Ugandan runner, Joshua Cheptegei and Ethiopian runner Letesenbet Gidey are the latest entries to the list of Africans doing us proud. The two athletes smashed the world running records earlier this week.
Joshua Cheptegei crossed the men’s 10,000 meters world record, while Letesenbet Gidey demolished the women’s 5,000m mark.
Joshua Cheptegei passed the finish line at the Turia stadium at a stunning time of 26 minutes 11.02 seconds to beat the previous record set in 2005 by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele by over 6 seconds. The achievement rounds up an amazing 12 months for Cheptegei, 24, who won the gold medal in the 10,000m at last year’s World Championships in Doha, and in August took Bekele’s 5,000m record at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Letesenbet Gidey shattered the world record, which previously stood for 12 years, at the NN Valencia World Record Day in Valencia, Spain. Her performance improved on the previous world record by Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008. By smashing the 5,000-meter world record, she continued the legacy of Ethiopian runners holding the fastest times.
