Kiprotich began running longer distances in 2010 and finished in the top eight at the Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon and the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale. Having served in the French Foreign Legion and lived in the country for several years, Kiprotich gained French citizenship and began to compete for his adopted nation. He made a career breakthrough at the 2012 Düsseldorf Marathon, running a time of 2:08:35 to finish eight seconds behind the winner and placed third. He was the second ranked French runner after fellow African-born marathoner Patrick Tambwé and was selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, he failed to finish at the Men's Olympic Marathon, as did his compatriots Tambwé and Abdellatif Meftah.