He Celebrated His 'Win' Before Finishing. Big Mistake

Kibiwott Kandie sweeps past Jacob Kiplimo in road race after Kiplimo starts celebrating
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2020 8:01 AM CST

A New Year's Eve road race in Brazil offered what Yahoo Sport Australia deems an "electrifying finish"—though the competitor who came in second likely isn't looking at it that way. That's because 19-year-old Olympic runner Jacob Kiplimo pulled what USA Today calls a "big no-no": He started celebrating his "win" by raising his arms in the air right before he crossed the finish line of the 9.3-mile San Silvestre de Sao Paulo race, with 23-year-old Kibiwott Kandie uncomfortably close behind him.

And that's when Kandie saw his opportunity and rushed right past the teen from Uganda; videos taken from a variety of angles show the moment Kandie sweeps past a surprised Kiplimo. Not only did Kandie win the race, but he also set a record as the first man to break 43 minutes in the race, with a time of 42 minutes, 59 seconds. Kiplimo came in at exactly 43 minutes. CBS News notes that if he hadn't started celebrating prematurely, he, too likely would've gained a second and broken the 43-minute mark. (This runner had harsh words for Nike.)

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