Kenya failed to win a medal in the men's 10 000 metres for the second consecutive Olympic Games as Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won the race with an Olympic record time 26:43.14 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, on Friday night.
Cheptegei, the reiging world champion and record holder in the event, ran a tactical race on his way to smashing the previous Olympic record of 27:01.17 set by the Ethiopian Kenesisa Bekele in Beijing 16 years ago.
Kenya's representatives in the race, Bernard Kibet, Daniel Mateiko, and Nicholas Kipkorir, finished 5th, 11th, and 14th respectively with times of 26:43.98, 26:50.83, and 27:23.97, in what was the fastest 10 000 metres race in Olympics history as 13 athletes set sub 27:00 times, seeing all of them run under the previous Olympic record.
Kibet, who was the most determined among the three Kenyan, ran a personal best time but it was not good enough for a medal as the Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi (26:43.44) and the American Grant Fisher (26:43.46, season best) bagged silver and bronze respectively.
Mohamed Ahmed of Canada was fourth with a season best time of 26:43.79.
Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, who led for most part of the race as he made his best efforts to ensure the perfrct execution of Ethiopia's strategy for a historic clean sweep, finished sixth with a time of 26:44.02.
His compatriot and the former Olympic champion, Selemon Berega, finished seventh with at time of 26:44.48 after succumbing to his, Aregawi's, and Kejelcha's brutal tactics of trying to burn the rest of the field and clear the path for a Ethiopian 1-2-3 finish.
Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, the bronze medalist from Tokyo 2020, was eighth with a time of 26:46.39, a season best.
Three athletes set national records in the race, affirming its status as the most electrifying 10 000 metres final ever witnessed at the Olympic Games, even trouncing Ethiopia's Haile Gebreselasie and Kenya's Paul Tergat dramatic sprint for gold at Sydney 2000 which the Ethiopian won in a photo finish.
Thierry Ndikumwenayo, a Burundian-born Spanish athlete, set a new national record after ranking 9th with a time of 26:49.49.
Adriaan Wildschutt of South Africa, followed Ndikumwenayo in 10th place, with a national record time of 26:50.64.
Jimmy Gressier, of France, consoled an entertained and stunned home crowd, with a new national record of 26:58.67 after finishing 13th.
The race's outcome, from the onset, was out of reach for the three Kenyans as the Ethiopian trio took charge of proceeding, leading while running at a very high pace with Kejelcha managed the sharing of pacemaking duties between him and his compatriots. The three Ethiopians were kept company by Fisher who was rewarded in the end for his resilience to keep up with the high pace set by the three East Africans.
While the Ethiopians laid down the gauntlet, Kenya's trio and the prospective Ugandan duo Cheptegei and Kiplimo ran from the back.
However, with 14 laps to go, the Ethiopians' game plan began to show cracks, with Berega detaching from his teammates who were left to shoulder the burden of burning the field.
From that point, the leading pack became crowded but Cheptegei only stayed within a sniffing distance, stalking his opponents for their vulnerabilities.
At that juncture, after 7 000 metres, Kibet and Mateiko had joined the fray, increasing Kenya's hope for a medal, but they only ended up playing supporting roles, with none really making an effort to take the lead.
However, Kibet, made effort to stay within the medal bracket position but that dynamic changed when Cheptegei, who had been unfazed all along, went in front with 500 metres.
Cheptegei's action destablised the leading pack, throwing everyone into a frantic sprint as they tried to catch up with the Ugandan.
The three Ethiopians, were caught unawares as their game plan was torn apart, and until Aregawi's banzai charge to the finish line to finish second, it looked as though the Ethiopians would leave empty handed.
Cheptegei, on the other hand, sprinted gracefully to the finish line the Parisien night, wowing the crowd and the viewers worldwide with a new Olympic record.
