Stephen Kiprotich

Stephen Kiprotich ("KIP-roh-tich", born 27 February 1989) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Ethiopia's Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event.

Kiprotich became 2012 Olympic champion with a winning time of 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions.

Kiprotich ran a personal best in the marathon of 2:07:20 in 2011 at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands, which set a new course record for the Enschede Marathon and a new Ugandan record. Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich was the winner in 2:10.59. In February 2015, he ran a new personal best in the marathon of 2:06:33 in finishing second at the Tokyo Marathon.

In 2015, Kiprotich appeared in Jayant Maru's film SIPI the movie, a Ugandan produced film.

In 2016, Stephen Kiprotich ran in his second Olympic marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games; Kiprotich, the defending champion, finished 14th in 2:13:32 in a race won by Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge.

In 2017, he represented Uganda at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda. Kiprotich finished 17th in a race won by Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor. He went on to finish second in both the Hamburg Marathon and Fukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:07:31 and 2:07:10, respectively.

The following year, he competed in the Hamburg Marathon and Toronto Waterfront Marathon, finishing off of the podium in fifth and seventh, respectively.

In 2019, Kiprotich was third in the Hamburg Marathon in 2:08:31 and represented Uganda in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics in Doha, Qatar. Stephen finished 18th in 2:15:04 in a race won by Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa.

Kiprotich's next marathon was in April 2021 when he finished fifth at the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Netherlands in a time of 2:09:04. He was the first Ugandan to finish, beating Geoffrey Kusuro and Ugandan national record holder Felix Chemonges.

Stephen Kiprotich was selected for the Ugandan team in the men's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He is expected to compete in August 2021 alongside teammates, Fred Musobo and Felix Chemonges.

Kiprotich is a member of the NN Running Team and trains in Kapchorwa, Uganda.