KAMPALA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Olympic gold medalist Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda will also miss the 2025 World Athletics Championship to take place in Tokyo, Japan.

Kiplimo joins two-time Olympic gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei who announced last week that he will miss the world event.

"Cheptegei and Kiplimo will miss the 2025 Tokyo World Championships due to personal reasons. We request that their privacy be respected at this particular time," said Dominic Otuchet, president of Athletics Uganda while speaking to Xinhua.

The withdrawal of the two top athletes is a big blow to Uganda's medal prospects. The duo were among the 22 athletes who have qualified to represent the country at the Championship.

Cheptegei and Kiplimo had each qualified for the 10,000m and marathon. Cheptegei will not defend the 10,000m title that he won the last time.

Otuchet said that it was sad that the two top runners will miss the World Championship. "We tried to speak to them to try and reconsider their positions, but failed," added Otuchet.

Cheptegei is also the current world record holder for the 5,000m and the 10,000m, and held the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance.

Two weeks ago, Kiplimo, who has proved a formidable runner in the 10,000m and 5,000m, broke the course record in the 21k race in Argentina. He also came second in his debut at the 2025 London Marathon. ■