Uganda's Kiplimo eyes slot at IAAF Championships in Denmark

Uganda is looking to their in-form teenage star Jacob Kiplimo to challenge for the World Cross-country Championships title in Denmark on March 30.

After beating his experienced counterparts like Joshua Cheptegei and Stephen Kiprotich at national level, Kiplimo is going for the title at the World Cross-Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark next month.

Kiplimo was unmatched over the 10km race in Tororo Eastern Uganda, beating his seniors to take the national cross-country title.

“The race was very fantastic. It was good,” Kiplimo enthused after the race.

In 2017, Kiplimo won the nation’s first-ever individual World cross-country gold on home soil. He recently won five races on the IAAF World Cross Country Permit and has matured into a world beater.

“I cannot fear anyone. It is how you prepare yourself for training. I cannot fear anyone as long as you are prepared.”

Beppe Picotti, Kiplimo’s Manager believes that he can do “really good things.”
“Also (the) Uganda team will be very strong and has a big challenge to win something important as a team at World Cross-country,” said Picottti.
From Tororo, 30 runners will enter residential camp and work with the national coaches to hit the desired grade for Denmark.

“We are going to work on more endurance, the stamina and the speed and flexibility. Once we get the speed, and you combine all those, you will see them flying,” Uganda Athletics Coach, Nalis Bugingo said.

While Uganda fine-tunes its stars, powerhouses Kenya and Ethiopia remain the teams to beat at the global stage.

@AllanDarren