Victor Kiplangat 22-year-old sprinted 2hr 10min 55sec to the finish line in the lead securing Uganda’s first-ever Commonwealth Games marathon gold in Birmingham, UK on Saturday.
Victor Kiplangat took a wrong turn about a mile from the finish line but still managed to win the marathon race.
“The people riding the motorcycles were confusing me,” he said. “They told me to turn back. But I still made it to the finish.”
“I believe Uganda is proud of me today. We have been waiting for this.”
Kiplangat, who was not selected in Uganda’s team for the recent world championships in Eugene, Oregon, was gushing with confidence after his win.
“I believe I shall be a great man like (Uganda’s) Joshua Cheptegei and (Kenya’s Eliud) Kipchoge,” he said.
Cheptegei is the Olympic 5,000m champion and two-time winner of the world 10,000m title while Kipchoge is a double Olympic champion in the marathon.
“We shall keep breaking records,” he said. “As long as we are healthy, everything is possible. I’m still young and still growing. I believe I can be even better.”
