In a surprising turn of events, two top Ugandan long-distance runners Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo have withdrawn from the upcoming 5000m race.
The race was due on Wednesday, August, 7.
According to Faustino Kiwa, the two athletes decided to pull out of the race after failing to recover, following the 10,000m race last week.
” This follows their failure to fully recover from the gruelling 10,000m race in which both athletes competed on Friday, August 2 2024. The event left them fatigued with leg and arm muscle pains. Efforts by the physio teams to resuscitate the athletes to their full normal form have not been successful” Kiwa said.
He noted that the coaching staff in consultation with the athletes, taking into consideration the coaching principle of “athlete first, winning second”, decided to withdraw them from the 5,000m to give them ample time to recover fully.
This now leaves Oscar Chelimo as the lone runner to keep flying the Ugandan flag high in the 5000m race tomorrow.
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