Brimin Kiprop, winner of the men's 42-kilometre category in the Nairobi City Marathon has revealed that he clinched first place despite falling at the beginning of the race.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, May 8, Kiprop noted that he had to pick up the pace and catch up with his colleagues after falling during the first kilometre of the race.
He noted that his drive and determination to be the debutant winner of the event led him to persevere from the challenges and hurdles and ended up clinching the gold medal.
"I had a lot of challenges during the race. I fell at the beginning of the race on the first kilometre but I am happy to be the debutant winner of this race," he stated after winning the race.
Kiprop reminisced on similar challenges in past races that drove him to outdo his counterpart, Richard Rop, and finish a few seconds before him.
These races include the Eldoret Marathon whereby he dropped out in the 40th kilometre as well as Standard Marathon where he had difficulties in the race and finished eighth.
Kiprop urged upcoming athletes to spend the time practising before moving to half marathons and marathons in general.
"I would like to tell upcoming athletes to take time before going for long-distance races and familiarise themselves with the craft. I started running at 800 metres, then moved to 5000 metres then half marathons before I started competing in marathons," he stated.
Kiprop was awarded Ksh6.96 million ($60,000) for clinching the gold medal in the category with his counterparts, Rop coming second at 2:09:17 and Daniel Yator rounding up the top three with a 2:10:15.
The event dubbed Uhuru Classic lived up to the hype as over 8,000 athletes participated in four categories: 5 kilometres, 10 kilometres, 21 kilometres and 42-kilometre races.
