Jacob Kiplimo, , who stunningly became the first Ugandan to win gold at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships, will be the lone Ugandan in the IAAF Diamond League’s opening leg in Doha, Qatar, on tonight.
Kiplimo lines-up for the 3000m event in Doha at the Qatar SC Stadium this evening against an elite field of 16 long-distance runners comprising six Kenyans and two Ethiopians.
The 16 year-old’s Italian manager Guisseppe Gambrone says the race will help to fine-tune Kiplimo’s speed details before doing a 5000m or 10000m race.
“The line-up has tough athletes and I will do my since I want to run my personal best as I look forward to a better season ahead,” Kiplimo said.
The Diamond League, virtually the world series in athletics, will have 14 stops this time including Shanghai, Paris and London and will wind up in Brussels in September.
When Kiplimo is not in school at Kiamanga Seed Secondary School, he is training in Italy with the Tuscany Athletics Club.
Last year, during the Rio Olympics, he was the youngest athlete in the 5,000 metres in which he finished 26th.
