Perfect Joshua Cheptegei
Let’s Go Dancing. Cheptegei (left) and Kiplimo outwitted Ethiopian and Kenyan opponents to win gold and bronze me. PHOTO/AFP
What you need to know:
- National pride. Joshua Cheptegei delivered a masterclass of unpanicked front running to retain the men’s world 10,000m title in Oregon with Jacob Kiplimo striking Bronze.
There are now not enough superlatives to describe Joshua Cheptegei. Certainly, I now find it difficult to get newer words to headline his ever sweet scripts just like yesterday.
Cheptegei last night produced arguably his best tactical display on track to retain his 10000m title at the World Championships at the Hayward Field.
World record holder Cheptegei controlled the race for the longest spells and stamped his authority as the globe’s best long-distance runner to win the 25-lap race in a time of 27 minutes and 27.43 seconds in front of an ecstatic crowd at Sunday lunchtime here.
If one doubts that, here is the confirmation. Cheptegei has now won seven individual medals at the different global championships since the London 2017 Worlds. No one else comes close.
“It’s amazing,” he said moments after picking his medal – Uganda’s fourth gold at the Worlds. “It cements my dominance in the sport.”
Cheptegei relied on able compatriots Stephen Kissa and Jacob Kiplimo who finely mashed the field like boiled Irish potatoes ready for a weaning baby.
The perfect day for Uganda on the west coast was sealed as Kiplimo surged through from sixth place to secure a bronze medal in a time of 27:27.97 behind Kenyan Stanley Mburu.
“This is something special to me, this is now a very big achievement,” said the 21-year-old, who also won the 10000m bronze medal in Tokyo.
Kissa came 24th in 29:21.10.
Cheptegei ticked all boxes as desired with the first highlight achieving more silverware at Hayward, a venue where his career was birthed with the junior 10000m world title on July
“It’s spectacular to come here and do it again. It is something I really wanted to do,” he added. The second is earning sweet revenge on Ethiopian Selemon Barega, who beat him to the 10000m Olympic title in Tokyo on July 30, 2021.
Gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei of Team Uganda and bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo of Team Uganda celebrate after the Men's 10,000m Final on day three of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 17, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon.
Barega wasn’t given any breathing space. “I came to win the gold. I am disappointed but I take lessons from this,” the Ethiopian stated.
“I was not able to control the race, I was trying to catch up all the time.”
Sweet revenge earns Cheptegei Shs263m
Joshua Cheptegei earned Shs263m for retaining his 10000m world title at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon yesterday.
Cheptegei ran a 53.4-second final lap to gain a sweet revenge over Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, who beat him to Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. Back then, Barega did the final 400m in 53.9 seconds. This time, he came fifth.
The purse for this edition of the biennial event that was delayed by one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been increased from $7.53m to $8.49m.
Cheptegei got $60,000 for winning Gold in Doha, Qatar. There’s a $10,000 raise this year. Kiplimo gets $22,000 (Shs82m).
Prize money
Individual events
Position US Dollar UGX
Gold $70,000 260m
Silver $35,000 130m
Bronze $22,000 82m
4th place $16,000 60m
5th place $11,000 40m
6th place $7,000 26m
7th place $6,000 22m
8th place $5,000 18m
