Cheptegei looks set to fill Kipsiro’s void
Cheptegei (R) jogs next to Kipsiro before they competed in the Africa Cross-country Championships at Kololo Airstrip in March 2014. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
KAMPALA- For about a decade now, Moses Kipsiro has been Uganda’s shining star on the track. Since he won a surprise 10,000m gold and 5,000m bronze at the 2006 Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Mauritius aged just 20, Kipsiro has carried Uganda’s flag in all top events.
He has won a medal at every big competitions apart from the Olympics. At the turn of the year, Kipsiro set himself a target of qualifying for the Rio Olympics and fighting for a marathon medal.
While he achieved his target of hitting the qualifying mark, Kipsiro won’t be selected in the Ugandan marathon team because there are better and more experienced runners.
It’s now highly likely that Kipsiro will not be on the flight to Rio de Janeiro come August unless he returns to track and qualifies in either 5,000m or 10,000m. If he fails to make the grade, the 29-year-old will have missed an opportunity to join an exclusive class of three-time Olympians.
Kipsiro’s absence on track though might not be felt that much. A youngster in the shape of Joshua Cheptegei has stepped up a gear to fill the void left by Kipsiro.
It might be early days but Cheptegei is giving Ugandans a reason to look forward to the Olympics starting August 5.
On Saturday, he pulled out a sample of his prowess by finishing second over 5,000m at the Shanghai Diamond League.
That performance in China was Cheptegei’s third successive podium finish of the season.
“It was not so bad,” the 19-year-old Cheptegei said after posting a new personal best (PB) time of 13:00.60. Before the race in Shanghai, his manager Jurrie van der Velden had said Cheptegei stood no chance of winning against the experienced field.
After the 12-and-a half -lap race, Jurrie had only praises for his runner. “Tactically, it was a very good performance,” Jurrie offered.
Against a tough 17-man field, Cheptegei showed he was hungry for victory more than his more experienced rivals.
In the initial stages, most runners hesitated to start fast as dictated by the pacesetters. Knowing that he needed to qualify, Cheptegei pursed the pacesetters and hit the front. He set the rhythm for everyone and mingled with the leading cluster of eight.
With five laps to run, the 10,000m world junior champion, took the lead again before the Ethiopian quartet of Abadi Embaye, Edris Muktar, Yomif Kejelcha, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Kenyan Thomas Longosiwa caught up. When the bell rang, Cheptegei surged from sixth to lead from the outer lane with about 200m left but his kick couldn’t match Muktar as the Ethiopian powered at the last turn to win in a world lead time of 12:59.96.
Cheptegei’s performance was well within the Rio Olympics qualification standard of 13:25.00 and follows his victories at the Villa de Laredo 10km in Spain and Carlsbad 5km in California earlier this year.
“I still feel okay and I can do better,” Cheptegei noted. Having earlier qualified for the 10000m, Cheptegei now has a chance of contesting for a double at the Olympics. Whereas a medal might be an unrealistic target for Cheptegei, he is certainly Uganda’s biggest Olympics prospect on track in Rio.
He is set to carry the burden of the country in Brazil alongside marathon defending champion Stephen Kiprotich.
Meanwhile, Peruth Chemutai also earned her ticket to the Rio Olympics on Saturday despite finishing 10th in 3,000m steeplechase at the Shanghai Diamond League.
The 2015 double Commonwealth Youth silver medalist clocked 9:31.24, reducing her PB by 49.07 seconds. Chemutai also qualified for the World Junior Championships due July 19-24 in Polish city Bydgoszcz.
