Olympic Men’s 10K — Cheptegei Leads 13 Under OR

IN A THRILLING RACE that may be remembered as the most competitive 10,000 ever, Joshua Cheptegei seized the gold as a stunning 13 men left the Olympic Record shredded in their wake. Patience was key for the 27-year-old Ugandan, winner of the last three Worlds at the distance, who had stayed in the back for most of the distance, passing halfway in 15th place (13:26.0).

That choice made Cheptegei immune to the surging tactics of the Ethiopians, Berihu Aregawi, Yomif Kejelcha and Selemon Barega, who electrified the front end with a tempo of 63s and 64s as they tagged in and out. Behind them, America’s Grant Fisher held to a steady pace, staying for the most part in 3rd or 4th.

Aregawi led past 5K as the clock read 13:23.07, a simmering pace that shook almost no one, the pack still numbering 17. Two laps later, Fisher had a scare as he stepped on the rail and nearly went down: “I got clipped up, stumbled, stepped on the rail and managed to stay up.”

The tenor of the race changed on the 20th lap, when the Ethiopians drastically slowed the pace to a 69 and discussed how to approach the final laps. That bunched the 13-man pack and inspired others to challenge. Canada’s Mo Ahmed took it past 8000 in 21:33.5, before Kejelcha retook the lead, Cheptegei finally moving near the front.

The final laps became a no-holds-barred tactical contest, almost unthinkable at such a fast pace. Ahmed went to the lead again, but the Ethiopians came back at him. It wasn’t until 9400 that Cheptegei finally stormed to the front. He led at the bell, with Kejelcha and Aregawi side-by-side in 2nd, followed by Ahmed, with Fisher and Jacob Kiplimo fighting for 5th. With all in full flight at 200 to go, Fisher, then in 4th, moved to launch his sprint but had to check his stride as Kiplimo blocked his route.

Cheptegei hit the straight with a 2-meter lead and stormed to the finish in a new Olympic Record 26:43.14. Fisher got around Kiplimo on the turn and ran down his former training mate Ahmed. The fastest sprint of all was Aregawi’s. The 22-year-old 2-time World Cross runner-up had been boxed and was only 6th with 100 to go. He flew past Kejelcha and Ahmed and nipped Fisher by just 0.02 for the silver.

Never before had so many broken 27:00 in the same race. Cheptegei, the Tokyo ‘21 silver medalist who said he is in World Record…