Top 10 African Athletes in 2015 (Part 1)

                                                    6) Asbel Kiprop: 

There is a swagger with which Kiprop runs the 1500m that is unrivaled. Somehow he seems to determine how he wants the race; he chooses when to go in front and when to maintain his current position, and goes about it flawlessly.

At the Monaco Diamond League, Kiprop ran a new DL Record of 3:26.69, unusually going in front just behind the pacemakers in the final three laps. He led with a massive gap that even the legendary Mo Farah had problems keeping pace with him.

Kiprop had not won a Diamond Race trophy since 2010, but this year he broke that cycle, turning up when it mattered most on the last day in Zurich to win in a time of 3.35.79.  He came into that race third on the log, needing the win to claim the title, and he delivered on the track to claim it.

How can one even begin to describe the manner with which he won GOLD at the World Championships….it is nothing short of epic. Quite phenomenal! With Kiprop said to be ill before the final with flu, he reportedly told his three other compatriots not to rely on him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjiL94sjPqI

Kiprop was still way behind in the last 400m as Olympic champion, Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi stormed into the lead and looked certain to win. Then out of nowhere, Kiprop gathered momentum, chasing down Makhloufi  in the home stretch with his longer strides providing the wheels as he coasted to yet another World title.

That ends part 1 of our Top 10 African athletes in 2015. This is the concluding part, click here for the part 2 .