I rode a Boda B to Entebbe Airport in 2012 but I was brought back in Mpenkoni-Kiprotich; this is likely to be Joshua Cheptegei story
By Drone Reporter
Uganda’s star runner Stephen Kiprotich, who won gold for Uganda at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, told The Drone Media that he rode on a Boda Boda to Entebbe International Airport, but on his return from London he was picked up in a sleek Mpenkoni car.
” I travelled in public transport (taxi) and on reaching at the airport stage in Kitoro it was late; it was check in time so I got a boda boda to rush me to the airport,” explains Kprotich.
This is a reminder that Uganda identifies with success. The 2021 Uganda athletes who went to participate in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, were taken in a coach, but wait and see! They will be picked up from Entebbe International Airport, and in sleep VIP cars (Mpenkoniz).
Kiprotich will be all out to try and register a good time to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this year.
“This is the best chance for Kiprotich because Uganda only has three slots to fill in the Marathon. Presently going by the best times, Kiprotich is ranked fourth in the country and would not make the team. He needs to record better time in the Netherlands to make it on the Olympic team,” Dominic Otuchet, president of Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), told Xinhua.
Well, today world record holder Joshua Cheptegei took the gold in the gruelling men’s 5000m final at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, finishing ahead of Mohammed Ahmed of Canada, who took the silver, and Paul Chelimo of the United States who scooped the bronze.
Cheptegei, with a time of 12 minutes, 58.15, became the first Ugandan to win the event as he bagged the Olympic gold that has eluded him for so long.
“It’s really a great moment,” the Ugandan hero said after the race. “I made a small mistake and I was regretting [having] to become a silver medallist. I came here to become an Olympic champion and my dream has been fulfilled today in a beautiful evening.”
“I knew a lot of guys were strong so I had to take them through the lap and whoever was the strongest in the mind [would win],” the Olympic champions and 5000m world record holder added. “I knew I was strong in the mind because I broke a couple of world records.”
Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda was in front of the pack early, but his countryman Cheptegei took over the front spot midway through the race and didn’t let go of it until a six-man pack pushed ahead of the rest to set-up the final push. Cheptegei sealed the gold with a ferocious charge over the last section, with Ahmed nipping second.
“I went through a lot of emotions and tried to pick myself up,” said Canada’s silver-winner Ahmed. “I felt I had a chance, and I did have a chance.”