Cheptegei shatters Kipruto's 5km world record

Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda crosses the finish line to win the Men's senior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 30, 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark. PHOTO | HENNING BAGGER| AFP

What you need to know:

  • Cheptegei made the most of perfect conditions in the second edition of this race to improve on Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto's previous best of 13min 18sec last month in Valencia

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei’s star continues to soar high after he shattered yet another World Record.

Cheptegei broke the world record in the 5km, clocking 12 minutes and 51 seconds at the Monaco Run 5km in the Mediterranean Principality on Sunday.

Cheptegei, the World 10,000m champion, was fresh from setting a new World Record in 10km on December 1, 2019 when he won the Valencia Trinidad Alfonso 10km race in 26:38 in Valencia, Spain.

Running alone from the start, the 23-year-old Ugandan smashed through the event's 13-minute barrier, clipping a massive 27 seconds from the previous record of 13:18 set by Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto en route to his 10km world record in Valencia on January 12.

Cheptegei took the 10,000m gold at the World Championships in Doha last October, with Kipruto, 20, settling for bronze.

“Wow, this is a really great," said Cheptegei, the 2019 world 10,000m champion.

"I had sub 13 minutes in my mind today so when my legs felt good during the race I decided to really go for it. To take this many seconds off the record makes me very happy and is a great first test for me in an important season.”

Jimmy Gressier of France was second in 13:18, breaking the European record of 13:29 set by Julien Wanders in this race last year.

Meanwhile, the 2017 World Under-18 400m hurdles silver medallist, Kenya’s Moitalel Mpoke on Saturday set a new 600-yard (549m) collegiate record at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Centre, Lubbock, Texas, USA.

Sophomore’s Moitalel Mpoke did something no other collegiate athlete has been able to do, clocking the fastest time to date in the event with a time of 1:06.93.

The Texans placed two more runners in the top five as Khaleb McRae crossed the line in 1:09.11, while Issac Hastings was fifth in 1:11.67.

"Any time you can do something at South Plains College with the tradition we have, to have a guy break a national collegiate record, I'm not sure I can really grasp it yet," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "I'm ecstatic for Mo, he's one of the best kids I've ever had, and he's an outstanding human being.”

Vance said Mpoke is obviously talented on the track, but that doesn't say nearly enough about him as a person.

“He's a kid who works for everything he's got, and to break that record is something you don't expect to be able to do, and kudos to coach Miller and coach Hobbs who helped get him where he is right now."