TOKYO: Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the world record holder, won the men’s 5,000m gold at the Tokyo Olympics today to add to his 10,000m silver from last week.
The 24-year-old set the pace early in the 12-and-a-half-lap race but was soon overtaken by a host of his competitors on a balmy evening at the Olympic Stadium.
But with about 600m remaining he found a different gear to surge past the pack and retake the lead to win in 12:58.15s.
Mohammed Ahmed of Canada clinched the silver while American Paul Chelimo claimed the bronze medal with a season’s best time of 12:59.05s, falling over the line after struggling at the end.