Youngster Jacob Kiplimo has made history as the first Ugandan to win an International Associations of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Cross Country championships gold medal.
Kiplimo fired to victory thanks to a mammoth home crowd that cheered him on at the Kololo Ceremonial grounds.
16-year-old Kiplimo won the U20 junior race, clocking 22 minutes and 40 seconds.
Ethiopia’s Amdework Walelegn came second, clocking 22.43 while Kenya’s Richard Yator Kimunyan closed the podium brackets, taking bronze with 22.52 minutes on the clock.
Kiplimo’s feat however did not win him any money because the junior race is a non cash category, but at least he got a presidential handshake.
Who is Kiplimo?
Kiplimo was born November 14, 2000 and he represented Uganda at the 2016 Summer Olympics running the 5,000 metres race though he didn’t go past the heats.
A Sebei by tribe, Kiplimo grew up in Bukwo on Mount Elgon.
At the age of 15, he won the 10,000 metres bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships in Poland and he has claimed gold this year.