Jacob Kiplimo did Uganda proud last evening as he won gold in the men’s 10,000m race at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 21-year-old did not only take Uganda’s medal tally to two, but he also attained a new record. Kiplimo broke gold medallist Joshua Cheptegei’s 10,000m record in a stunning time of 27:09:19.
“I am very excited today. I knew I would win because I saw the pace was a little bit slow,” said Kiplimo after clinching the 10,000m gold in a new Games Record.
The Olympics and World Championship bronze medalist further applauded Cheptegei for motivating him.
“Joshua Cheptegei was telling me ‘go and do it, I know you can do it’, it gave me more confidence,” he said.
His win means Uganda has won five times in a row since 2006. In 2006, Boniface Kiprop triumphed in Melbourne, followed by Moses Kipsiro, who won the title in Delhi (2010) and defended it in Glasgow (2014) before Joshua Cheptegei won it in Gold Coast in 2018.
Cheptegei took to his Twitter and applauded Kiplimo.
“What a race!! Huge congratulations to my all-time teammate, fighter, warrior, and hero. Jacob Kiplimo. The gold comes to the pearl of Africa, from 2006 till date, we are still dominant. To God be the glory,” said Cheptegei.