PARIS 2024: Cheptegei secures Uganda’s fifth gold 🥇

Placings of athletics men’s 10,000m final at Paris Olympics

1. Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda , 26:43.14 OR 🥇
2. Berihu Aregawi, Ethiopia , 26:43.44 🥈
3. Grant Fisher, United States , 26:43.46 SB 🥉
4. Mohammed Ahmed, Canada, 26:43.79 SB
5. Benard Kibet, Kenya, 26:43.98 PB
6. Yomif Kejelcha, Ethiopia, 26:44.02
7. Selemon Barega, Ethiopia, 26:44.48
8. Jacob Kiplimo, Uganda, 26:46.39 SB
9. Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Spain, 26:49.49 NR
10. Adriaan Wildschutt, South Africa, 26:50.64 NR

PARIS, France | Xinhua | Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei saw off illustrious rivals from Ethiopia and Kenya to take give his country first gold in the 10,000 meters in Friday’s only medal event at Paris 2024.

Emerging at the head of a congested pack with two laps to go, Cheptegei had just enough left in the tank to emerge victorious in an Olympic record time of 26:43.14.

Cheptegei’s gold medal is Uganda’s first at Paris 2024, and only the country’s fifth gold since their first appearance at the Olympics in 1956.

“When I took silver in Tokyo, I was disappointed. I wanted just to win the 10,000m. This is the most special day for me,” the 27-year-old also encouraged the young people in Uganda to pursue their own dream. “You can achieve it.”

With Ethiopia having won five of the last seven Olympic men’s 10,000m races, there were high hopes for the likes of Berihu Aregawi, Yomif Kejelcha and defending champion Selemon Barega.

Though the three traded the lead in the earlier stages of the race, Barega and Kejelcha faded to finish outside the top three, while Aregawi just failed to pip Cheptegei to the line in a dramatic final lap, losing out by just 0.3s.

Rounding out the medal places was the United States’ Grant Fisher, who claimed bronze with the season’s best time of 26:43.46.

Further down the field, local hero Jimmy Gressier had taken an early lead, much to the delight of the capacity crowd at the Stade de France, and the Frenchman ultimately placed 13th with a national record of 26:58.67.

In the women’s 100m qualifiers, favorites Sha’carri Richardson of the U.S. and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce both progressed into the semifinals with minimal fuss, with the fastest time being set by Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou Smith in a season’s best 10:87.

Elsewhere, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon underlined her status as the favorite for the women’s 5,000m, setting the fastest qualifying time of 14:57.56 ahead of Monday’s final.

Friday’s Paris 2024 athletics action saw a new world record set by the United States in the 4x400m mixed relay heats at the Stade de France on Friday evening.

The U.S. quartet of Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown set a new benchmark time of 3:07.41, shaving more than a second off the previous record set by the U.S. at last year’s World Championships.

Joining the U.S. in Saturday’s final will be France, Belgium, Jamaica, Poland, Britain, the Netherlands and Italy.

Men’s shot put qualifiers saw Leonardo Fabbri make the longest throw of 21.76m. The Italian will likely face stiff competitions from the U.S. trio of Payton Otterdahl, Joe Kovacs and world record holder Ryan Crouser in Saturday’s final.

The men’s hammer throw qualifiers were dominated by Canada, whose Rowan Hamilton and Ethan Katzberg topped both qualification groups, while in the women’s discus, the U.S.’s Valerie Allman made the longest throw of 69.59m, over four meters more than the others’ results.

In the women’s triple jump, Cuba’s Leyanis Perez Hernandez qualified with the longest leap of 14.68m, ahead of Jamaica’s Shaneika Ricketts and Jasmine Moore of the U.S., while some tightly-contested women’s high jump qualifiers saw six competitors clear the bar at 1.95m.

A busy program of athletics on Saturday will see medals awarded in men’s shot put, women’s triple jump, 4x400m mixed relay, women’s 100m and men’s decathlon events. ■