Let us celebrate all, not just Cheptegei 

Joshua Cheptegei is surely someone we should all celebrate. The Ugandan long distance has elevated the country’s name to levels we never imagined. 
He deserves all the acclaim. We ought to celebrate the gem in Cheptegei, a once-in-a-lifetime talent. 
The 25-year-old became only the fourth man to win back-to-back 10,000 metre world titles. 
The other men to manage this feat are Britain’s Mo Farah and the Ethiopian duo of Haile Gebreselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. 
Cheptegei is also the world record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, crowns he wrestled from Bekele’s stranglehold.
 
But as we celebrate the world Olympic and World Cross Country champion that Cheptegei is, we should not lose the crystal ball. Cheptegei is part of a team. 
Like we have seen, Jacob Kiplimo, who won bronze in that 10,000 metre race, Stephen Kissa, Peter Maru, and Oscar Chelimo are all part of ‘gang’. 
It may be hard to comprehend since athletics is mainly an individual sport. Have you ever imagined how lonely training and competitions would be if all these weren’t there? 
What if he was the only Ugandan competing at this level without the Stella Chesangs, Halima Nakaayis, Mercyline Chelangats, Tarsis Orogots and others? 
The hotel would be a strange place for him to walk around gazing at athletes from other countries, most of whom would be rivals and not friends. 

Uganda sent a team of nearly 20 athletes to the 2022 World Athletics Championships that end today. Each of these names must stick to our lips and minds.
All of them are important and Cheptegei is only a torch bearer for their cause, not only his. 
This is why the endless request to the government to deliver the Teryet High Altitude Training Centre and other sports facilities is critical.
Today, Cheptegei can afford to train at any facility in the world as he is managed by a Dutch company – Global Sports Management. 
He may even never need to train at the government facility as he is in the process of constructing his own. 

What about those young boys and girls who cannot afford it but harbour dreams of emulating Cheptegei? 
If we create a base upon which athletes can stand and succeed, the cars, houses and cash given to excelling athletes such as Cheptegei will cease to be the ultimate reward. 
Everyone will do it for pride knowing the late nights spent thinking about races and the early mornings spent pounding the dusty roads across the country are about Uganda and not themselves.