No pressure as Cheptegei books Olympics ticket
Joshua Cheptegei in action in Laredo
What you need to know:
- The Paris Games are a priority for Cheptegei. He seeks to wrap up his 10-year track career with the 10000m gold medal, one which eluded him during the Tokyo 2020 Games in Japan three years ago.
Joshua Cheptegei did not have to do much. He actually allowed to take the back seat for the majority of his first race of 2024 on Saturday.
The three-time reigning world 10000m champion is a happy man after securing his ticket for the 25-lap distance to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Cheptegei did as required and ran under 27 minutes on a windless afternoon with 15 degrees Celsius during the Laredo 10K near Spain’s northern coast.
The 27-year-old posted a time of 26 minutes and 53 seconds to settle for second place behind Ethiopian challenger Yomif Kejelcha. “Mission accomplished!” Cheptegei reacted.
The result was a big relief after having a tough 42km debut during the Valencia Marathon in Spain back in early December.
“The Olympics year starts on a positive note. I thank all the fans along the course for your support till the finish line. Isn’t God amazing? God is for me, I cannot be moved surely,” remarked Cheptegei.
The Paris Games are a priority for Cheptegei. He seeks to wrap up his 10-year track career with the 10000m gold medal, one which eluded him during the Tokyo 2020 Games in Japan three years ago.
He had not qualified yet for Paris because he neither had a wildcard as the defending Olympic 10000m champion nor had he beaten the qualifying standard.
And in the company of his pace maker Naman Kipyeko, he met a barricade at the start of the action in Laredo. “Good race (but), he missed his start. They blocked him. That cost him just a bit too much energy closing that gap,” Cheptegei’s coach Addy Ruiter explained the race.
Kejelcha, who won world 10000m silver behind Cheptegei at 2019 Doha World Championships in Qatar, had a blistering start to the race.
The Ethiopian was pushed ahead by his pace maker and compatriot Addisu Yihune at a pace of 2:38 minutes a kilometre. Kejelcha hit the ground fast and was seven seconds clear of Cheptegei after 3km.
“Between 5km and 6km, he (Cheptegei) sped up a bit. But then, he realised that he could not close the gap. And, he continued without pushing himself to the limit. He is happy how it was going,” added Ruiter.
Kejelcha ran solo for the greater part of the race and only slowed down towards the finish, after feeling some hip pain. He however, won in a time of 26:37, the third fastest 10K time in history.
Cheptegei’s finish was his third fastest individual time over the 10K and he knows he will need a little polishing before engaging gears at the World Cross-country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in a fortnight.
CHEPTEGEI AT A GLANCE
Date of birth: September 12, 1996
Major Races: 5000m, 10000m
Personal Bests: 5000m (12:35.36), 10000m (26:11.00), 21km (59:21)
Coach: Addy Ruiter
Manager: Jurrie van der Velden
Kit Sponsor: Nike
CHEPTEGEI IN 2024
Mar 16: Laredo 10K (2nd, 25:53)
CHEPTEGEI IN 2023
Dec 3: Valencia Marathon (37th, 2:08:59)
Aug 20: Budapest Worlds 10000m Final (1st, 27:51.42)
June 30: Lausanne DL (2nd, 12:41.61)
Jun 2: Florence DL (4th, 12:53.81)
Mar 19: New York Half-Marathon (2nd, 1:02:09)
Feb 18: World X-Country (3rd, 29:37)
CHEPTEGEI IN 2022
Dec 31: NN San Silvestre 10K (1st, 27:09)
Jul 24: Oregon Worlds 5000m Final (9th, 13:13.12)
Jul 21: Oregon Worlds 5000m Heat 1 (4th, 13:24.47)
Jul 17: Oregon Worlds 10000m Final (1st, 27:27.43)
May 27: Prefontaine Classic 5000m (1st, 12:57.99)
Mar 6: Cannes 10K (1st, 26:49)
WORLD ATHLETICS LABEL EVENT
LAREDO 10K - MEN’S RESULTS
1 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 26:37
2 Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 26:53
3 Addisu Yihune (ETH) 27:28
7 Naman Kipyeko (UGA) 28:42
