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More work for Kiplangat
Kiplangat finished outside the top 10 in Boston. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
Adding his distant 37th place finish at Paris Olympics in France last August, that’s two straight marathons where Kiplangat has not broken the 2:10-hour mark.
For his abilities, Victor Kiplangat’s distant on his debut Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA on Monday was below par.
Yet after a difficult 2024, there were a few improvements and Kiplangat accepted 13th place after enduring a tough World Marathon Major (WMM) challenge on the East Coast.
“It was a tough course but I thank God I reached the finishing line,” said Kiplangat after he posted two hours, 10 minutes and 13 minutes.
And he had had significant support from Ugandans based in Boston across the route from Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Brookline to the finish at Boylston Street in Boston.
Adding his distant 37th place finish at Paris Olympics in France last August, that’s two straight marathons where Kiplangat has not broken the 2:10-hour mark.
And his coach Addy Ruiter actually wanted more from the reigning world marathon champion. “It was a disappointment, but not unexpected because the performances were also not there last year. It is what it is,” he said.
The race was won by Kenyan John Korir, who broke away from the lead group in Newton to build an 18-second lead after 21 miles around Brookline and never looked back, winning in a time of 2:04:45.
John emulated his brother Wesley, who won the world’s most prestigious marathon in 2012 and it marked the first time that relatives have triumphed in Boston. Experienced Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu came second with Kenyan Cybrian Kotut taking third place.
In 2024, Kiplangat came 15th at the Tokyo Marathon, and he looked to bounce back with fourth place at the 10-mile race during the Grand-Prix von Bern in Switzerland, only for an unforgettable Paris.
After Paris, Kiplangat came 20th at the Seven Hills 15K Run in Nijmegen, Netherlands in November. While he did not even strike the qualifying standard of 2:06:30 to the Tokyo World Athletics Championships due September, Kiplangat will still be on the plane to Japan via a wildcard entry, as a defending champion.
To retain his title however, he definitely must utilize the next five months until mid-September for a renaissance. Uganda has had five world champions in history but only Joshua Cheptegei has retained a world title - a three peat for the men’s 10000-metre gold.
Dorcus Inzikuru (3000-metre steeplechase) at Helsinki 2003 in Finland, Stephen Kiprotich (marathon) at Moscow 2013 in Russia and Halimah Nakaayi (800 metres) at Doha 2019 in Qatar, all never retained their world titles.
Kiplangat, who also holds the Commonwealth marathon title, faces similar tough history and yet he has the ability to turn it around.
His half-brother Jacob Kiplimo opens up the marathon chapter with an even bigger test in London, England, on Sunday.
KIPLANGAT AT A GLANCE
Full Name: Victor Kiplangat
Date of birth: Nov 10, 1999
Major Events: Half-Marathon, Marathon
Personal Bests: 59:26 (21km), 2:05:09 (42km)
Coach: Addy Ruiter
Manager: Youri Verbaas
KIPLANGAT’S MARATHON CAREER
Nov 7, 2021: Istanbul Marathon, 1st (2:10:18)
Apr 24, 2022: Hamburg Marathon, 4th (2:05:09)
Jul 30, 2022: XXII Commonwealth Games, 1st (2:10:55)
Feb 26, 2023: Osaka Marathon, 2nd (2:06:03)
Aug 27, 2023: Budapest World Champs, 1st (2:08.53)
Mar 3, 2024: Tokyo Marathon, 15th (2:07:44)
Aug 10, 2024: Paris Olympics, 37th (2:11:59)
Apr 21, 2025: Boston Marathon, 13th (2:10:13)
ROAD TO TOKYO 2025 WORLD CHAMPS - UGANDAN MARATHONERS
MEN’S QUALIFICATION
1 Joshua Cheptegei (Tokyo Marathon, 9th, 2:05:59, Mar 2, 2024)
2 Stephen Kissa (Osaka Marathon, 2nd, 2:06:22, Feb 25, 2024)
3 Victor Kiplangat (Wild Card Entry as reigning World Champion)
Entry Standard: 2:06:30, Qualifying window: Nov 5, 2023 - May 4, 2025
WOMEN’S QUALIFICATION
1 Stella Chesang (Valencia Marathon, 2nd, 2:18:26 on Dec 1, 2024)
Entry Standard: 2:23:30, Qualifying window: Nov 5, 2023 - May 4, 2025
