Kenyan athlete Conseslus Kipruto tests positive for covid-19

Olympic and world 3000 metres steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto has tested positive for coronavirus and will will keep him from a world-record chase on Friday.

It means the Kenyan will now miss the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Monaco on August 14

“Our World is going through a challenging period and we all have to take our responsibilities,” Kipruto said on Instagram.

“Unfortunately my COVID-19 test, as part of the Monaco-protocol, came back positive and therefore I can’t be part of the Monaco Diamond League on Aug. 14.

“I don’t have any symptoms and I was actually in great shape. I was planning to go for the world record. It has stayed too long outside Kenya.”

Kipruto is the 14th-fastest steepler in history with a personal best of 8:00.12. The world record is 7:53.63, set by Kenyan-born Qatari Saif Saaeed Shaheen in 2004.

Last year, Kipruto won the world title by .01, extending a streak of a Kenyan or Kenyan-born man winning every Olympic or world title in the event since the 1988 Seoul Games. He was sidelined by a stress fracture in his left foot until opening his season extremely late on Aug. 24.