Former Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich and Uganda is confident he can use his Rio disappointment as a springboard to fresh World championship glory.
The marathoner posted 2:13:32 in the wet and lightly rainy conditions to finish a distant 8th on the final day of the Rio 2016 Olympics, a race won by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge who has done extremely well since switching from track to marathon.
Kiprotich and Kipchonge share a manager, Jurrie van der Velden.
Now that the four year honeymoon within which Kiprotich has inflicted so much pain on the East African neighbours, beating them to gold twice is over, the 27-year-old prisons officer has said his next focus once he relaxes in the hilly Bukwo district, is the IAAF World Championship in London next year.
“The marathon in Rio was difficult but now my focus turns to the World Championship in London,” Kiprotich said on Monday.
In the shadow of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, poking through the rain clouds from high above the city, Solomon Mutai was the best placed Ugandan in 8th while Jackson Kiprop finished 80th. The trio blamed their poor finish on weather as Uganda left Brazil empty handed.
Incidentally, Kiprop was selected to undergo a doping test.
