Athlete Cheptegei Joshua has yet again rose the Ugandan flag higher as he set another world record.
The Ugandan beat Kenenisa Bekele’s long held record in 10,000m that has been in place since 2005 by more than 6 seconds, doing the run in a time of 26:11.0.
This is Cheptegei’s third record-setting race of the year in four races.
The race was organized by his training group, NN Running Team at the NN Valencia World Record Day in Valencia, Spain on Wednesday (7th October 2020) night.
For this record attempt, the runners used Wavelight Technology, a new innovation that uses colored lighting set up along the inside rail of the track to enable athletes to target a specific pace. Pacers Matt Ramsden and Nicolas Kimeli guided Cheptegei through 1600 meters in 4:12, 3,000 meters in 7:52, and 5,000 meters in 13:07 as according to runnersworld.com.
Around 5,200 meters, Kimeli stepped off the track, leaving the remaining 4,800 meters up to the 2019 10,000-meter world champion.
Running alone for the second half of the race, Cheptegei stayed within range of the record while a small crowd of spectators in face masks cheered on the sidelines. With 12 laps to go, Cheptegei accelerated into consistent 62 second splits for each lap, indicating the world record was within range.
At the bell, Cheptegei mustered all of his remaining energy into the homestretch where he drove his arms for one final push into the finish, splitting 60 seconds for the last 400 meters. In 26 minutes and 11 seconds flat, the 24-year-old ran his way into history once again with a 37-second personal best.
Congratulations Joshua…..
“My ninteen years of staying under the same roof with you have been years of self realization, utmost growth and total bliss.” She wrote on her socials.