By: Olivia Fang

In the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Denmark, Ugandan runner Joshua Cheptegei won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race. This news came just two years after the 2017 World Cross Country Championships, where Cheptegei just missed gold, placing second (New York Times). Now, Cheptegei has solidified himself as one of the greatest distance runners of all time, having won multiple awards, such as the World Cross Country Championship gold medal and an Olympic gold medal, as well as holding two world records in track and field (New York Times). Nevertheless, Cheptegei’s near victory in 2017 set off Uganda’s “running renaissance” (New York Times).

Uganda was historically overlooked in the world of distance running, overshadowed by its neighbors, Kenya and Ethiopia, who are often hailed as “powerhouses” in track and field (New York Times). However, in recent years, Uganda has begun making a name for itself in the sport, with athletes like Halimah Nakaayi winning a World Championship title in the 800 meters in 2019, Peruth Chemutai winning a gold medal at the 2021 Olympics for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and even Jacob Kiplimo setting a world record for the half-marathon (New York Times). As Cheptegei himself stated during an interview this past April, “Every year, as a country, we’re getting better and better.” (New York Times).

It is speculated that the reason behind Uganda’s recent surge in distance running accolades is because of the new advancements that arrived in many remote areas of the country (New York Times). For example, many of Uganda’s award-winning distance runners come from the Mount Elgon region, such as Chepetgei, Chemutai, and Kiplimo (New York Times). Due to the high elevation of the area, many of the region’s inhabitants developed more red blood cells and a greater lung capacity, allowing these runners to improve their running economy. However, the high elevation also proved to halt the area’s advancement, as the territory lacked roads and schools (New York Times).

During the 1980s, the government began to resettle the group living in the Mount Elgon region (New York Times). Moses Kiptala, an elder of the Mount Elgon region, recounts to the New York Times that even though the resettlement process was traumatic, it allowed for the discovery of the area’s running talent. Now, the area houses multiple track and field training centers, such as a camp opened by Kiplimo’s management group, Rosa & Associati (New York Times). 60-year-old Addy Ruiter, a Dutch running coach that left his job to train Ugandan runners, tells the New York Times that while Cheptegei and Kiplimo are “once-in-a-generation talents,” he believes that Uganda will soon have plenty more champions in the coming years.

Source(s):

– Joshua Cheptegei Leads Uganda to the World Championships – The New York Times (nytimes.com)