 Kiprotich at theParis Half Marathon in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1989-02-27)27 February 1989 (age 36) Kapchorwa District, Uganda |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) (2012) |
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) (2012) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Uganda |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Long-distance running |
| Team | NN Running Team |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals |
|
| Personalbests | |
Medal record | |
Stephen Kiprotich ("KIP-roh-tich", born 27 February 1989) is a Ugandanlong-distance runner. He is an Olympicmarathon champion, having won the gold medal at the2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Ethiopia'sGezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event.
Kiprotich became2012 Olympic champion with a winning time of 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions.[1][2] This was the firstOlympic medal for Uganda since 1996, the first Olympic gold medal for the country since 1972, and the country's first-ever medal in the marathon.[3] He won theMoscow IAAF Championship marathon on 17 August 2013.
Kiprotich is the youngest of seven children of subsistence farmers fromKapchorwa District, near the Uganda-Kenya border. As a child, he missed three years of elementary school due to an undiagnosed illness. From 2004 to 2006, he quit athletics to concentrate on school.[4] Then, at the age of 17, he quit school and moved to theEldoret region of Kenya, in theRift Valley, to train for the marathon withEliud Kipchoge. He was assisted by A Running Start, a non-profit foundation based in New York.[2][5][6]
Kiprotich ran a personal best in the marathon of 2:07:20 in 2011 at theEnschede Marathon in the Netherlands, which set a new course record for the Enschede Marathon and a new Ugandan record.[7] He finished third in the 2012Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:07:50.[8]
Kiprotich was inspired in part byJohn Akii-Bua, the only previous Ugandan Olympic gold medallist, who won the400 metres hurdles at the 1972 Summer Olympics inMunich, Germany setting a new world record in the process.[9]He then went on to win the London 2012 Olympic Marathon, ahead of Kenyan runnersAbel Kirui andWilson Kipsang Kiprotich, who finished second and third, respectively.
In 2012, Kiprotich won the Nile Special-Uspa Sports Personality of the Year award, the Ugandan sports award.[10]
In 2013, he won the IAAF Moscow 2013 Marathon in 2:09:51 to grab the gold medal.
The following year, Kiprotich took part and completed theNew York City Marathon in 2:13:25.[11]Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich was the winner in 2:10.59.[12] In February 2015, he ran a new personal best in the marathon of 2:06:33 in finishing second at theTokyo Marathon.[13]
In 2015, Kiprotich appeared inJayant Maru's filmSIPI the movie, aUgandan produced film.[14]
In 2016, Stephen Kiprotich ran in his second Olympic marathon at the2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games; Kiprotich, the defending champion, finished 14th in 2:13:32 in a race won by Kenya'sEliud Kipchoge.
In 2017, he represented Uganda at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships inKampala, Uganda. Kiprotich finished 17th in a race won by Kenya'sGeoffrey Kamworor. He went on to finish second in both theHamburg Marathon andFukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:07:31 and 2:07:10, respectively.
The following year, he competed in theHamburg Marathon andToronto Waterfront Marathon, finishing off of the podium in fifth and seventh, respectively.
In 2019, Kiprotich was third in theHamburg Marathon in 2:08:31 and represented Uganda in the men's marathon at the2019 World Championships in Athletics inDoha, Qatar. Stephen finished 18th in 2:15:04 in a race won by Ethiopia'sLelisa Desisa.
Kiprotich's next marathon was in April 2021 when he finished fifth at the NN Mission Marathon inEnschede, Netherlands in a time of 2:09:04. He was the first Ugandan to finish, beatingGeoffrey Kusuro and Ugandan national record holderFelix Chemonges.
Stephen Kiprotich was selected for the Ugandan team in the men's marathon at the2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.[15] He is expected to compete in August 2021 alongside teammates,Fred Musobo andFelix Chemonges.[16]
Kiprotich is a member of theNN Running Team and trains inKapchorwa, Uganda.
John Akii-Bua, who had claimed Uganda's only other Olympic gold with a world record in the 400 metres hurdles in 1972
Media related toStephen Kiprotich at Wikimedia Commons
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