By Norman Katende
in Amuria

TEAM RESULTS
Over all Standard Athletics Club
Senior men
Standard 27
UPDF 49
Arua 55
Junior men
Standard 12
Lugazi 64
Ndejje 104
Senior women
UPDF 20
Prisons 29
Junior women
Standard 17
Arua 27
Prisons 47

MOSES Kipsiro claimed his third national cross country individual title, enroute to leading Standard Athletics Club to the fourth over-all title in Amuria Saturday. International kit manufacturers PUMA sponsored the event.

Kipsiro, whose pace could only be challenged by Geoffrey Kusuro and James Kibet, though for just 10km, won the senior men title and his club mates won two of the remaining three titles on card.

Annet Negesa and Moses Kibet won the junior women and men title’s respectively, with Prison’s Adero Nyakisi the only outsider champion. Nyakisi lifted the senior women’s title.

Despite most of the victories coming as anticipated, there was a big gap between the athletes who have benefitted from international exposure and the rest.

In the junior girls’ category, the top three of Viola Chemos, Rebecca Cheptagei and Negesa all looked far better than the chasing pack. Nyakisi and Moses Kibet also had ‘one-man’ finishes in their events.

Only the senior men had a promising team, though Stephen Kiprotich needs to work hard on his flat foot running.

Jurrie Van der Velden of Global Sports Management was impressed by the upcoming athletes but commented: “They will need more training and exposure to race against international runners.”

Netherlands-based Global Sports takes charge of a number of Ugandan athletes.

Winner Kipsiro observed that even when one trains in Uganda, they can still post good results. Many Ugandan athletes had the mentality of using Kenyan training camps when preparing for events. But Kipsiro together with Arua’s Kusuro and James Kibet had been training in Bukwo.

“What we need is a good coach and a good training programme for us to even have more stars,” he said after the race.

It was however a sad return for Boniface Kiprop who failed at the 9km in the 12km race. He was spiked at the start and failed to make ground.

Isaac Kiprop also failed to get to the finish and the two are likely to miss out on the national team to the World Cross Country Championships due March 28 in the city of Bydgocscz, Poland.