By Flavia Ajok
Ugandan long-distance runner Jacob Kiplimo has announced his participation in the Copenhagen Half Marathon, scheduled to take place in the Danish capital on September 15th, 2024.
Kiplimo expressed his enthusiasm for the 21-kilometer road race, viewing it as the opener for the road racing season following his recent participation in the Paris Summer Olympics, where he finished 6th in the 10,000 meters race, a victory claimed by his Ugandan counterpart, Joshua Cheptegei.
Currently training in Kapchorwa under the guidance of his personal coach, Patrick Cheboto, Kiplimo is optimistic about his preparation. He is determined to deliver a strong performance in Copenhagen after a month of focused training. “I am the reigning world record holder of the same race, and my hope is to reduce my current world record time of 57 minutes, 37 seconds,” Kiplimo said.
Coach Patrick Cheboto, in an interview with Spice FM, stated that Kiplimo is undergoing a specialized road race training program to ensure he is ready for what is considered one of the fastest half marathons in the world.
Cheboto also mentioned that Kiplimo will be paced by his training partner, Elijah Cheptoek, during the race. “We have carefully prepared the schedule to be implemented by the athlete together with his pacemaker,” Cheboto explained.
Benjamin Njia, the National Coach and Vice President of Technical Affairs at the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), noted that the track and field season has concluded, and athletes are now focusing on preparing for road races both in Uganda and internationally.
“We expect many athletes who participated in the Summer Olympics to take part in various international road running events until late November when the focus will shift to Cross Country Championships,” Njia explained.
