Ugandan duo of Joshua Cheptegei and Oscar Chelimo have qualified for the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships.
Both running in the first heat, Chelimo came fastest in a time of 13:24.24 after a late kick on home straight.
Cheptegei comfortably came fourth in a time of 13:24.47, behind Grant Fisher and Selemon Barega of Ethiopia.
But the other Ugandan athlete, Peter Maru in heat Two, failed to go through despite impressing in earlier laps.
Maru clocked 13:47.65 to finish a lowly 14th in a faster heat two won by Kenyan Jacob Krop who beat Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
It was a brilliant race by Chelimo who could not hide his excitement after crossing the finish line.
He will be hoping to win Uganda a first senior medal having clinched bronze in 2018 at the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Chelimo’s excitement can be understood after failing to qualify to the final of the 5000m at the last World Championships in Doha.
Cheptegei on the other hand, will be a strong favourite for the medal come the final on Sunday morning after clinching gold at the 10,000m already.
He won gold at the 5000m at the Olympics last year in Tokyo.
