Emmanuel Kiprono competes after winning the men's 3,000m at the World U20 championships/ HANDOUTEmmanuel Kiprono has wasted no time setting his sights on the next big prize after rewriting the World Under-20 Championships record books in Eugene, Oregon.
The Kenyan teenager stormed to gold in the men’s 3,000m at Hayward Field on Saturday morning, clocking a stunning 7:28.28 before declaring his ambition to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“I am going to train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics,” Kiprono said after his record-breaking performance. Kiprono obliterated the previous championship record of 7:42.09 set by Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku at the 2021 edition in Nairobi.
France’s Alois Abraham took silver in 7:47.79, with Japan’s Ojiro Honda claiming bronze in 7:48.49. Kenya’s other representative, Edwin Elkana, finished ninth in 7:51.94.
The victory marked Kiprono’s first global junior title, coming just months after he narrowly missed out on gold at the World Cross Country U20 Championships in Tallahassee, Florida.
Kiprono settled for silver in the U20 race after clocking 23:20, finishing two seconds behind compatriot Frankline Kibet, who won in 23:18.
Andrew Alamisi completed an all-Kenyan podium in 23:28. The disappointment in Tallahassee only fuelled Kiprono’s determination, and he believes his return to intensive training laid the foundation for his Eugene triumph. “I went back to training, did well, and got a chance to represent Kenya at the World U20 Championships,” he said.
“I am so excited that it worked for me today and I won the gold medal,” Kiprono said. He sensed from the moment he woke up that he was capable of producing something special.
“When I woke up this morning, I was feeling so good, and I knew something special was coming,” he said. His confidence grew once he realised his body was responding well to the conditions at Hayward Field. “I felt that my body was strong so I decided to break away and push. The weather was also favourable,” he added.
The fast Eugene track also provided additional inspiration for the Kenyan, who recalled the historic performance of compatriot Beatrice Chebet at the same venue.
This is the track where Beatrice (Chebet) broke a world record, and after running, I felt it was fast,” Kiprono said.
At the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, Chebet became the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier in the 5,000m, clocking 13:58.06 to lower Gudaf Tsegay’s previous world record of 14:00.21. Kiprono is now dreaming of following Chebet and other Kenyan distance stars onto the Olympic stage.
The youngster first announced his potential at the 2024 African U18/U20 Championships in Abeokuta, Nigeria, where he won the U18 3,000m title in 8:02.21. He defeated Eritrea’s Alexander Ruesom, who ran 8:04.14, while compatriot Kevin Biwott took bronze in 8:07.56.
With a world junior title and championship record now under his belt, Kiprono believes Los Angeles could be the next destination in his rapidly rising career.
