On August 2, 2024, Joshua Cheptegei won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race at the Paris Olympics. Cheptegei won in an Olympic record time of 26:43.14. In the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, he won silver in that same event.
“I can’t describe the feeling. I’ve wanted this for a long time. When I took silver in Tokyo 2020, I was disappointed. I just wanted to win the 10,000 meters,” Cheptegei said after his record-breaking feat at the Stade de France, according to Forbes Africa.
This latest achievement makes him the first Ugandan to be an Olympic champion in the longer distance. Also, he cements his name as Uganda’s undisputed Olympic king with three medals—two golds and a silver. Cheptegei won gold in the 5,000m in Tokyo.
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Born under an avocado tree in the village of Cheptendan, the Ugandan sprinter is one of nine children. His father was a teacher, while his mother was a peasant farmer. Although his parents had meager earnings, they supported his education.
He discovered his passion for running while in school. He initially trained at a free government facility before the private sector offered assistance. Jurrie van der Velden of the Netherlands, who co-founded the Global Sports Communication company that provided world-class coaching and training facilities, subsequently spotted him, according to NPR.
He made his debut as a 17-year-old when he beat 37 other competitors for the 10,000-meter gold medal during the 2014 World Junior Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA.
The Uganda Monitor reported that Cheptegei faced his greatest career challenge when he finished a distant 30th in the World Cross-country Championships in Uganda in 2017.
Despite the jeers, he won the silver medal behind Mo Farah of Great Britain during the London World Championships in England months later. In early 2018, Cheptegei won his first world titles—the 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals—ahead of Canadian Mohammed Ahmed during the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.
He continued his good form by winning the senior men’s World Cross-Country title in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2019, the 10,000-meter title at the Doha World Athletics Championships, and a 5,000-meter Diamond League trophy. He finished 2019 with the 10km world record (WR) mark in Valencia, Spain, according to the Ugandan Monitor.
Today, Cheptegei holds the 10,000-meter world record.
