Kiprop is like Ovett was in his day, not too serious and never pushing fully through the line, seemingly not giving 100% effort at any time and only very occasionally going for time trials(mostly though just to beat the men besides them). Both seem(or seemed) to have a naturally cocky and confident attitude, although both had incredible natural talent and speed.
They also both tend to occasionally throw away races, remember when Ovett lost to John Treacy(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVxxaj1j9nE) due to cockiness? And of course most agree that Kiprop threw away the Bowerman mile by not pushing through the line. I'm not quite sure what it is about incredibly naturally talented 1500m athletes having this attitude, but the talk about Kiprop much reminds me of Ovett.
Both also did not do well at the Olympic games that took place after the ones they won their gold medals in, not because they weren't fit but because they had health issues (Ovett 1980, dropping out from respiratory issues and Kiprop in last from achilles issues). So in these ways, Kiprop is much like Ovett.