Kampala — BONIFACE Kiprop dropped out of the 12km senior men's race with just about 400m to run at the just concluded World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya, much to the surprise of many Ugandan fans but not team coach Gordon Ahimbisibwe.

Had Kiprop, who was placed 6th by the time he pulled out, completed the race, the senior team would have been unrivalled for silver that went to Morocco.

"I developed a stitch and couldn't push on anymore though I knew I was about to finish," Kiprop said shortly after the incident, which stunned Ugandans that flocked the Mombasa Golf Course on March 24.

Kipsiro, another big senior runner had earlier dropped out with half a lap to run.

The Ugandan coach however told Daily Monitor in an interview that Kiprop's performance was a result of his poor attitude towards training.

"The team spent over a month in residential training in Bukwo but Kiprop never stepped foot there. He opted to remain at his nearby home where he trained with young and upcoming Kenyan runners that never helped him at all," a seemingly disappointed coach said.

"I think he got a training programme from his European coach and thought our workouts were useless but fortunately they paid off for some runners like Martin Toroitich (a 10th placed finisher).

"His training was just not enough because he lacked enough endurance. I was actually surprised," said the coach.