Kiplimo missed the championship due to an acute injury near the hamstring area of his right leg.
World champion Joshua Cheptegei has revealed he missed his counterpart Jacob Kiplimo in the race that handed him a third-straight gold.
In what is said to be his last appearance in the 10000m race at the World Championship, Cheptegei clocked 27:51:42 in Budapest, Hungary, to win Uganda’s first medal Sunday night.
And in his post-race interview, the world record holder of the 5000m and 10,000m revealed it was more challenging going up against the rest of the field without Jacob Kiplimo.
“For me, always it’s an honour to race with my friend Jacob Kiplimo,” Cheptegei said when asked about missing his mate.
“It was even more difficult for me to win today because he wasn’t there because, normally, we have to fight as a team,” he added.
Kiplimo missed the championship due to an acute injury near the hamstring area of his right leg.
10:41 - 21.08.2023
ATHLETICS 2023 World Champs: Best shots King Joshua Cheptegei raced to his third gold
Pulse Sports takes a look at some of the best shots from Budapest as Joshua Cheptegei won gold in the 10,000m race at the World Athletics Championships.
It is the second time in three editions that Kiplimo is missing the Worlds.
He was meant to compete in the 10,000m final as well as the 5,000m.
But not even his absence could stop Cheptegei, who beat Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo and Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega to the finish line for the three-peat.
19:09 - 20.08.2023
ATHLETICS Cheptegei bags Shs265m cash prize for clinching historic third world title
Uganda's athletic sensation, Joshua Cheptegei, has secured an impressive reward of Shs265 million from World Athletics for his outstanding victory in the 10,000m race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest.
Cheptegei registered his first gold in Doha, Qatar, in 2019 before retaining the medal in Oregon, USA, in 2021.
With the victory, Cheptegei joined an exclusive class of legends who have won the gold three times.
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebresselasie and Kenenisa Bekele and Great Britain’s Mo Farah are the other three.
In Kiplimo’s absence, Cheptegei had the support of Rogers Kibet and Joel Ayeko.