Joshua Cheptegei looked as little exhausted as he did after a routine morning run. At the finish, the endurance specialist from Uganda pressed the wristwatch on his wrist – as if no one was stopping at his historic race. Then he smiled and spread his arms. The scoreboard showed 12: 35.36 minutes in the Stade Louis II in Monaco on Friday evening. With this, the 23-year-old improved the 5000-meter world record of the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele (12: 37.35) from 2004 when the Diamond League restarted.
The athletics scene was surprised that a runner emerged from lockdown with such a leap in performance. In his first competition after the Corona break, Cheptegei broke the 16-year-old record. 5000 spectators were even allowed into the arena and celebrated Africa’s new running star.
“It took me a lot of effort this year to keep my motivation while so many people had to stay at home. I forced myself to do it, I had the right team around me, the right coach, «said Cheptegei. “I usually train in Europe, but being with my family in Uganda was great.”
The 10,000 meter world champion in 2019 in Doha (Qatar) also used the crisis in his home country to do garden work with his grandparents and helped with renovation work at the local school: “It’s a primary school and I painted walls, among other things.”
At home in the Kapchorwa district on the border with Kenya, Cheptegei was soon able to run again with his training partners at an altitude of 1,800 meters after the easing – and in Monaco he then showed his splendid form: after half the distance he had no more pacemakers, ran his laps in times of around 60 seconds, however, undeterred.
The cross-country world champion had already set a world record in the 10-kilometer road race in Valencia in December, and then in February over half the distance – also in the Principality. “I think Monaco is a special place and one of those places where I can break the world record,” he said. “I really missed the competitions. It’s something I love, it’s in my blood. “
In Monaco, Norway’s top talent Jakob Ingebrigtsen also set a European record with 3: 28.68 minutes over 1500 meters. The 19-year-old broke the British Mo Farah’s mark in 2013.
He had already announced earlier that Cheptegei wanted to break the decades-long dominance of the Kenyans and Ethiopians on the long haul. “My goal is to dominate the track in the next five to six years,” said the protégé of the Dutch coach Addy Ruiter. The next thing he wants to do is attack the 10,000 meter world record. Bekele has also held this position since 2005 with 26: 17.53.
It must have been a bitter evening for the successor to Ethiopia’s running legend Haile Gebrselassie. The three-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion wanted to be the first track and field athlete to simultaneously hold the world records in 5000 meters, 10,000 meters and in the marathon. But he’s already 38, and now there’s a 23-year-old from Uganda who doesn’t seem to know any borders. dpa / nd
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