Cheptegei, Kiplimo go for 10000m gold

The gold medal on offer is the first athletics’ silverware on offer from track at the Paris 2024 Games and this is what Cheptegei wants to seal his classic legacy.

It is the only medal missing from Cheptegei’s cabinet. The 27-year-old missed out on the gold during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan three years ago.

That relatively slow race inside the empty Tokyo Stadium was won by Ethiopian Selemon Barega with Cheptegei taking silver and Kiplimo grabbing the bronze after a late reaction in an eventful final lap.

Cheptegei picked himself up and won the 5000m Olympic gold but his glass still remained half-empty. “I did not leave the Games’ Village as a happy man,” Cheptegei said in a recent interview.

“There are some things that should have gone right. The 2020 Olympic Games was a huge success for me, but my dream here (Paris) is to win the 10000 metres. That is my favourite distance.

“For Paris, I have learnt my lessons and I know when to go for it,” added the 27-year-old. Since Tokyo, Cheptegei has retained his world 10000m title twice, beating Barega and the Ethiopian folk at the Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023 editions in the USA and Hungary respectively.

Cheptegei has huge backing of compatriot Kiplimo, with whom they arrived together with Peruth Chemutai in the Team Uganda camp in the Games Village here on Tuesday.

Since Tokyo, Kiplimo’s CV has grown ten-fold, adding a 10000m bronze from the Oregon Worlds, the 5000m and 10000m titles from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Kiplimo missed the Budapest show last August due to an acute injury problem; he returned to retain his World Cross-country title in Belgrade, Serbia on March 30.

In April however, Kiplimo survived an accident after his car swerved off a rough muddy road. “I would like to reassure everyone that I’m ok and I did not face any consequences,” the 23-year-old said then.

Kiplimo was further encouraged by producing a personal best (PB) of 12 minutes and 40.96 seconds despite finishing fourth over the 5000m during the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway on May 30.

However, the race in Oslo seemed to leave Cheptegei under a lot of scrutiny. He finished ninth in that race won by Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet in 12:36.73, the second fastest time ever.

Since then, Cheptegei has gone low-key. Individuals around him acknowledge he took a sabbatical off social media platform WhatsApp to focus on training. And the pressure therein can be felt. Paris is offering him the last chance to win the 10000m Olympic gold.

In Ugandan sport though, there is no athlete who knows how best to bounce back from failure like him. And some 60 days later after Oslo, Cheptegei will walk onto the light purple tartan tonight as a redefined man.

“I see he is on the level of 2020, the year that he was running the world records from the five and 10000m,” his coach Addy Ruiter said before arriving in Paris.

“You know that the gold medal in the Olympics in the 10000m is the only medal he has never won. So that is really his motivation,” the Dutchman Ruiter added.

In Tokyo, the race was terribly slow due to the high humidity conditions. Stephen Kissa, Cheptegei's supposed pacer in the race, turned out inefficient. Barega did a final lap of 53.94 seconds to win in 27:43.22, the slowest winning time of the event since the Barcelona 1992 Games in Spain.

A field of 27 men has been entered and the battle debate has been skewed to a Uganda - Ethiopia affair. Cheptegei and Kiplimo come up against Barega, Yomif Kejelcha and Berihu Aregawi.

Kejelcha, a 10000m silver medalist behind Cheptegei at the 2019 Doha Worlds in Qatar, is the fastest this year over the distance with a time of 26:31.01.

Aregawi has a personal best of 26:46.13 and he won silver behind Kiplimo on the tough terrain in Belgrade. But, Kenya, which has not won this Olympic title in 56 years, can’t be overlooked either.

Daniel Mateiko who won Kenya’s trial race in a PB of 26:50.81 in Eugene, USA as well as world 5km bronze medalist Nicholas Kipkorir will all want to have a say.

American Grant Fisher, who finished fifth behind Aregawi in Tokyo, and Canadian Mohammed Ahmed are in the fray too.

The Olympic record mark is at 27:01.17 by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele back at the Beijing 2008 Games in China and Cheptegei will attempt to lower it with a final lap of about 53 seconds, if conditions favour that too.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS - TEAM UGANDA SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, AUG 2 - ATHLETICS: DAY 1

10:20pm: Joshua Cheptegei, Jacob Kiplimo, Martin Kiprotich (Athletics - Men’s 10000m Final)

UGANDAN MEN IN 10000M AT THE OLYMPICS

Tokyo 2020: Joshua Cheptegei (2nd, 27:43.63), Jacob Kiplimo (3rd, 27:43.88), Stephen Kissa (DNF)

Rio 2016: Joshua Cheptegei (6th, 27:10.06), Moses Kurong (22nd, 28:03.38), Timothy Toroitich (23rd, 28:04.84)

London 2012: Moses Kipsiro (10th, 27:39.22), Thomas Ayeko (16th, 27:58.96)

Beijing 2008: Boniface Kiprop (10th, 27:27.28)

Athens 2004: Boniface Kiprop (4th, 27:25.48), Wilson Busienei (11th, 28:10.75)