In Paris
Uganda’s 10,000 metres world record holder Joshua Cheptegei has quit track an Olympic champion, claiming that he’s “bored of winning, needs a fresh challenge” and is confident that a production line of talent he launched in Kapchorwa on the slopes of Mt Elgon will hold his country in good stead.
Cheptegei cemented his status as the 25-lap king as he won his first Olympic 10,000m title at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday night, running 26 minutes, 43.14 seconds to beat one of the fastest fields ever assembled and add to his three consecutive world titles over the distance.
It was an Olympic record and, in doing so, the Ugandan becomes the first man since Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele to concurrently hold the world record alongside the Olympic and World Championships 10,000m crowns.
With the Ethiopian contenders pushing the early pace, Cheptegei bided his time before hitting the front with 500 metres to go, controlling the race in imperious fashion.
As others challenged, the reigning Olympic 5,000m champion held firm, inspired by the desire to take a maiden Olympic title in the event he has always described as the “special distance”.
Kenya’s trip of Bernard Kibet, Daniel Mateiko and Nicholas Kimeli tried to mount a challenge but faded out with only Japan-based Kibet pushing the lead pack to finish fifth in a personal best time of 26:43.98.
“I was training in Japan, which is low altitude, and then I went to the trials in Oregon (USA) to qualify for the Kenyan Olympic team… then I went to train in Kenya…
“The results are not what we expected, but I’m happy that I managed to run my personal best time. I will go back and improve on speed and hope to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo next year,” Tokyo-based Kibet, who is attached to the Kyudenko Team, remarked.
“The pace was good but since yesterday, I experienced back problems and I could not push the pace and had to run on my own pace… I was feeling good when I came to Paris…. I’m sorry to Kenyans and I’d like to wish the remaining athletes all the best in the upcoming races,” Kimeli reacted.
Always gracious, Cheptegei paid tribute to all those who made it possible, saying: "I am so excited. It took a lot of courage. It’s really amazing, this one was still missing. Three times world champion, now I can add the Olympic title to this.
“This one is for my family. Success is not only for me but for my family, my coach, my management. The whole team around me. I couldn’t have done it without them."
What makes the performance all the more impressive is it comes after perhaps the hardest year of Cheptegei’s career, where he was yet to win over any distance after completing the Valencia Marathon in December 2023.
In making up for his Tokyo Olympics 2021 silver over the same distance, it is Uganda’s fifth ever Olympics gold medal, adding to his Tokyo 5,000m triumph and emphatically proves his long-held belief that Ugandan’s need not leave their homeland to compete with the planet’s finest.
Cheptegei has for many years trained in his native Kapchorwa, even building a training centre to inspire the next generation of Ugandan athletes, and no greater legacy will come than nights like this in the Stade de France.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi (26:43.44) dug in for silver with American Grant Fisher taking bronze in 26:43.46.
“It’s a special day for me here in Paris,” Cheptegei said, adding that he was ready for a world record in the race and happy to have bounced back from some disappointments.
“I remember the time I was in Oslo and finished eighth or ninth and everybody was like ‘Cheptegei is finished.’
“Now, it’s time now for me to go to the roads because I’ve won everything that’s there to be won…
“This is my last Olympics and this is my last track race… I’m very sure track is on the same side with people like Grant and Berihu here, and I’m sure there will be more exciting moments in the future.
“It’s been a great 10 years from way back in 2014 at the World Junior Championships in Eugene (USA) when I won a gold medal as a young boy of 17 years… it was even more fulfilling that I went back to Eugene and won the senior title (in 2022).
“It has been 10 great years of great impact… Even something special has to come to an end and that means that I have to find new challenges..”
