PARIS, (Reuters) – World record holder Joshua Cheptegei claimed the Olympic 10,000 metres title he so desperately wanted on Friday when he found a late surge to win a fantastic race and take the Games’ first track gold. The 27-year-old Ugandan, who took silver in Tokyo and gold over 5,000m, produced a devastating last 600 metres to come home in 26:43.14 minutes – knocking 18 seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s 2008 Olympic record. Cheptegei, world champion in 2019, 2022 and 2023, was surprisingly beaten to gold by Ethiopian Selemon Barega in Tokyo and was desperate for revenge. When I took silver in Tokyo I was so disappointed. I just wanted to win the 10,000m.”

Source: Ethiopian News August 03, 2024 12:05 UTC