Men’s 10,000m
Ugandans: Joshua Cheptegei, Rogers Kibet & Joel Ayeko
Time: 7:25pm
Uganda’s iconic long distance runner Joshua Cheptegei will be going for Gold at the 10,000m on Sunday on Day Two of the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Cheptegei is a two-time defending champion of the event having won gold in 2019 Doha and 2022 Oregon.
And he will be hoping for a third gold medal in a row, a feat that has only been achieved by three Athletes.
The Ethiopian duo of Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele went on to win four, while Mo Farah won three in a row including in 2017 when Cheptegei settled for Silver.
Last year in Oregon, Cheptegei was in good company of country-mate Jacob Kiplimo who grabbed Bronze behind Kenya’s Stanley Mbulu.
Kiplimo has since pulled out of these championships after sustaining an injury during training at the start of this month in Kapchorwa.
That left Cheptegei as Uganda’s realistic chance of earning a medal in Budapest.
Cheptegei will have Rogers Kibet and Joel Ayeko and it will be interesting to see what can kind of team tactics Uganda have this time.
Cheptegei, however, might decide to make an early statement of intent and take a lead right from the word go, as he is known for burning down the field.
But Cheptegei will face stiff competition from the Ethiopian duo of Selemon Barega and Berihu Aregawi, the former beat him to Olympics Gold in Tokyo.
Aregawi has a World Leading time of 26:50.66 and will be eying a podium finish this time as well.
Bernard Kibet, Nicholas Kipkorir and Daniel Simiu make up a strong Kenyan team while Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed is another threat to Cheptegei’s much fancied Gold.
It’s also strong note that Cheptegei who is competing at his last World Championships, has not done a 25-lap event this year.
The 5000m and 10,000m World Record Holder will be concentrating on road events (Marathons) going forward after the Paris Olympics next year.
Day One Action:
Uganda’s Leonard Chemutai went through to the 3000m Steeplechase final after finishing fifth in Heat Two, clocking 8:24.74.
Winnie Nanyondo finished a poor 12th in Heat 4 of the 1500m in a time of 4:10.55, and missed out on a spot in the semifinals.
Abu Mayanja finished 12th in his Heat, clocking 3:38.15, to miss out on a place in the 1500m semifinal.
The duo of Sarah Chelangat (31:40.04) and Stella Chesang (32:38.90) came 10th and 16th respectively in the Women’s 10,000m final swept by Ethiopia.
