Mountain running: Uganda wins four gold in Italy

Sep 15, 2014

Ugandan mountain runners win a total of four gold medals at the World Mountain Running Championships in Italy, repelling strong competition from the Eritreans on Sunday.

By Norman Katende at Casette de Massa, Italy

Ugandan mountain runners won a total of four gold medals at the World Mountain Running Championships in Italy, repelling strong competition from the Eritreans on Sunday.

The Ugandan team won three individual gold medals and another one as a team in a very tight senior men’s competition in Massa.

Good teamwork and planning clearly was behind Uganda’s success in a race through a tough marble quarry course in the Italian Alps.

It was an impressive come-back for Isaac Kiprop who topped the men’s competition, followed by Daniel Rotich and Kibet Soyekwa, for Uganda to repeat last year’s all-Ugandan podium finish after a challenging uphill course that left many runners panting and dehydrated.

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Isaac Kiprop went on to win the senior men's gold. PHOTO/Norman Katende

Stella Chesang and Philip Kipyeko also won the junior women and junior men event respectively, while Patricia Chekwemboi, who was upgraded from the junior runners to the senior women on the final day after a technical fault managed a sixth place finish.

Team Uganda’s prep talk in the run up to the races involved starting fast in order to gain good running space in the initials stages of the race – a strategy that paid off. The athletes, sticking to the plan, broke away from the rest early into the race and kept a good distance from the lurking Eritreans.

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An impressive Stella Chesang's resilience on a tough course saw her win gold in the junior women's race. PHOTO/Norman Katende

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In the men's junior run, Philip Kipyeko made his hardwork count . . . with a golden finish as well. PHOTO/Norman Katende

Kiprop was still leading the pack by the 8km-mark with Eritrean Bennard Dematteis having cruised close behind in second and Daniel Rotich, Kibet Soyekwa and Nathan Ayeko in tow as they went for the last uphill climb – suggestively tougher than any other sections before.

In an interesting climax of the race though, the Ugandan duo of Soyekwa and Rotich had managed to take over the second and third place, while the four Eritreans had recovered to overtake Ayeko in the final moments of a run that changed so little in the last 2km.

Ultimately, it was an all-Ugandan affair with the east Africans claiming team gold after taking the individual senior men gold medals.

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It was no easy course, and you can clearly see why. PHOTO/Norman Katende

Meanwhile, in the junior men category, Philip Kipyeko used a different strategy, burning out his competitors early and then taking it easy towards the end.

As he approached the last 500m of the 8km race, he even afforded himself the luxury to declare: “They cannot get me. The gap is too big!” before going on the beat his closest challenger by over 40 seconds.

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Stella Chesang and Philip Kipyeko relish their success. PHOTO/Norman Katende

In the junior women race, Stella Chesang was the only strong woman as she raced to victory. Not even the second competitor could run the last uphill, instead managing to crawl to the finishing line.

“It was a very tough course. This is real mountain running not our Kapchorwa,” Chesang chuckled after her victory.

Results

Junior category - Gold

Philip Kipyeko (men)

Stella Chesang (women)

Senior women

Patricia Chekwemboi

Senior men

Gold: Isaac Kiprop

Silver: Daniel Rotich

Bronze: Kibet Soyekwa

10: Nathan Ayeko

30: James Kibet

Team Event

Gold: Uganda

Silver: Eritrea

Bronze: Italy