Ugandan athletes Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo paired up Friday to earn the country it’s first ever double medals in the Olympics men’s 10000m final.
Joshua Cheptegei put up a spirited last minute run to catch up with the eventual men’s 10000m final winner, Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega.
Barega, 21, timed his last-lap sprint to perfection to win the first athletics gold of the Games in 27min 43.22sec.
Cheptegei claimed silver in 27:43.63 with teammate Jacob Kiplimo taking bronze in 27:43.88 as Uganda registered its maiden medals at the summer games.
Another Ugandan, Stephen Kissa pulled out of the race just over 19 minutes for reasons yet to be known.
UPDATE: Uganda’s Stephen Kissa pulls out of the men’s 10000m final after close to 19 minutes during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 30, 2021. #MonitorSport #MonitorUpdates
📸AFP pic.twitter.com/EAx00vUg69
– Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) July 30, 2021
#Details to follow..