Ankle problem deters Kissa
What you need to know:
The sole Ugandan representative didn’t put any icing on the Independence Day celebrations after he finished in a distant 21st place.
Stephen Kissa is disappointed. He flew out of the USA yesterday with a feeling of dejection. His goal - to challenge and win the Chicago Marathon - had not gone as planned in Illinois on Sunday.
The sole Ugandan representative didn’t put any icing on the Independence Day celebrations after he finished in a distant 21st place.
“I got a problem on my leg,” Kissa said in a message in the early hours of yesterday. “I stepped in a hole,” in pain, he wrote.
But he had been brave enough to withstand the pain and completed the 42km race in a time of two hours, 13 minutes and 16 seconds.
That time is certainly far from his national record of 2:04:48 he set on debut for second place at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany on April 24.
Cameras broadcasting the World Marathon Major in Chicago had Kissa wither at the back of the four-man group that had broken away after 32km. It is at this stage where he stepped in a hole on the course.
“Kissa twisted his ankle, till that moment he was feeling strong,” his coach Addy Ruiter said. Daily Monitor has seen a picture of Kissa’s right foot wrapped up in bandages.
His manager Jurrie van der Velden of Global Sports Communication says it’s a little worse.
“Bad race,” the Dutchman said. “He had a tough time getting home (finish-line). He can hardly walk now,” Jurrie stated. “He will come to Holland for a check-up in the hospital to ensure the foot/ankle is okay,” he added.
Jurrie insists Kissa could have finished in the top four but the day belonged Kenyan Benson Kipruto who posted a winning time of 2:04:24.
Depending on his recovery speed, Kissa’s next earliest assignment could come in early April, with the Budapest World Championships in sight.
WORLD MARATHON MAJORS
CHICAGO MARATHON RESULT
1 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:24
2 Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:04:49
3 John Korir (KEN) 2:05:01
4 Bernard Koech (KEN) 2:07:15
21 Stephen Kissa (UGA) 2:13:16
KISSA AT A GLANCE
Full Name: Stephen Kissa
Date of birth: Dec 1, 1995
Major Events: Half-Marathon, Marathon
Personal Bests: 58:56 (21km), 2:04:48 (42km)
Coach: Addy Ruiter
Manager: Jurrie van der Velden
