Kiprotich is the youngest of seven children of subsistence farmers from
Kapchorwa District, near the Uganda-Kenya border. As a child, he missed three years of elementary school due to an undiagnosed illness. From 2004 to 2006, he quit athletics to concentrate on school. 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. ==References==