The 21-year-old produced a top-class finish to beat competition from a much organized Kenyan duo that had employed formidable teamwork to grab both Gold and silver, but Kiplimo’s smart stretch in the last 20-meters jeopardized their plan.
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kiplimo wins 5000m race
Long distance runner Jacob Kiplimo has scooped a second gold medal at the ongoing commonwealth games in Birmingham. He outpaced two Kenyan athletes to lead the 5000-meter race in style.
In the absence of Joshua Cheptegei, the much-fancied distances enigma, Kiplimo entered the highly competitive race as a lone ranger and produced a magical performance with a top-class finish.
He beat competition
from a much organized Kenyan duo that had employed formidable teamwork to grab both Gold and silver, showcasing a smart stretch in the last 20-meters to jeopardize their plan.
He won the race in a season’s best time of 13:08.08 while
Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli finished second in 13:08.19 and his partner Jacob
Krop finished third in 13:08.48.
In front of tens of thousands that stormed Alexandria
stadium to catch a glimpse of the action as the commonwealth games get closer
to their end, Kenya’s Jacob Kiprop and Cornelius Kemboi took the lead, setting the
pace for their compatriot Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli who later joined them as
Kiplimo looked on from a distance.
When the race approached the 7th lap, Uganda’s Kiplimo
grabbed the fourth position but Kenya’s Kimeli had already joined
his two compatriots to dominate the leading medal bracket positions. The Kenyan trio bossed the race until the last two laps when Kemboi started fading off and Kiplimo overtook him to enter the medal
mix, but the Kenyan pair still looked extraordinary.
Towards the last 20-meters of the race, it became
extremely hotter, when Kimeli pressed down and Krop was right behind him fighting
hard to stop Kiplimo who was using the outside lane to overtake them.
While the pair ignited sprints, Kiplimo equally injected the
same pace, cutting from the outside lane as every man was on his own, but in the
end, Kiplimo final finishing kick to the finishing line was unmatched.
He becomes the third Ugandan athlete to complete a double gold
over the two distances (10000m and 5000m) with the first being Moses Kipsiro in
New Delhi back in 2010, and later Joshua Cheptegei in Gold Coast, Australia.
The gold medal will now stretch Uganda’s medal tally to
five, three gold and two bronze medals so far with two days to the end of the
games.
Meanwhile, before his race, middle distances runner
Halima Nakaayi fell to a strong field and finished last in the women’s
800-meter final. She posted 2:01.17 while the race winner Mary Moraa from Kenya
posted 1:57.07.
Boxing
Earlier, female boxer Teddy Nakimuli ended Uganda’s boxing
journey at the games when she lost to Northern Ireland’s Carly Mc Naul by
unanimous decision 5-0 over the light-flyweight category.
Mc Naul bossed the opening two rounds against Nakimuli
who was having her first fight of the Games at the semi-final stage, although Nakimuli
improved in the final round to make it a contest, she was not good enough to
match Naul and thus lost the bout.
The 20-year-old will now leave the games in style having
bagged a bronze medal with just one fight which resulted in a loss. Earlier she
earned a bye in the quarter-final after her opponent failed to make weight.
