Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei triumphed in the men’s Olympic 10,000m at the Stade de France on Friday, overcoming strategic surges by the Ethiopian team.
The three-time world champion and world record holder, who previously won silver at the Tokyo Games, set an Olympic record with a time of 26:43.14. This surpassed the previous record of 27:07.17 set by Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi narrowly secured silver with a time of 26:43.44, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of American Grant Fisher, who earned bronze. Fisher’s medal marked the first for the United States in the 10,000m since 1968.
The race saw an early surge after just two laps, led by defending champion Selemon Barega and Ethiopian teammate Yomif Kejelcha, which fragmented the field. Despite the pace set by the Ethiopian trio, the main pack held together.
Cheptegei and fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo faced a setback when their teammate Martin Magengo Kiprotich fell off the pace early on. As the race progressed, Aregawi and Kejelcha continued to push the tempo, reducing the main pack to 15 runners by the halfway mark.
With 10 laps remaining, Barega took the lead again, with Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed and Kenya’s Benard Kibet close behind. In the final stages, Aregawi led into the last kilometre, setting up a thrilling finish.
As the bell rang for the final 400 meters, Cheptegei surged to the front, maintaining his lead to win gold. Ahmed finished fourth, and Kibet took fifth place. Barega and Kejelcha finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with Ahmed missing out on a medal.
Cheptegei’s victory marked the first medal event at France’s national stadium in this Olympic cycle.
