Chelimo qualifies for the men's Olympic 5000m final in Paris
Following the withdrawal of Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo from the race due to injury Chelimo is now the sole torch bearer in the event from which Cheptegei bagged gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Oscar Chelimo (left) crosses the line during heat 2 of the men's 5000m race at the Stade de France, August 7, 2024. Photo by Michael Nsubuga
NewVision Reporter
@NewVision
On Wednesday morning, Oscar Chelimo kept Uganda’s hopes of winning an Olympic medal in the men’s 5000m race alive after he qualified for the finals in one of the two qualifying heats at the Stade de France.
Following the withdrawal of Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo from the race due to injury Chelimo is now the sole torch bearer in the event from which Cheptegei bagged gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Running in heat 2, Chelimo clocked 13:52.46 to finish fifth and qualify for the final alongside Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen who won the heat in 13:51.59, Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary (13.51.82) and Belgian Isaac Kimeli (13:52.18).
Others included Grant Fisher (USA), Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya), Dawit Seare (Eritrea) and Addisu Yihune from Ethiopia.
“I’m delighted to qualify for the final because everyone wants to be in there. Now I’m going to lay a strategy of doing better but qualifying first was important,” Chelimo said.
“I now feel like I'm in the Olympics. All my preparations have paid off, and now I’m focused on the finals.
“I have never run a race like this because it was slow and I kept on wondering who would sprint to the finish, so it was a tactical race but I have the experience and just kept up with the pace,” Chelimo stated.
He said he did not miss Cheptegei and Kiplimo because he would still run his race even if they were there, noting that everyone has their dreams.
He added that he was determined to do the best for himself and the country in Paris.
“I will not promise much but I will do my best for the country,”
Chelimo began the race from the back and stayed there until after six laps when he overlapped six opponents. With three laps to go he moved to the middle of the pack and was working hard to keep up with the front runners but it was only on the last lap that he managed to engage an even higher gear and opted to run outside the pack on the home straight to qualify. It was like a 100m dash in the last 70 meters of the race as the athletes fought to make the top eight to qualify.
Sixteen athletes will contest the final on Saturday night.