By Spy Uganda
Rome: Jacob Kiplimo fresh from setting a new meet record at the 59th Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic last week, the Ugandan has again shined at the 3000m men’s race at the Wanda Diamond League in Rome, Italy.
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Kiplimo clocked 7:26.64 to beat Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in an event at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Thursday evening. In winning the event, Kiplimo also bettered his previously personal best of 7:43.73 he set up in Doha in 2017.
The 3000m race is one of the 14 disciplines that were lined up in the shortened provisional calendar that has had several events rescheduled with the other events cancelled due to the horrendous coronavirus turmoil.
READ ALSO: President Museveni Hails Cheptei For Winning Gold In World Athletic Championship
Last week, he clocked 12:48.63 to set a new meet record over the 5000m distance to break Kenya’s Stephen Cherono record of 12:48.81 set in 2003 in Czech Republic.
Kiplimo is also part of the nine Ugandan athletes who will take part at the World Half Marathon Championship slated for October 17th, 2020 at Northern Polish Baltic Coast, Poland.
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Kiplimo’s win follows that of Joshua Cheptegei who broke a 16-year-old world record in the 5000m by nearly two seconds, clocking 12:35.36 in Monaco last month.
Cheptegei, the 2019 World champion, took 1.99 seconds off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele‘s world record from 2004. Bekele is also the 10,000m world-record holder and the second-fastest marathoner in history.
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“It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home, but you have to stay motivated,” Cheptegei said, according to organizers. “I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach.”
WHO IS KIPLIMO?
Jacob Kiplimo is a 19 year aged Ugandan who hails from Eastern Uganda and a member of the Sebei
ethnic group born and grew in the slopes of Mt Elgon in Bukwo district.
Just like it has been the trend for most of the highland men basically from Sebei region taking Centre stage in the Uganda’s athletics arena, at the age of 15 Kiplimo won the 10,000 metres bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships.
As the career grew with time Jacob further kept on perfecting his art and passion for athletics despite being one of the youngest athlete of the time to participate in the highly contested competitions.
However in 2017, Jacob Kiplimo had one of the outstanding performances during his career when he won gold in the men tournament under 20 race that was generalized with top acts in the game.
The trend grew with time as the athlete progressed at the Ugandan Cross Country Championships on 16 Feb 2019 in Tororo when Jacob Kiplomo defeated Joshua Cheptegei by both placing first and second respectively.
