Kipsiro pulls out of 5000m race

By Norman Katende in Moscow

MOSES Kipsiro has pulled out of the 5000m race at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow for fear of aggravating a hamstring injury.

Kipsiro finished a distant 13th in the 10000m final, limping for the final three of the 25 laps in a race that was won by Great Britain’s Mo Farah with Ugandan Thomas Ayeko taking 11th position and Timothy Toroitich finishing 22nd.

Despite travelling to Moscow with the hamstring problem, Kipsiro was spiked during the 10000m race which left him nursing a swollen tendon.

“No. There is no way I can take part in the 5000m. I will just try to watch some races before I fly back for treatment,” said Kipsiro when contacted for comment about his injury.

Coach Benjamin Longiros said that Kipsiro had made a mistake not to escape from the running pack early in the race.

“You see (Thomas) Ayeko managed to space himself but Kipsiro was sandwiched inside the block.  Whenever he tried to push out, he was pushed back and this denied him running space and of course not forgetting the spiking as they have to limit your strides. By the time you come out, the harm has already been done,” said Longiros.

The withdrawal of Kipsiro leaves Philip Kipyeko as the only Ugandan who will be competing in the 5000m event, which starts with the first round on Tuesday morning.

Before he travelled, Helsinki 2005 gold medallist Dorcus Inzikuru had called on Kipsiro to utilise the doctor that has been flown in to Iten from Netherlands to treat him, but time was not enough to get the work done.

Inzikuru injured her knee which stopped her from making her first appearance at the World Championships since her gold medal feat. 

She had qualified for the women’s marathon but was dropped by the Uganda Athletics Federation.