Stephen Kiprotich
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Ugandan | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 February 1989 Kapchorwa, Uganda | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Running | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Long distance | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Stephen Kiprotich (born 27 February 1989) is a Ugandan long-distance runner, born in Kapchorwa District. He is the 2012 Olympic champion in the marathon, with a winning time of 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions.[1][2] This was the first Olympic medal for Uganda since 1996, the first gold medal since 1972, and the first ever in the marathon.[3]
He is the youngest of seven children of subsistence farmers from Kapchorwa 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. Then, at the age of 17, he moved to the Eldoret region of Kenya, in the Rift Valley, to train for the marathon with Eliud Kipchoge. He was assisted by A Running Start, a non-profit foundation based in New York.[4][5]
He ran a personal best in the marathon of 2:07:20 in 2011 at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands, which set a new course record for the Enschede Marathon and a new record for any marathon by a Ugandan.[6] He finished third in the 2012 Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:07:50.[7]
He was inspired in part by John Akii-Bua, the only previous Ugandan gold medalist.
References
- ^ "Stephen Kiprotich". www.london2012.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ NYT Ugandan Kiprotich Surges Past 2 Kenyans to Win Marathon Gold Retrieved on 2010-08-12.
- ^ Miami Kiprotich wins marathon for Uganda Retrieved on 2010-08-12.
- ^ NYT
- ^ Guardian Stephen Kiprotich's Olympic marathon win gives Uganda second gold ever Retrieved on 2010-08-12.
- ^ Westfaelische Tempomacher überrascht alle Retrieved on 2010-08-12.
- ^ Tokyo Tokyo Marathon 2012 results Retrieved on 2010-08-12.
External links
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