David GOMBE
Uganda’s legendary long distance runners Joshua Cheptegei finished ninth on his second try at the marathon in Tokyo on Sunday.
Cheptegei posted a new personal best of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds at the 42Km distance race in Tokyo Japan.
The Ugandan icon was returning to the city that made him an Olympic champion in 2021 when he smiled to the 5000m Olympic title at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Sunday’s race through the concrete jungle of Tokyo was Cheptegei’s second career marathon, following his 2:08:59 run in Valencia two years ago.
In 2024, Cheptegei focused on middle distances for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he won the 10,000m, a discipline he has claimed at three consecutive World Athletics Championships.
But with the Games in the rearview mirror, Cheptegei now plans to transition to 42.195km full-time.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele won the men’s Tokyo Marathon in a time of 2:03:23 while Sutume Asefa Kebede retained the women’s title in 2:16:31
