Uganda’s Long-Distance Stars: Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo Withdraw from the 5000m at Paris 2024

Uganda’s long-distance stars, Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, will not compete in the 5000m race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Uganda Athletics Federation has confirmed.

In a brief statement, Faustino Kiwa, Head Coach of the Uganda Athletics Team, explained that both athletes were left exhausted after the 10,000m race and were unable to recover in time for the 5000m preliminaries scheduled for Wednesday.

“I wish to inform Ugandans that our heroes Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo have been officially withdrawn from the 5,000m race due on Wednesday 7th August 2024. This follows their failure to fully recover from the grueling 10,000m race in which both athletes competed on Friday 2nd August 2024”,reads part of Kiwa’s statement.

Kiwa’s statement continues: “The event left them fatigued with legs and arm muscle pains. Efforts by the Physio Teams to resuscitate the athletes to their full normal form has not been successful. The Coaching staff in consultation with the athletes, taking into consideration the coaching principle “athlete first, winning second”, decided to withdraw them from the 5,000m to give them ample time to fully recover.”

This development is a significant blow for Team Uganda, as many fans had hoped to see the duo secure gold and silver in the 5000m, especially with Cheptegei being the defending champion, having won the race three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, Oscar Chelimo stands as the sole representative for Uganda in the 5000m race.

With the withdrawal of Cheptegei and Kiplimo, Uganda’s hopes in the 5000m rest on Oscar Chelimo, who is Kiplimo’s cousin. Chelimo arrived at the games village on Sunday, having only prepared for the 5000m, thus avoiding the prolonged stay in Paris’s humid conditions before his race.