Joshua Cheptegei finally wins 10000m Olympic gold

Joshua Cheptegei has finally won the 10000m Olympic gold.

Cheptegei crossed the finish line of the purple track of Stade de France in an Olympic Record time of 26:43.14 to dethrone Selemon Barega.

It’s the first medal for Uganda at this year’s Olympics.

Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi settled for silver, crossing the finish line in 26:43.44.

Grant Fisher of the United States of America held off Mohammed Ahmed of Canada for bronze in a Season Best 26:43.46.

How the Race unfolded

Barega raced ahead in the second lap of the fast-paced race and swapped leads with his compatriots Yomif Kejelcha and Aregawi but Jacob Kiplimo and Martin Kiprotich kept close as Cheptegei was closely watching from behind the pack.

Cheptegei started to attack with 3km to go and was up in third place behind Ahmed and Kejelcha as he continued to seize up his challengers for gold and made his presence known.

The champion didn’t go right to the front but moved close enough to let his opponents know that he was not far behind.

As the 23rd lap came towards its end, the 27-year-old made his intention crystal clear as he raised his tempo and attacked with about 700m to go and he wasn’t to be stopped this time round as he was away and clear.

“I can’t describe the feeling,” Cheptegei said as quoted by World Athletics. “I’ve wanted this for a long time. When I took silver in Tokyo, I was disappointed. I wanted just to win the 10,000m.”