the cops also suggested a return of much-needed confidence. It is amazing what confidence and fire in the belly can do. Kisembo will be hoping it takes him places.