Can Chelimo deliver a medal from the 5000m race?

After making the finals of the 5000m race on Wednesday Oscar Chelimo noted that all the work he had invested in training had paid off and that his Olympics outing had officially begun.

As he goes into today’s final (Saturday) at the Stade de France he must now pull out all the stops and grant himself a chance of winning at least a medal from the event from which Joshua Cheptegei won gold in the 2020 Tokyo games.

Following the withdrawal of Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo from the race due to injury Chelimo is now the sole torch bearer in the event that has several stars waiting to pounce.

Some of the big names in the race include Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary and Belgian Isaac Kimeli.

Others are Grant Fisher (USA), Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya), Dawit Seare (Eritrea) and Addisu Yihune from Ethiopia among others

He finished fifth in his qualifying heat but he promised to do better in today’s decider.

“I’m happy to have qualified for the finals. Now I’m going to lay a strategy of doing better but qualifying first was important,” Chelimo said.

Unlike in the heats, Chelimo expects a fast race so that he can strategise better for silverware.

Chelimo is determined to do the best for himself and for the country at the Paris Olympics. “I will not promise much but I will do the best for myself and the country,”

Sixteen athletes will contest the final on Saturday night.

The government of Uganda through the NCS and UOC facilitated Team Uganda to the games with additional support from Plascon and Sanlam Insurance.