PARIS – Joshua Cheptegei has once more done it for his country Uganda after winning gold in the most gruelling track race of the Olympic Games, the 10,000m in Paris.
Taking the fastest 10,000m race in the history of the Olympic Games was Uganda’s world record holder, Joshua Cheptegei, in a time of 26:43.14.
With a pool of runners that was unprecedentedly quick, the first 13 finishers all came in under the previous Olympic record, which, before Friday night, had held true since 2008.
“I can’t describe the feeling. I’ve wanted this for a long time. When I took silver in Tokyo 2020, I was disappointed. I just wanted to win the 10,000m,” Cheptegei said after the race.
It will be out with a bang for the Ugandan runner, who said that this is his last race on the track before he turns his attention to something much longer: the marathon.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi took the silver medal, just 0.3 seconds behind Cheptegei, after he and his Ethiopian teammates held the lead for much of the race.
“We had a team strategy to push the pace and we showed great teamwork. I am very sad we did not achieve the gold medal as a team,” Aregawi said.
But he was thrilled to have bestest his fourth-place finish from Tokyo 2020, saying: “I was running for my country and I want to dedicate this silver medal to my country.”
USA’s Grant Fisher took the bronze medal, 0.02 behind Aregawi.
