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Stephen Kiprotich is a household name in Ugandan sport.
He revamped the story of Uganda’s athletics when he stunned the world to take Olympic marathon gold in 2012.
The success from London was replicated a year later at the 2013 World Championships on the streets of the Russian capital Moscow.
With that profile, Kiprotich is also the country’s most experienced marathoner in Uganda’s history.
He is however caught up in a web of mathematics on the road to the Tokyo Olympics.
Kiprotich has already qualified for the quadrennial Games but he is ranked fourth of eight men who are bidding to represent Uganda at the 42km road race come August 8 in Sapporo, Japan.
Kiprotich must improve his qualification time to make the top three marathon slots for Uganda to Tokyo. The 32-year-old will next month line-up with that mission at the NN Hamburg Marathon in Germany.
At the event, he will face-off with Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge on April 11 at the event organised by Dutch athletics management body Global Sports Communication (GSC).
“Last week the federation (Uganda Athletics Federation) informed us that anyone wanting to qualify for the Olympic marathon should run before April 15 to be considered,” said Kiprotich’s manager Jurrie van der Velden.
On the other hand, the qualification window by World Athletics was open from January 1, 2019, to April 5, 2020, but following coronavirus disruptions, it was opened again from December 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021.
“So we don’t have much choice, unfortunately, especially now due to lack of races,” added GSC’s Jurrie.
The best qualification times by Ugandan marathoners are by Filex Chemonges, Fred Musobo, and Solomon Mutai in that order.
Back to Hamburg, this will be the first time in five years that Kiprotich faces Kipchoge, a man referred to as arguably the greatest marathoner ever with 11 wins out of 13 marathons.
The two last met when Kipchoge beat Kiprotich to claim the Olympic title in rainy conditions of Sambódromo, Brazil in 2016.
The race will be Kiprotich’s fourth appearance at this Hamburg event, having finished second in 2017, fifth in 2018, and third in 2019.
This year’s edition has a tagline: ‘The fastest way to Tokyo’ and GSC, in partnership with its elite long-distance running unit NN Running and the Hamburg Marathon, have invited a field of 100 elite runners.
“In these challenging times and with the road race calendar for the first half of 2021 decimated by the pandemic, the involved parties are keen to arrange the race to provide a much-needed competitive opportunity for the athletes,” read part of a statement by NN Running.
NN MISSION MARATHON
Date: April 11
Venue: Hamburg, Germany
Course: Looped 10.5-km city centre course
Star Name: Eliud Kipchoge
Ugandans in action: Filex Chemonges, Stephen Kiprotich and Geoffrey Kusuro
RACE TO TOKYO OLYMPICS
UGANDAN MARATHONERS - BEST TIMES
Oct 20, 2019: Filex Chemonges - Toronto Marathon (3rd, 2:05:12)
Apr 7, 2019: Fred Musobo - Daegu Marathon (2nd, 2:06:56)
Apr 7, 2019: Solomon Mutai - Vienna Marathon (3rd, 2:08:25)
Apr 28, 2019: Stephen Kiprotich - Hamburg Marathon (3rd, 2:08:31)
Jan 19, 2020: Jackson Kiprop - Mumbai Marathon (4th, 2:08:41)
Nov 17, 2020: Geoffrey Kusuro - Kobe Marathon (1st, 2:08:46)
Oct 27, 2019: Robert Chemonges - Rennes Marathon (1st, 2:09:03)
Apr 14, 2019: Alex Chesakit - Dakar Marathon (3rd, 2:16:05)
Nov 22, 2020: Phillip Kiplimo - Dodoma Marathon (1st, 2:17:26)
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This writer is a global broadcaster and as well scribe with Daily Monitor Newspaper and sports presenter with Radio One FM 90 in Kampala. Follow him on Twitter: @AllanDarren and his Facebook Page: Darren Allan Kyeyune