Teenage sensation Kiplimo lauds Cheptegei, not about to give up

UAF president Dominic Otuchet greets the team yesterday. Fourth left is fast-rising Kiplimo. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

KAMPALA- Team Uganda returned home after scooping six medals at the IAAF World Cross-country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark without their best athlete Joshua Cheptegei late on Sunday night.

Cheptegei headed to his management base in Nijmegen, Netherlands for a brief recovery but will be in Kampala later this week, in time to attend the Nile Special Uspa Awards Gala where he is nominated for the 2018 best athlete gong.

In his absence, it is teenager Jacob Kiplimo that carried most attention as National Council of Sports (NCS) treated the successful contingent to a luncheon at Café Javas in Lugogo yesterday.

Kiplimo’s silver medal was selling like a hot cake for onlookers and the sport’s stakeholders at the hangout spot having finished second behind Cheptegei in the senior men’s 10km race in Aarhus, a race watched by many via television and online.

“I felt I gave my all,” said Kiplimo who hugged Cheptegei shortly after beating Kenyan defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor to the tape.
“The course was tough,” he said of the 10,240m circuit that had a steep climb up to the grass roof of the Moesgaard Museum, a steep slope, sharp turns, mud, sand and water.

Only 18, Kiplimo had been among the pre-race favourites having won seven events in the 2018-19 cross-country season including beating Cheptegei twice in Seville on January 20 and at the National Championship in Tororo on February 16.

He however hailed his counterpart. “Cheptegei was the better guy on the day. I am happy with my performance though,” he stated.
Kiplimo, who had been eligible to defend his junior 8km title won in Kololo two years ago, missed out on becoming the youngest World Cross-country champion ever.

His triumph in Aarhus could have beaten Japhet Korir’s record where the Kenya won the 2013 edition senior race in Bydgoszcz, Poland aged 19 years and 267 days old.

Kiplimo has matured way fast since breaking out with 10000m bronze at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, weeks before he represented Uganda aged 15 at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Best of his age
He is Uganda’s most successful teenage runner in history. “Jacob was very close to winning but Joshua got the revenge. We are still so happy for him,” said Beppe Picotti, one of Kiplimo’s Italian managers from Rosa Associati.

The youngster raised in Bukwo near Mountain Elgon has won a global medal each year since and now looks forward to adding to his cabinet at the forthcoming championships.

“I hope to do well at the All-Africa Games and the World Championships,” said the youngster currently ranked fourth over the 10000m event by IAAF.

The Africa stage will be set in Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco from August 13-31 while the Worlds are due September 27 - October 6 in Doha, Qatar. If one wonders when the generation born after 2000 will take over, Kiplimo could already be.