Who is Stephen Kiprotich? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, relationship with Patricia Cherop, Mzee Kiboi Kiptui (father) and Cheptum Kokop (mother), Nile Special-USPA Sports Personality of the Year in 2012, IAAF Moscow 2013 Marathon, early life and education of the long-distance runner from Uganda.
Stephen Kiprotich is a long-distance runner from Uganda.
He is the Assistant Superintendent of Prison at Luzira. Kiprotich trains in Kapchorwa, Uganda, as a member of the NN Running Team.
Early life and Education
Stephen Kiprotich was born on February 27, 1989, in Cheptiyal village, Kapchorwa, in the Eastern region of Uganda to the late Mzee Kiboi Kiptui (father) and Cheptum Kokop (mother).
Kiprotich is the second youngest of seven children. He is married to Patricia Cherop and the couple have two children, Eliud Musao and Esther Chebet.
He went to Kaminy Primary School and later joined Kapchorwa Secondary School for his senior one and Sebei College for his senior two, where he completed his O’level and later returned to the same school for his senior five.
He missed three years of elementary school as a child due to an undiagnosed illness. He gave up athletics to focus on school from 2004 to 2006.
Then, at the age of 17, he dropped out of school and relocated to Kenya’s Eldoret region, in the Rift Valley, to train for the marathon with Eliud Kipchoge. A Running Start, a non-profit foundation based in New York, assisted him.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Stephen Kiprotich is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal in London in 2012. Kiprotich also won gold at the 2013 World Athletics Championships.
After Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to win an Olympic marathon title followed by a world championship gold medal in the same event.
Kiprotich won the 2012 Olympic marathon in 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions.
This was Uganda’s first Olympic medal since 1996, its first Olympic gold medal since 1972, and the country’s first-ever medal in the marathon.
On August 17, 2013, he won the IAAF Championship marathon in Moscow.
Kiprotich ran a personal best marathon time of 2:07:20 at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands in 2011, setting a new course record for the Enschede Marathon as well as a new Ugandan record. With a time of 2:07:50, he finished third in the 2012 Tokyo Marathon.
Kiprotich was inspired in part by John Akii-Bua, Uganda’s only previous Olympic gold medalist, who won the 400m hurdles in Munich, Germany in 1972, setting a new world record in the process.
He then went on to win the London 2012 Olympic Marathon, finishing ahead of Kenyan runners Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, who came in second and third place, respectively.
Kiprotich ran the New York City Marathon the following year, finishing in 2:13:25. Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich won in 2:10.59. In February 2015, he set a new marathon personal best of 2:06:33 by finishing second at the Tokyo Marathon.
Kiprotich appeared in Jayant Maru’s Ugandan-produced film SIPI the movie in 2015.
Stephen Kiprotich competed in his second Olympic marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, finishing 14th in 2:13:32 in a race won by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge.
He competed in the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda. Kiprotich finished 17th in a race won by Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya. He then finished second in both the Hamburg and Fukuoka marathons, clocking 2:07:31 and 2:07:10, respectively.
The following year, he ran the Hamburg Marathon and the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.
Kiprotich finished third in the Hamburg Marathon in 2:08:31 in 2019 and represented Uganda in the men’s marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. In a race won by Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, Stephen finished 18th in 2:15:04.
Kiprotich’s next marathon was in April 2021, when he finished fifth in 2:09:04 at the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Netherlands. He was the first Ugandan to cross the finish line, finishing ahead of Geoffrey Kusuro and Ugandan national record holder Felix Chemonges.
Stephen Kiprotich has been chosen to represent Uganda in the men’s marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He competed alongside teammates Fred Musobo and Felix Chemonges in August 2021.
Achievements and Awards
Stephen Kiprotich was named the Nile Special-USPA Sports Personality of the Year in 2012, the Ugandan sports award.
In 2013, he won the gold medal at the IAAF Moscow 2013 Marathon in 2:09:51.
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