Kiplimo rues Monaco heat

Kiplimo posted a time of 12 minutes and 48.78 seconds and he did not participate in the quest for a win during closing stages of the 12-and-a-half lap race at the Louis II Stadium.

“It was very good but it was very hot,” Kiplimo admitted before acknowledging his time. “Yes I am very happy about it.” He had led the field after the halfway stage when pacemaker Kenyan Justin Koech departed.

Yet, the 22-year-old still had the likes of in-form Ethiopians Berihu Aregawi and Telahun Haile as well as their senior counterpart and eventual winner Hagos Gebrhiwet in his wake.

Another Kenyan Jacob Krop and Spaniard Mohamed Katir were also part of the six-man cluster which had broken away shortly after the 2500m mark.

However, unlike at the Bislett Games in Norwegian capital Oslo where Kiplimo turned on the lights to cross in a photo-finish with another Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha in a fast 12:41.73 on June 15, he didn’t keep up in Monaco.

The 2022 world silver medalist Krop and Aregawi took the lead from Kiplimo inside three laps to go and the Ugandan dropped from third to sixth with 1000m to go.

However, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Gebrhiwet made his move with 600m to go and after a 60.33-second penultimate lap, the 29-year-old held on to victory, gritting his teeth to smile to a new personal best of 12:42.18.

Aregawi beat Bekele to second place in 12:42.58. This marked Kiplimo’s last race before the Budapest World Championships which come next month in Hungary.

But the reigning World Cross-country champion Kiplimo is yet to decide about competing over the double in Budapest. “I am still yet to see the body,” he added.

Kiplimo won 10000m bronze at the Oregon Worlds in Eugene, USA before winning a double during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in England last year.

MONACO DIAMOND LEAGUE

MEN’S 5000M RESULT

1 Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)                  12:42.18

2 Berihu Aregawi (ETH)                    12:42.58

3 Telahun Haile (ETH)                        12:42.70

4 Mohamed Katir (ESP)                     12:45.01

5 Jacob Krop (KEN)                           12:46.02

6 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)                    12:48.78

KIPLIMO AT A GLANCE

Date of birth: November 14, 2000

Major events: 5000m, 10000m

Coach: Iacorpo Brasi

Personal Bests: 7:26.64 (3000m), 12:41.73 (5000m), 26:33.93 (10000m)

Manager: Federico Rosa

Management: Rosa Associati

KIPLIMO’S LAST 12 RACES

2023

Jul 21: Herculis Diamond League (5000m), 12:48.78 (6th)

Jun 15: Bislett Games (5000m), 12:41.73 (2nd)

Mar 19: New York City (21km), 1:01:31 (1st)

Feb 18: World X-Country (10km), 29:17 (1st)

2022

Sep 11: Great North Run (21km), 59:33 (1st)

Aug 6: XXII Commonwealth Games (5000m), 13:08.08 (1st)

Aug 2: XXII Commonwealth Games (100000m), 27:09.19 (1st)

Jul 17: Oregon Worlds (10000m), 27:27.97 (3rd)

Jun 30: Stockholm DL (3000m), 7:29.55 (2nd)

Feb 19: Ras Al Khaimah Half-Marathon (21km), 57:56 (1st)

2021

Nov 21: Lisbon Marathon (42km), 57:31 (1st)

Aug 21: Prefontaine Classic (Two Miles), 8:10.16 (4th)