Uganda’s Cheptegei bounces back to clinch 5,000m gold
Agencies | Tokyo
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the world record holder, won the men’s 5,000 metres gold at the Olympics with a well-planned final push to add to his 10,000m silver from last week.
The 10,000m has been Cheptegei’s focus at recent major championships and he won the world title in 2019 but missed out on the Olympic gold to Ethiopian Selemon Barega over that distance in the first track event in Tokyo.
But he bounced back superbly on a balmy evening at the Olympic Stadium, timing his final dash to perfection in the 12-1/2 lap race to become the first Ugandan to win the event. “It’s really a great moment.
I made a small mistake and I was regretting (having) to become a silver medallist,” he said. “I came here to become an Olympic champion and my dream has been fulfilled today in a beautiful evening.”
The race for gold in the 5,000m was open this year in the absence of Britain’s Mo Farah, who did defend his titles from London in 2012 and the Rio Games five years back, having failed to qualify for the 10,000m.
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