Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo have won silver and bronze medals respectively for Uganda in the men’s 10,000m final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Cheptegei clocked a Season Best 27:43.63 ahead of Kiplimo who clocked 27:43.88 in the epic event at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
Ethiopian Barega Selemon was the fastest on the track to win gold with a 27:43.22 finish.
However, there will be applause for Stephen Kissa who set the pace early at the beginning of the race. Kissa led from the start to set a platform for his Ugandan compatriots, and dropped out of the race after the 7000m mark.
Kenyans Rhonex Kipruto and Rodgers Kwemoi temporarily took over up to about 9000m before running out of steam. Ultimately, it was a sprint among Barega, Cheptegei and Kiplimo for the top step but the Ethiopian had more in his tank.
The two medals won by Cheptegei and Kiplimo are the first registered for Uganda at the global event.