Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei overcame the intense tactics of the Ethiopian team to win gold in the men’s Olympic 10,000m at the Stade de France on Friday.
Cheptegei, the three-time world champion and world record holder who also won silver at the Tokyo Games, set an Olympic record with a time of 26:43.14.
This performance surpassed the previous record of 27:07.17 set by Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi claimed silver with a time of 26:43.44, narrowly edging out American Grant Fisher, who won bronze. Fisher’s bronze was the first for the United States in the 10,000m since 1968.
The race, which spanned 25 laps, saw the first major surge after just two laps, as defending champion Selemon Barega and Ethiopian teammate Yomif Kejelcha quickened the pace, splitting the field.
Despite the increased pace, all runners managed to stay in contention.
Aregawi took control as the Ethiopian trio continued to set the pace in front of a boisterous crowd of 69,000 at the Stade de France.
Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo faced a setback when Martin Magengo Kiprotich fell off early.
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Aregawi and Kejelcha raised the tempo again at the halfway point, reducing the main pack to 15 runners.
Barega regained the lead with 10 laps remaining, while Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed and Kenya’s Benard Kibet moved up to challenge Kejelcha.
As the race neared its final stages, Cheptegei and Fisher made significant progress through the pack.
In the last kilometer, Aregawi led the field, setting up an exciting finish.
Just before the final 400 meters, Cheptegei surged ahead, and the battle for the finish line intensified.
Ahmed followed closely, while Fisher recovered from a slow down to secure his medal.
Barega, however, could not match Cheptegei’s pace and finished seventh in 26:44.48, just behind Kejelcha.
Ahmed ended up in fourth place, with Kibet finishing fifth.
