World athletics ratifies Cheptegei 10,000m World Record feat


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Ugandan star athlete Joshua Cheptegei is officially the 10,000m and 5000m world recorder holder after World Athletics on Sunday ratified his 10,000m record performance on 7 October.
 
Cheptegei clocked a time of 26:11.00 at the aptly named NN Valencia World Record Day, to smash Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele’s 15-year-old record by more than six seconds.
 
The 24 year old completed the majority of the 25 laps of the track in an average of less than 63 seconds apiece.
 
He was aided by pace setters through the first half in 13:07.73, before he  went at it alone over the final 12 laps before sealing it with a 60-second final lap.
 
“I wanted to show the sports lovers of the world that the track is exciting," stated Cheptegei, who became the 10th man to hold the 5000m and 10,000m world record concurrently.
 
He had 54 days earlier set the world 5000m record of 12:35.36 at the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on 14 August.
 
He took two seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s mark of 12:37.35, set 16 years earlier in Hengelo.
 
World Athletics then ratified that record on October 28. Amazingly, it was Cheptegei’s first race since setting a world 5km record on the roads on 16 February, also in Monaco.
 
Paced through the early stages by Roy Hoornweg (2:31.87 at 1000m) and Matthew Ramsden (5:03.77 at 2000m), Cheptegei, the reigning world cross country and 10,000m champion, took up the running at half way and continued the metronomic pace, churning out 61-second laps. He passed through 3000m in 7:35.14 and then upped the pace slightly with a 2:30 fourth kilometre.
 
The latest feat caps a fine year for Cheptegei who also finished fourth at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships on his debut over the distance in October.
 
He was earlier this month surprisingly beaten to the male athlete of the year award by Swedish vaulter Mondo Duplantis.
 

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Published: 12/14/2020