Despite being outpaced in his first marathon this year, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Stephen Kiprotich beat the odds and finished second at the 2017 Fukuoka Marathon in Japan.
Kiprotich registered a time of 2:07:10 a two minutes behind winner Sondre Moen from Norway who put up a new European record of 2:05:48. Moen become the first person born outside of Africa to break 2:06 on a record-eligible course.
For the 28-year-old Kiprotich, this is now his second best time as his best time remains at 2:06:33 which he attained at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon.
This achievement gives hopes to the Uganda Athletics Federation that is in preparations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia where Kiprotich is expected to captain the team.
Winners
1. Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway) – 2:05:48
2. Stephen Kiprotich ( Uganda) – 2:07:10
3. Suguru Osako (Japan/NOP) – 2:07:19 – PB
4. Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA) – 2:08:44
5. Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea) – 2:09:22