Kiprop does it
Jan 05, 2004
BONIFACE Kiprop has again underlined the fact that he is among the world’s top distance runners.<br>The Ugandan teenager beat an illustrious field to win the prestigious L’Cross Internacional Zornozotza cross country in Amorebieta, Spain on Saturday.
By James Bakama
and Agencies
BONIFACE Kiprop has again underlined the fact that he is among the world’s top distance runners.
The Ugandan teenager beat an illustrious field to win the prestigious L’Cross Internacional Zornozotza cross country in Amorebieta, Spain on Saturday.
Former 10,000m world champion Charles Kamathi, four time European cross country champion Sergiy Lebid and last year’s winner of the Amorebieta race Abdullah Ahmad were among the big names that fell in Kiprop’s wake.
Kiprop, who is the current World Cross Country Junior silver medallist, won by the handsome margin of 38 seconds on a muddy course.
The Standard High School student took charge right from the gun and kept on increasing the lead.
By halfway, it became clear that barring disaster, Kiprop, who finished sixth in this race last year, would be the eventual winner. He had built a massive 12-second gap over Hassan, 16 on Joseph and Wondimu, and 23 over Kamathi and Lebid.
In the second half of the race, Kamathi made a late surge. First, he left Lebid, then he caught Tanzania’s Joseph and finally both of them reached Hassan. So, the three-way battle for second place was fierce.
Eventually with successive lap splits of 5:24/5:20/5:30/5:35 and 5:42, Kiprop romped home in 34:35 with the chasing trio still 200m away. In the thrilling finishing sprint for the runner’s up spot Kamathi proved to be the fastest, one second ahead of Hassan, while the 18-year-old Joseph had to settle for fourth.
Holder of a national 10,000m personal best of 27:15.88, an elated Kiprop, who was fresh from a win in Amadora (Portugal) in a 10k road race last week said: “I’m delighted with my victory, this is a great beginning for this New Year.
My tactic was to push hard and leave my rivals behind as soon as possible.â€
“This year, the race was much harder than last year’s, but my form now is much better and that made the difference,†added Kiprop.
Asked about the chances of beating the strong Ethiopian team (Kenenisa Bekele and Sihine...) a confident Kiprop answered: “It’s just a matter of training. Let’s see what happens in Brussels.â€
Results
Men (10,500m course)
1 B. Kiprop (Uga) 34:35
2 C. Kamathi (Ken) 35:13
3 A. A. Hassan (Qat) 35:14
4 Fabian Joseph (Tan) 35:17
5 Sergiy Lebid (Ukr) 35:34
Women (6100m course)
1 E. Dibaba (Eth) 23:22
2 M. Melkamu (Eth) 23:35
3 Analia Rosa (Por) 23:44
4 Viola Kibiwott (Ken) 23:54
5 Gelete Burika (Eth) 24:08
and Agencies
BONIFACE Kiprop has again underlined the fact that he is among the world’s top distance runners.
The Ugandan teenager beat an illustrious field to win the prestigious L’Cross Internacional Zornozotza cross country in Amorebieta, Spain on Saturday.
Former 10,000m world champion Charles Kamathi, four time European cross country champion Sergiy Lebid and last year’s winner of the Amorebieta race Abdullah Ahmad were among the big names that fell in Kiprop’s wake.
Kiprop, who is the current World Cross Country Junior silver medallist, won by the handsome margin of 38 seconds on a muddy course.
The Standard High School student took charge right from the gun and kept on increasing the lead.
By halfway, it became clear that barring disaster, Kiprop, who finished sixth in this race last year, would be the eventual winner. He had built a massive 12-second gap over Hassan, 16 on Joseph and Wondimu, and 23 over Kamathi and Lebid.
In the second half of the race, Kamathi made a late surge. First, he left Lebid, then he caught Tanzania’s Joseph and finally both of them reached Hassan. So, the three-way battle for second place was fierce.
Eventually with successive lap splits of 5:24/5:20/5:30/5:35 and 5:42, Kiprop romped home in 34:35 with the chasing trio still 200m away. In the thrilling finishing sprint for the runner’s up spot Kamathi proved to be the fastest, one second ahead of Hassan, while the 18-year-old Joseph had to settle for fourth.
Holder of a national 10,000m personal best of 27:15.88, an elated Kiprop, who was fresh from a win in Amadora (Portugal) in a 10k road race last week said: “I’m delighted with my victory, this is a great beginning for this New Year.
My tactic was to push hard and leave my rivals behind as soon as possible.â€
“This year, the race was much harder than last year’s, but my form now is much better and that made the difference,†added Kiprop.
Asked about the chances of beating the strong Ethiopian team (Kenenisa Bekele and Sihine...) a confident Kiprop answered: “It’s just a matter of training. Let’s see what happens in Brussels.â€
Results
Men (10,500m course)
1 B. Kiprop (Uga) 34:35
2 C. Kamathi (Ken) 35:13
3 A. A. Hassan (Qat) 35:14
4 Fabian Joseph (Tan) 35:17
5 Sergiy Lebid (Ukr) 35:34
Women (6100m course)
1 E. Dibaba (Eth) 23:22
2 M. Melkamu (Eth) 23:35
3 Analia Rosa (Por) 23:44
4 Viola Kibiwott (Ken) 23:54
5 Gelete Burika (Eth) 24:08