CHENGDU WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES
Dates: August 5
Event: Men’s 5,000m semi finals
Venue: Shuangliu Sports Centre Stadium

Keneshbkov (Kyrgztsan): 14:30.88
Ishihara (Japan): 14:31.91 
Yeko Dismas: 14:33.10

One of the most takeaways from the men’s 5,000m semi-finals heats at Shuangliu Sports Centre Stadium, was how every athlete on track kept tabs on Uganda’s Yeko Dismas.

They all run too close to him from minute one, watching every move he made. In the third lap, he was seen running outside line one, trying to create space for himself.

Regardless of the tight race, Yeko Dismas did not seem bothered at all, instead, he maintained his pace until the last few laps where he increased it to catch up.

“I did not want to overwhelm myself with the pace of other runners,” Yeko said.

“I knew that they were going to have more energy than me, so I decided to keep my pace but stay in touch with the runners I thought were real competitors,” he added.

Japan’s Ishihara dominated the entire race. At some point, he created a gap of 200m from the rest of the patch. 

However, in the final lap, Kyrztsan’s Keneshbkov and Yeko Dismas closed him down claiming the first and second position.

“The Japanese showed pace from the start but I was not focusing on that. All I wanted was to finish well and thank God I managed that,” Yeko stated.

Considering this was a knockout phase, Yeko did not want to underestimate his opponents.

“I knew that this race was going to be challenging,” Yeko remarked.

“All the runners were new.  I did not know anyone and for that matter, I could not take anything for granted,” he said.

Physical exhaustion, coupled with unpredictable weather conditions made Yeko Dismas to be mindful of the semi-final race.

“It has been hot. You can not believe that even when it rained today, the stadium was hotter than during the 10,000m race,” Yeko said.

To assist in monitoring the weather, civilian drones have been built by the Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's major aircraft maker, to provide meteorological support to the World University games in Chengdu. 

Sights on another medal

Despite winning Uganda’s first gold medal at the Chengdu FISU games, Yeko Dismas is determined to go for another one.

“Of course, I was happy to win the 10,000m finals but doing a double would be remarkable for me,” Yeko stated.

“I know it is possible. I just need to get enough rest, work out tomorrow and feed well, then I prepare for the final race on Sunday,” the gold medalist said.

As a huge fan of Joshua Cheptegei, Yeko Dismas hopes he can draw inspiration from the world double record holder in both the men’s 10,000m and 5,000m. 

“This stage is an opportunity for me to achieve my dreams. I know that I will do my very best to win the 5,000m and make it a double,” Yeko stressed.

If Yeko wins on Sunday, he will become the third student from Uganda to win the 5,000m race at the FISU World university games.

At the 2005 summer Universiade games in Izmir  Turkey, Wilson Busienei won gold in the 5,000m and Simon Ayeko took bronze in 2007, Bangkok Thailand.

Uganda’s participation at the World University Games was also supported by National Insurance Corporation Limited  (NIC), which are their official Health Insurance Sponsor for Chengdu World University Games in China.