Brimin Kipruto of Kenya adds the Olympic title to his world gold medal (© Getty Images)
something he described as “a very nice kick over the last 200m” - Brimin Kipruto went into the Olympic men’s 3000m Steeplechase final here in the National Stadium last night confident of victory if he was still in contention with half a lap to go.
However, unlike in the World Championships in Osaka last year, when he didn’t need all 200m of that kick, sprinting away early to win by three seconds, Kipruto required nearly every inch of it last night. Kipruto took the lead over the final barrier but had to hold off a late challenge from Mahledine Mekhissi-Benabbad, from France.
Kenyan tradition maintained
And so the man with the changed name but thankfully for Kenya an unchanged allegiance – who can forget the case of Stephen Cherono? – maintained an extraordinary sequence of success. Kenya has won the last seven men’s Olympic Steeplechase titles, each time with a different champion.
The sequence started with Julius Korir (1984) and was extended by Julius Kariuki (1988), Matthew Birir (1992), Joseph Keter (1996), Reuben Kosgei (2000), Ezekiel Kemboi (2004) and now Kipruto. It is ironic that one name not on that list should be the inspiration behind Kipruto’s success.
Moses Kiptanui, three times the World 3000m Steeplechase champion in the 1990s, and the first man to break 8 minutes, is Kiptanui’s hero.
“When I was young I saw Moses Kiptanui win a gold medal in the World Championships,” Kipruto said. “He is a famous name in Kenya, even in the world. I thought: ‘I want to run like him’.”
Name changed by accident
Unlike Cherono, the former World champion who had changed his name to Saif Saeed Shaheen, switching nationality to Qatar, Kipruto’s name was changed by accident.
Named in the Kenya team for the 2001 World Youth Championships, in Debrecen, Hungary, Firmin Kipruto needed a passport. But when he was applying for a birth certificate to obtain his first passport, Firmin was mistakenly transcribed into Brimin by a clerk.
“I saw it was entered in the computer, so I thought I had to stay with what they wrote,” Kipruto said. But there is no mistaking Kipruto’s talent. Having become World champion in Osaka last year, forcing Olympic champion Kemboi to settle for second place, the 23-year-old’s victory here came as no surprise.
“Of course, to become an Olympic champion is not easy work,” Kipruto said, explaining that he trained with a group in Kaptagat, near Eldoret. The group includes his close friend, Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 5000m World champion and Osaka runner-up. “Athletes in Kenya train as a group and that is why we achieve good results,” Kipruto added.
“There was a plan with my fellow colleagues to try to be the top three but unfortunately the French guy finished in the middle of us. I was expecting (to win) over the last 200m because that is where I start my kick. When we reached 200m (to go) and we had a group I thought: ‘I have a very nice kick from 200’.”
World Youth silver is first of a long series of medals
In his first competition outside Kenya, Kipruto announced his arrival on the international scene in Debrecen with a silver medal in the 2000m Steeplechase. A championship runner was born. Venturing outside his homeland for only the second time, he placed second in the 2003 African Junior Championships, in Cameroon, this time at 3000m Steeplechase.
Nevertheless, it was considered a surprise when the third of 10 children born of parents who were farmers finished second in arguably the most competitive trials race on the planet: the Kenyan Olympic 3000m Steeplechase race. Guaranteeing his place in the team for Athens, Kipruto was also selected for the World Junior Championships, in Grosseto, Italy, but chose to compete at 1500m instead.
Although he recorded a personal best 3:35.96, Kipruto had to settle for bronze. But, from bronze in the World Juniors, he stepped up to silver at the Olympics, this time in his preferred Steeplechase event. Only Kemboi got the better of him. In 2005 he collected his second senior global medal, a bronze in the Helsinki World Championships, this time as Shaheen retained his title for Qatar
David Powell for the IAAF
