Steven
Kiprotich is a Ugandan athlete who was once the World champion and Olympic
Champion of the 2012 London Olympic Marathon and the World championships.
Stephen Kiprotich was born in the Eastern part of Uganda in the district called
Kapchorwa which is found on the boarder between Uganda and Kenya.
Kiprotich
started participating in the world of Athletics when he was still young in his
early years.
Stephen Kiprotich dropped
out of school in his primary school due to lack of school fees and lack of
interest in formal education.
He decided to join the Prisons force when he came
of age.
He was actually recruited into the force simply because he was talented
in athletics and therefore in order to boost the athletics team of the Prisons section
of Uganda, he was called upon to join the force.
Stephen Kiprotich one time decided to seek
for permission to go to Kenya and train with the Kenyan athletes in their High
Altitude training ground since they had better training facilities than the
ones found in our country Uganda.
That was the time when he came to meet Kenyan
athletes like Abel Kirui, Wilson Kipsang and other popular athletes that are
found in Kenya.
Stephen kiprotich then started participating in city marathons
around the world like the Newyork Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon
and other Marathons that are organised around the world.
In one instance, he met with Olympic gold
medallist and World champion Kenelisa Bekele after finishing one of the races.
He said he asked him how he manages to become the best in many marathons.
Bekele told him he trained everyday of the week and made sure to keep fit.
Steven Kiprotich said that when he learnt
that from this great legend, he also decided to implement these techniques to
his training sessions and the next time they met, he came only number 2 to the
great legend and they had beaten all the other athletes.
Kiprotich has become
the first Ugandan athlete to win the Olympic gold medal since the year 1972
when the great athlete called John Akibua won gold at the games in Zurich
Germany.
Steven Kiprotich has become a celebrated figure in Uganda as a whole
and a respected figure in the circles of sports.
As a result of his triumphs in the world of
Athletics, Kiprotich was able to be promoted by the police force from a warden to Assistant Superintendent of
Prisons which around seven ranks.
This is an incredible achievement for the
Ugandans especially the Prisons department that has seen that as a good image
for them. In addition, the successful athlete was able to get sponsorships and
advertising deals from various companies.
The success of Steven Kiprotich has inspired many Ugandan youths to join
the world of Athletics which they see as a promising career where they could
actually earn a living for themselves.
Stephen Kiprotich has become the first
Ugandan athlete to win both the Olympic gold medal and the World championships
gold medal a record which will take some decades I hope to be broken.
We can say he is the most decorated athlete
of all time in Uganda. Some people out there could call him the Michael Phelps
of Uganda.
Steven Kiprotich continues
inspire many Ugandans today like his predecessor John Akibua did in the 1970s.
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