By Spy Uganda
It was a moment of double joy for Uganda’s athlete Joshua Cheptegei who ended the year with a win in the 10km San Silvestre Vallecana competitions held on the streets of Spain Capital City, Madrid on Saturday.
Cheptegei won the competitions after running the 10 kilometer road for just 27 minutes and 9 seconds.
The Ugandan long runner is a world record holder in the 5000m and 10000m and Olympic 5000m gold medalist from Tokyo.
Cheptegei however failed to beat fellow Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo’s record of 26:39 from 2018, which, at the time, was the world record.
These were first competitions for Cheptegei after he got a knee problem in the 5000m final at the Oregon World Athletics Championships in July 2022.
Uganda’s Prisca Chesang won the women’s category after crossing the finishing line at 30:19.12 to defeat Rwanda’s Francine Niyonsaba who came second with 30:58.9. Beatrice Chepkoech from Kenya finished in the third position at 31:06.4.
Chesang, who recently emerged second in the National Cross Country Championships, said she faced stiff competition from world-class athletes Chepkoech and Niyonsaba who have been in the limelight for long, but endured following the successful preparations ahead of the race.
“It’s not easy to battle with such great names, but by God’s grace I was able to win them,” she said.
Addy Ruiter, Cheptegei and Chasang’s coach says, the performances exhibited by the two athletes from Uganda is a sign of great performances during the next cross-country competitions.
