Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo, famous for his achievement in cross country and track is set to make his marathon debut in a tournament scheduled for April 27 at the 2025 London Marathon.
The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) on January 17, 2025, announced that Kiplimo will be transiting to the 42 km long-distance race, a milestone significant in his career.
“As one of Uganda’s finest athletes, all eyes will be on him as he transitions to the 42 km distance. A thrilling milestone in his incredible career,” it said on X.
The 24 year old has put together a legendary career on the track and cross country course, winning four World Cross Country titles and bronze in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships.
Competing alongside Kiplimo in the men’s field are the winners of five of the eight most prestigious marathons from 2024: London (Alexander Mutiso), the Olympics (Tamirat Tola), Berlin (Milkesha Mengesha), New York (Abdi Nageeye), and Valencia (Sabastian Sawe).
The women’s competition is equally star-studded, with Uganda’s Stella Chesang competing against Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, reigning champion Ruth Chepngetich, and Tigst Assefa, the second-fastest woman in history, leading the pack.
Kiplimo’s Journey of Triumph
During the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, he won a bronze medal in the 10,000m with a time of 27:43.63. He also won a bronze in the 10,000-meter event at the Eugene Championship in 2022, running 27:27.97.
In 2019, Kiplimo won a silver medal in the 10,000m in the Doha Championship with a time of 26:49.44.
During the Commonwealth Games in 2022, the youngster won a gold medal in the 10,000m in Birmingham, with a time of 27.09.19, while in 2018, he won a silver medal in the 5,000m in Gold Coast, Australia.
Kiplimo set a World record with a time of 57:31 in the half marathonset in Lisbon, Portugal and also set another record in Copenhagen half marathon, and Gdynia half marathon.
In the 10Km race he also set a world record with a time of 26:33 in Valencia, Spain.
During the World cross country championship in 2023, Kiplimo won a silver medal in the senior men’s race in Bathurst, Australia and in 2019 he also got a silver medal in the under-20 race in Aarhus, Denmark.
Other achievements also included All-time fastest time for 15km road race with 41.05 in Nijmegen, Netherlands, in 2020. And also set national records for Uganda across different distances on both track and road.
