Kiplimo pulls out of Doha Worlds
Out. Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo has opted out of Doha Worlds . Photos by Ismail Kezaala.
What you need to know:
- Athletics. Kiplimo had recovered from a problematic muscular injury but he pulled out at the last minute to concentrate on helping Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge to run the marathon under two hours next weekend.
Early this week, Jacob Kiplimo informed his managers that he would not be travelling to the Qatari capital.
“He decided he would not be coming here,” Italian Beppe Picotti, one of Kiplimo’s managers, told Daily Monitor at Hotel Ezdan.
Prior, in Kapchorwa, Kiplimo had been training with Abdallah Mande and favourite Joshua Cheptegei on how to help the latter win the 10000m at the Khalifa International Stadium on Sunday.
Early this year, the World junior bronze medalist had painted a clearer picture of the country’s next big thing when obliterated fields to win seven titles in Europe and the national gong in Tororo on the cross-country season.
The 18-year-old went ahead and finished second behind Cheptegei in the senior men’s 10km race at the World Cross-country Championships on March 30 in Aarhus, Denmark, earning a ticket to Doha.
Kiplimo understandably opted out of the trip to Doha after a problem on the tibialis anterior muscle which forced him to skip three crucial races on the IAAF Diamond League calendar; the two-mile run in Eugene and two 5000m events in Rome and London.
“He has healed but unfortunately, he lost a lot of time with the injury,” Picotti said. “He is not competitive, now it doesn’t make sense to come here,” added the Italian from Rosa Associati.
Kiplimo has not run a track race since taking sixth place in the 5000m final at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on July 14, 2018, 447 days ago.
His last race was the Greater Manchester Run win on May 19.
While Mande and Cheptegei arrived in Doha in the early hours of yesterday, Kiplimo will now spend some more time preparing to pace-set for Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge who seeks to run the marathon under two hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria on October 12.
AT A GLANCE
Date of birth: November 14, 2000
Major events: 5000m, 10000m
Personal Bests: 13:13.64 (5000m), 27:26.6 (10000m)
Manager: Federico Rosa
Coach: Guisseppe Gambrone
MEDAL CABINET
2016 World Jnr 10000m Bronze
2017 World Cross-Country Jnr Men’s 8km Gold
2018 World Jnr 10000m Silver
2019 World Cross-Country Snr Men’s 10km Silver
