Cheptegei withdraws from National cross country championship to concentrate on Monaco Run 2021

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Joshua Cheptegei has opted out of the National Cross Country Championships due this weekend in Tororo town to concentrate on his preparations for the Monaco Run 2021.

Cheptegei wants to break the 5 km world record he set at Monaco Hercules Run last year.

He set a record of 12 minutes and 51 seconds (12:51) on February 16, 2020, in Monaco after a brilliant display of solo running to break Kenenisa Bekele’s 5,000 meters world record of 12 minutes 35.36 seconds. He also destroyed the record of 12:37.35 that Bekele set in the Netherlands in 2004.

The Uganda Athletes Federation publicity secretary, Namayo Mawerere says the World champion will only participate in Monaco run on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at the 11th edition of the Monaco Run.

The Monaco Marathon or Monaco and the Riviera Marathon is a marathon run every year starting and finishing in Monaco. It crosses the border to France and Italy and goes along the coast to a turning point in Ventimiglia, Italy and back to Monaco.

However, there is also a 10 km race run entirely inside Monaco. Cheptegei’s withdraw from the National Cross country championships provides a field day for other elite runners and newcomers to showcase their performance ahead of the national team selection for the 2021 Africa Cross Country Championships.

Farida Wabutwa, runner from Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA says the withdraw of Cheptegei from the race will help young athletes like him to show the public that they can also run.

Faustino Kiwa, the organizing secretary of Uganda Athletics Federation says the absence of big athletes is a chance for the new athletes to prove themselves.

However, Ambrose Turanowa, a long-distance runner from Kabale says the absence of Cheptegei from the National cross country will rather affect the athletes who would have looked up to him to gauge their speed. He says many athletes wanted to see whether they can run-up to his level.

“I want to go run in Tororo 10km, I wanted to see him because he would help us test our speed, it is going to affect us but we wish Jacob Kiplimo participates because he is also a top-level athlete who can help us improve,” he said.

The National Cross Country Championship will be a big platform for long distance runners to test their ability since it’s the first championship to take place on the 2021 UFA season calendar. It comes after the cancellation of the first and second national trials, which affected the athletes preparing for both the Tokyo Olympics and the African Cross country championships that will take place in March in Togo.

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