TOKYO 2020: Kipruto leads Kenyan trio in chase for Olympic 10,000m gold

The day-one highlight of the track and field competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo that kicked off on Friday 30 July 2021 morning is the men’s 10,000 m where Kenya are banking on 2018 World Under-20 champion Rhonex Kipruto, 2016 World Under-20 10,000m champion Rogers Kwemoi and Weldon Kipkurui. 

Three-time world half marathon champion and former world record holder, Geoffrey Kamworor was replaced by Kipruto following a nagging ankle injury sustained last year after he was hit by a motorbike. 

“I had counted my losses after the trials and was doing minimal training just to stay fit but in the last three days, I have had to get mentally prepared for the task ahead. I have little time in Tokyo to acclimatize before my race but we will work on a strategy as soon as I get there,” said 2019 World bronze medalist ahead of his departure to Tokyo on Tuesday, 27 July. 

Kipruto was part of the leading pack during the national trials alongside Kamworor and Kwemoi but pulled out of the race with five laps remaining. 

“I know the competition is stiff but for a start, I am glad my Covid-19 tests came back negative. Between now and race day I now work on strategy. My target is to reach the podium and with a good team strategy we can do better,” said Kipruto. 

The Olympics race features a field truly worthy of an Olympic final and most of the top contenders are runners who should be around for a while. Haile Gebrselassie owned the 90’s Mo Farah the ’10s and now the question is who takes the mantle from Farah. 

Tokyo 2020: Kwemoi, Kipkurui carrying Kenya’s hopes of breaking 53-year duck

World record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda is 24 and he’s older than most of the other contenders. Half marathon world champ Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda and Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi are 20. Ethiopian trials champ Selemon Barega is 21, as is Kenya’s Kipruto. 2019 silver medalist Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia is 23 while Kwemoi is 24. Of the medal contenders, only Canada’s Moh Ahmed, 30, is close to what you might call “old.” 

Uganda’s Cheptegei took silver at Worlds in 2017, then upgraded to gold in 2019. He is the reigning World Cross Country champion. He ran world records in both the 5,000 (12:35) and 10,000 (26:11) last year.

Cheptegei’s countryman, Kiplimo, finished just four seconds back of Cheptegei at World XC in 2019 but missed Worlds on the track that year due to injury. Kiplimo didn’t break any world records last year, but he showcased ridiculous range by running personal bests of 7:26, 12:48, and 57:37 and beating Cheptegei in their only head-to-head matchup at the World Half (a race Kiplimo won). So Kiplimo has a faster 3k PB (from a race where he outkicked 1500 stud Jakob Ingebrigtsen) and is better than Cheptegei in the half marathon.       

Last month, at the Ethiopian trials in Hengelo, 2019 Worlds 10k silver medalist Kejelcha ran 26:49.73, closing in 4:05 for his final 1600 and 52 seconds for his last lap. That was only good enough for second behind 2019 Worlds 5k silver medalist Barega, who also ran a 52-second last lap to win in 26:49.51. If either of those men can replicate that performance in Tokyo, they will have a great shot at gold, provided, of course, they can defeat the other. Of course, the weather in Hengelo was a lot cooler than what it will be in Tokyo.   

 Additional reporting by LetsRun