Enjoy Cheptegei while you can

It is over a decade now since Joshua Cheptegei announced himself on the world’s biggest stage when he claimed gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships.

He has since stayed at the pinnacle despite facing some challenges and falling behind in races sometimes.

As a long-distance runner, Cheptegei has kept evolving his game as each year passed, to the extent that his performances have been improving both at the Olympic and world finals.

At the 2015 Beijing World Championships, Cheptegei finished 9th in the men’s 10,000 meters then secured silver in 2017 London. 

Cheptegei then achieved an incredible feat by winning three consecutive gold medals in 2019 Doha, 2022 Eugene and 2023 Budapest.

All athletes that have reached the summit have worked incredibly hard to have the best winning strategies and take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself but there are three core things they tend to do to stand out and consistently make it to the podium.

Firstly, working meticulously hard at every tiny detail, secondly, avoiding any destruction, and getting enough sleep. 

Cheptegei’s world records are courtesy of the aforementioned fundamentals.

Cheptegei’s ultimate aim has been to give himself the best chance of winning each race and medal and mastering different aspects of running to beat his opponents. 

There have been many comparisons between Cheptegei and the likes of Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Eluid Kipchonge, Gabriele Hailleselasaie, you name it. 

However, after winning gold in the 10,000m with a time of 26:43:14 at the Paris Olympic Games, Cheptegei set a new Olympic record taking off 18 seconds of Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele mark at the 2018 Beijing Games. 

The lung-bursting 600-meter run that saw Cheptegei separate himself from the rest of the glory-chasing pack, showed how much he had grown in confidence in his winning strategy and no one great athlete out there would beat him at his game.

That approach made Cheptegei a track legend.

He might not be a four-time Olympic champion like his idol Kenenisa Bekele but winning a gold medal at a packed Stade de France and at the Olympic games where so much history has been made, makes him an underdog that defied the odds.

Cheptegei’s retirement from track and finishing as the highest world ranking (1st) in 10,000m is a defining moment in his career.
As he seeks new challenges as he stated, there is still more we can enjoy from Cheptegei while he is still here.