Joshua Cheptegei reminded his motherland and the globe of his prowess in elite long-distance running after he returned to the national kit to earn a podium finish during the second World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sunday.
Cheptegei had not competed at a major championship since winning the 10000 metres gold medal inside the Stade de France during the Paris 2024 Olympics but the prolific runner powered to a historic individual bronze medal over the men’s 21km event.
‘This is my first medal on the road and I feel so happy,’ Cheptegei said during the flash interview after posting a time of 58 minutes and 26 seconds behind race winner Swede Andreas Almgren and runner-up Kenyan Nicholas Kipkorir.
It marked Uganda’s first medal in the World Athletics Road Running Championships’ history and the country’s only piece of silverware over two days of competition on the Copenhagen streets.
‘To come here to Copenhagen and represent my country is very important to me. This race was part of my preparations towards the marathon in a few weeks’ time,’ Cheptegei remarked.
The 30-year-old is arguably the greatest long-distance track runner after he scooped the men’s 5000 metres and 10000 metres’ world records (WRs), two Olympic titles and a three-peat over the 25-lap race at the World Athletics Championships.
Road to marathon
However, since fully switching to marathon running after Paris’ delight, Cheptegei hadn’t struck it right on the road with no 42km win yet and at a personal best of two hours, four minutes and 52 seconds.
Sunday’s race in Copenhagen was only his fifth half-marathon and he shattered the 59-minute barrier to improve his personal best (PB) by 55 seconds.
And on a more personal aspect, Cheptegei joined Jacob Kiplimo as the only Ugandans to win at least medal in every major global championship they have featured in.
The duo has medalled at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and at all the different World Athletics events from the main Championships, U20, Cross-country and now Road Running.
‘I have made good progress, and since I won the Olympic medals in Paris, I decided to aim for the podium at these Championships,’ said Cheptegei.
The race also comprised other Ugandans; Feb Chelegoi who came 43rd in 1:02:08, Mande Bushendich was 56th in 1:02:43 while Martin Kiprotich crossed the finish-line four places later in 1:03:00.
In the race though, Cheptegei kept strapped at the back of the lead 14-man group which broke away by the eighth kilometre under the bright Copenhagen sun.
By 10km, Kipkorir was already dictating proceedings ahead in a time of 27:53 and Cheptegei was two seconds adrift in ninth in the group.
Seven minutes and 2.8km later, the group was down to about six men but in the 15th kilometre, Cheptegei got ahead of another Kenyan Gideon Rono to fourth while ahead, Almgren and Ethiopian Tadese Worku were pursuing Kipkorir.
Cheptegei made his move to dislodge Worku in the 17th kilometre but the 10000 metres 2025 world bronze medallist Almgren and Kipkorir maintained a small gap over the Ugandan.
Facing the home stretch, the pair fully peeled away from Cheptegei. ‘During the race, I struggled a bit with my left foot, which I hurt 10 days ago, but I had a good treatment, and I only felt a little pain during the race,’ Cheptegei described his race.
‘Towards the finish line, I didn’t feel any pain. All these guys are so fast, and the top 10 are great, so winning a bronze medal is very satisfying for me,’ he added.
Inside the last the 200 metres, Almgren eventually kicked and went past Kipkorir to post an area record of 58:06 while the Kenyan took silver in 58:11.
Other runners
Prior to the men’s race, Kenyan Agnes Ngetich had produced a women’s only 21km WR in a time of 1:05:15 to add to her women’s global cross-country title won in Florida, USA in January.
Ngetich beat the field by a margin of 50 seconds with Kenyan Veronica Loleo and Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru completing the podium. Uganda’s best finisher was Esther Chebet in tenth place in 1:07:38 while Rebecca Chelangat was 12th, Annet Chemengich in 35th and Esther Chekwemoi in 63rd.
On Saturday in 5km events, Cheptegei’s understudy Keneth Kiprop posted 13:04 in fifth place and Alex Kiplangat was 30th after Eritrean Dawit Seare had stunned Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the gold medal.
In the women’s event, Charity Cherop was 11th and Martha Chemutai finished 19th but the gold was won by in-form Ethiopian Likina Amebaw in 14:41.
CHEPTEGEI’S MEDAL CABINET
WORLD ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPS
Oregon 2014: Men’s 10000 Metres Gold
WORLD ATHLETICS ROAD RUNNING CHAMPS
Copenhagen 2026: Men’s 21km Bronze
WORLD ATHLETICS CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPS
Aarhus 2019: Men’s 10km Gold
Bathurst 2023: Men’s 10km Bronze
WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPS
London 2017: Men’s 10000 Metres Silver
Doha 2019: Men’s 10000 Metres Gold
Oregon 2022: Men’s 10000 Metres Gold
Budapest 2023: Men’s 10000 Metres Gold
SUMMER OLYMPICS
Tokyo 2020: Men’s 10000 Metres Silver
Tokyo 2020: Men’s 5000 Metres Gold
Paris 2024: Men’s 10000 Metres Gold
CHEPTEGEI IN HALF-MARATHONS
Sept 20, 2026: World Road Running Champs (3rd, 58:26)
Feb 8, 2026: Burj 2 Burj Half-Marathon (1st, 59:26)
Oct 20, 2024: Delhi Half Marathon (1st, 59:46)
Mar 19, 2023: New York Half-Marathon (2nd, 1:02:09)
Oct 17, 2020: World Half-Marathon (4th, 59:21)