Kiprotich blames lack of a coach after finishing last in Shot Put qualification
Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 18.08.21. | 11:40
"Lack of facilities and a coach has proved the difference for me. My competitors had coaches who would guide them unlike me."
Kenya’s representative to the men’s Shot Put at the ongoing World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Nairobi Dominic Kiprotich threw a pathetic 13.80m in the qualifying round to crush out of the at bottom place.
The 17 year-old who won the East African Secondary School Games title in 2019 was no match for the rest of the field at Kasarani. He went into the event as a true underdog and lived up to the lowly ranking.
With a personal best throw of 14.09 meters, Kiprotich was in a hopeless situation of trying to rival a field that boasted of 19 and 18-meter throwers.
Grouped together with athletes from strong throwing nations like Cuba, Switzerland, Belarus and elsewhere, Kiprotich crumbled under pressure and failed to equal his personal best throw.
The qualifying round was won by Cuban Juan Carley Vazquez Gomez who mustered a 19.66m with Belarusian Yauheni Bryhl hurling the Shot Put 19.28 meters.
Muhamet Ramadani of Kosovo placed third with 18.89.
"Lack of facilities and a coach has proved the difference for me. My competitors had coaches who would guide them unlike me. I didn't register a good throw as anticipated as I was tensed. I have however learnt on how to oscillate before releasing the shotput and the technique around it because you cannot just rotate, you need to do it perfectly," he said
He added "This was my first time to represent the country in a major championship. It was a great experience as I have compared notes with athletes from other countries. I am glad to have transitioned from high school games to junior games,"
