Marathon: a little joke with Cheptegei

Only the resounding success of Eliud Kipchoge in the under-two-hour marathon in Vienna’s Prater on October 12 has overshadowed the season. Ugandan explosion Joshua Cheptegei, A runner whose display places him as a potential natural successor to the official and unofficial 42 kilometer record holder.

Cheptegei says that his father ran after the cows, “so that they would not be stolen from him, hence the hobby. The cow is a desirable totem of the Horn of Africa, a thousand year old life preserver, can be used in the tail. Herd size is important in this part of the world and continues to determine prestige. Tradition rules: Eliud Kipchoge has owned Eldoret Farm since his triumphant debut at the Hamburg Marathon six years ago, and Jeffrey Kammouror (with three wins in New York) 14 Friesian, “Ferrari dairy cows” say kalenjines.

Rich people in the Rift Valley are about the signs and times that pass as intensely as they do about how much to feed their cabin needs, or the gallons of milk produced by black and white spotted cattle. Cheptegei, also kalejín and despite family traditions, is, for the time being, the exception.

Not Kenyan, not Ethiopian, or Eritrean

The Ugandan ended his best season ever last Sunday in Valencia with a new world record of 10km on the road, after winning the cross-country world champion title in March, and the 10,000m at the World Cup in Doha. He is neither Kenyan, nor Ethiopian, nor Eritrean. At 23, he aims to occupy the empty throne of Kingchoge in the near future, who will turn 36 in 2020. He is not the only one, but his appearance expands the boundaries of the fertile East African quarry.

If no new setbacks appear, Cheptegei will be the top favorite for gold in Tokyo in the 10,000 metres. In order to obtain this condition, the second of nine siblings, the only runner in the family, had previously suffered an ordeal of hardships and injuries, which he resolved by investing his first profits in engineering rather than livestock.

track master

In 2017, Cheptegei spent his savings (30 thousand euros) on building a gravel track on ferretite. To withstand the rain at Kapchorwa, on the slopes of Mount Elgon, a dormant volcano on Uganda’s border with Kenya. Flat track in such rough terrain avoids injury, and is the best investment for a sporting career that promises to be a long and successful one. But after overcoming the physical obstacle, Cheptegei also faced with courage and determination his greatest sporting disappointment.

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At the end of March 2017, the Ugandan runner starred in a dramatic finish that is more like a marathon than a 12km cross-country event. The FIFA World Cup was held in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on a very hot day. Cheptegei, encouraged by his compatriots, set a suicidal pace right from the start and reached a fantastic last kilometer. The crowd was cheering him and already celebrating his victory when the young Ugandan athlete, then 21, collapsed from a drought and made it to the finish line as best he could, finishing 30th.

Ugandan Prime Minister Yoweri Museveni had the bliss of comfort for the unfortunate athlete, but it didn’t excuse him from jokes, memes and even harsh criticism in the local media. Cheptegei didn’t wrinkle, he finished building his track and after two years disowned himself by winning the Cros World Cup against expectations It was held last March in Aarhus (Denmark) to facilitate Uganda’s first win over Kenya and Ethiopia since the cross-country World Cup kicked off in 2002. Little joke since that day, just congratulations and a new contract with NNRT, the club he shares with Kipchoge and Kamworor, another candidate to succeed Kapcherop philosopher.