Jacob Kiplimo, Rebecca Cheptegei Win UAF Eastern Cross Country Championship

Ugandan Long-distance runner Jacob Kiplimo on Saturday won the Regional cross country championships that were held at Tuban playgrounds in Kapchorwa Municipality.

The 2022 Commonwealth double Gold medalist, comfortably secured the 10km race victory in 29:42.02. He was followed by Martin Magengo Kiprotich who crossed the finishing line in 30:11.99 while Caleb Dismas Yeko came third in 30:21.53.

Kiplimo said that the win has given him hopes of a spectacular performance in the National cross country Championships set for December 10th in Tororo.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Cheptegei won the senior women’s category after crossing the finishing line at 34:02.67 to defeat Janat Chemusto who crossed the finishing line at 35:07.9 and Belinda Chemutai who came third in 35:56.4.

Cheptegei, who won the recent 21km MTN Marathon, said the course was friendly and the distance was less, compared to the 21km race which needs a lot of endurance and calculations.

“What helped me was the training I did while preparing for the Half Marathon, now I have enough endurance, I just need to work on speed,” Cheptegei told URN in Kapchorwa.

Also Read: Jacob Kiplimo Wins a Second Gold Medal at Commonwealth Games

Paul Okello, the organizing secretary for Uganda Athletics Federation says, Uganda is likely to have a very strong representation at the Cross Country championships because the athletes seem to be more prepared basing on their performances at the regional cross-country championships.

“It’s the first time I have seen a very competitive performance at the regional cross-country meet, signifying that great performance is a possibility.” Said Abdallah Okello.

The national cross country championships scheduled for December 11th will be used to select the final National team that will represent Uganda at the World cross country championships in Australia, on February 2023.