Kiprop to defend Mountain Running title

By Norman Katende

Saturday

Senior men 13km
Senior women 8.9km
Junior women 8.9km
Junior women 4.7km

Isaac Kiprop will be out to defend the senior men World Mountain Running championships title, as Team Uganda makes an appearance at the annual event. 

Kiprop  will be leading other Ugandan runners, to try and win both the junior and senior  men and women category at the 31st World Mountain Running Championships that is due Saturday at the Mountainous Betws-y-Coed, in Wales to defend the title on Saturday.

Danile Rotich (silver), Isaac Kiprop (Gold), and Kibet Soyekwa (bronze) after winning the championship last year

Kiprop, who was a surprise winner in last year's event at Casette Di Massa, Italy last year, after being given a wild card to join  team Uganda, will be competing in a race that has attracted   over 300 athletes from 32 countries in the different categories.

Kiprop will be joined by other Ugandan runners that include Joshua Mwangusho, Fred Musobo and Robert Chemonges and women runners in Mercyline Chelangat and Doreen Chemutai in the one-day race.

Though he won an only uphill race in Italy last year, Kiprop will have another challenge when he competes in both uphill and downhill race, though he has an advantage that Austria's Andrea Myer, a potential gold medallist, will not make it to Wales for the annual event.

But against hosts Great Britain, former hosts Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic and USA and East Africans Ethiopians and Kenya, Team Uganda will be out to put up a challenge to see that they retain their leading position in the World Mountain running.

Alica Gaggi from Italy, who won the event two years ago, will be among the leading contenders, including home boy Max Nicholls and Jacob Adkin, who finished 5th and 6th respectively at the European Championships last month.