Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei ensured a thrilling return for competitive athletics on Friday as he shattered the much-vaunted 16-year-old 5,000m world record at the World Athletics Diamond League meet in Monaco.
Cheptegei’s astonishing display capped a warm welcome back for track and field for a season almost wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, with fellow world champions Noah Lyles and Karsten Warholm also shining on the track.
Lyles wore a black glove on his right hand and raised his fist at the start of the 200m to show his support for anti-racism protests.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In perfect conditions, with little wind and temperatures of 27°C, Cheptegei clocked 12 minutes, 35.36 seconds to shatter Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s previous best of 12:37.35, set in 2004.
“I’ve tried to improve on my speed,” said Cheptegei, smiling, when asked what he had been working on since his world gold medal showing in the 10,000m in Doha in September last year.
“It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year, because so many people are staying at home, but you have to stay motivated,” Cheptegei said.
“I pushed myself,” the Ugandan added. “I had the right staff with me, the right coach. I’m also usually based in Europe, but being based in Uganda with my family was actually great.”
Following exhibition events in Oslo and Zurich in June and July, the Diamond League meet in Monaco marked the start of the competitive season.
Meets in Eugene, Oregon; London; Paris; Rabat; Gateshead, England; and Shanghai have all been canceled because of the pandemic.
Running in front of a reduced capacity of 5,000 masked spectators in line with COVID-19 restrictions, music blared out as World Athletics debuted a “bespoke atmosphere creation system” to enhance the experience for the athletes, the spectators and the broadcast audience in the absence of a full crowd.
Warholm showed no sign of coronavirus-induced rustiness as he led from gun to tape to clock a meet record of 47.10 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles, the first time he has run the event since he won his second world title in Doha.
“It’s a great start,” the Norwegian said. “I’m happy to be back. It’s great seeing some audience ... competitors at my side.”
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