Ugandan gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei and Ethiopian silver medalist Belihu Aregawi, left, after the men’s 10,000m final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Saint-Denis on Friday. ) and bronze medalist Grant Fisher of the United States, France.
Peter David Joseph/AP
hide title
Switch title
Peter David Joseph/AP
PARIS — Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei improved to silver and set a new Olympic record in the 10,000 meters on Friday night.
Cheptegei, the world record holder in the event, shaved more than 18 seconds off the record set by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Cheptegei, 27, grew up looking up to four-time Olympic medalist Bekele.
“Just 16 years ago, this feeling was born in me when I was watching Kenenisa Bekele’s great victory in Beijing,” he said after the game. “I said, one day, one day, I want to be an Olympic champion.”
Cheptegei’s world record of 26 minutes and 11 seconds set in 2020 remains unchanged. He has been chasing the gold he wants in Tokyo, but the silver has been disappointing.
“I can’t describe the feeling,” he said after the game. I’ve wanted this for a long time.
He has this message for the next generation: “Young boys are watching in Uganda. You can achieve it, believe in yourself, because when you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t achieve it in life.
Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia won the silver medal with a time of 26 minutes and 43.44 seconds. In fact, all of the top 13 runners exceeded the previous Olympic record.
Grant Fisher added to Team USA’s medal tally with a bronze medal in a season-best time of 26 minutes, 43.46 seconds.
The last time an American medaled at the event was in 2012 when Galen Rupp won silver in London.
Ten thousand meters is not America’s specialty. Only two other Americans went the distance to win an Olympic medal: Lewis Tewanima, who won silver in 1912, and Billy Mills, who won gold in 1964.
