Cheptegei struggles at Dam tot Damloop run

2014 DAM TOT DAMLOOP RUN RESULTS
MEN
1. John Mwangangi (KEN) 45:45
2. Nguse Amlosom (ERI) 45:47
3. Kinde Atelaw (ETH) 45:52
9. Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 47:33

WOMEN
1. Linet Masai (KEN) 53:09
2. Tiki Gelana (ETH) 53:57
3. Hilda Kibet (NED) 54:25
4. Almensch Belete (BEL) 56:14
5. Adero Nyakisi (UGA) 56:32

KAMPALA. Having stunned everyone enroute to clinching 10,000m gold at World Junior Championships in USA two months ago, optimism was a given whenever Joshua Cheptegei lines up for an event.
And when he missed the 5,000m and 10000m races at the Africa Senior Championships due to the unbearable heat in Morocco last month, the critics had their say.
Finally Cheptegei returned to action on Sunday but failed to match his new-found hype against a astrong field at the Dam tot Damloop run in Netherlands.
The 18-year-old World University Cross-country champion finished a distant ninth after clocking 47 minutes and 33 seconds over the 16 miles of the IAAF Silver Label Road Race between the cities of Amsterdam and Zaandam.
The result left his coach Rapheal Kasajja reeling. “He performed poorly,” he told Daily Monitor.
“It was going to be a tall order for him to win but I expected something better than ninth,” Kasajja said before disclosing he would alter the runner’s schedule. “…Maybe he shall run another 4-mil in Europe instead of 10 miles before returning to Kampala,” he added.
By far, the margin between Cheptegei and eventual winner Kenyan John Mwangangi was big as the latter clocked 45:45.
The finish came down to a sprint between him and Eritrean Nguse Amlosom (45:47), but Mwangangi’s final kick with 500m to go left the chasing pack in his wake.
Meanwhile, another Ugandan Adero Nyakisi finished fifth in 56:32 as Kenyan Linet Masai took the women’s title in in 53:09.