Paris: Joshua Cheptegei executed one of the most brilliant distance races in Olympics history to claim the 10000m gold and set a new Olympic record at the Paris 2024 Games.
The Ugandan distance ace completed his athletics dream with a sweet revenge against Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, who had snatched the gold from his spike four years ago in Tokyo.
The one gold missing from his rich cabinet was the Olympics 10000m and in Paris on the first day of the track and field events proper, Cheptegei used tactics and watched from behind as Ethiopians played with the medal fantasies at the front, exchanging leads and driving the ‘peleton’ crazy with pace.
But at the penultimate lap, Cheptegei charged and what he has in store in the lungs proved too much for the rest of the field for the next 800m, winning the race in a time of 26:43.14 seconds.
The purple tartans of the Stade de Paris held the spikes of Uganda’s greatest ever sportsman, who has added the 10000m gold to the 5000m gold he won in Tokyo and the double World Championships glitter.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi took the silver on 26:43.44 seconds with American Grant Fisher snatching bronze from Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed in 26:43.46.
Cheptegei’s compatriot Jacob Kiplimo lost his kicks with 150m to sprint and finish eighth in 26:46.39, while Martin Kiprotich finish 22nd in a time of 28:20.72.
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NP
