Uganda selected a strong team, led by World cross-country champion Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, to lead its charge at next month’s Half Marathon Championships in Poland.
Both men will be making their half marathon debuts, but they are rated highly enough to be able to compete to win honours at the event.
Cheptegei, who is also the World 10,000m champion, recently set a new world 5000m record with a time of 12:35.36 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco in August.
Prior to competing in Poland, Cheptegei will attempt to break the 10,000m world record at the NN Valencia World Record Day on October 7 at Turia Stadium in Valencia, Spain.
Kiplimo also comes into the event on a high after registering impressive results in the recent past. The 19-year-old won the 5000m at the World Athletics Continental Tour meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, with a personal best time of 12:48.63. He then then went on to win the 3000m race at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome in a world-leading time of 7:26.64. In winning the race, Kiplimo also broke the Ugandan record and became the fastest teenager in history for the distance.
The rest of the men’s team includes 2009 world U-20 cross-country bronze medallist Moses Kibet, Stephen Kissa and Abel Chebet.
The women’s team will be led by Juliet Chekwel. The 30-year-old currently holds the Ugandan records for the 10,000m, half marathon and the marathon races.
The other women on the team are: Doreen Chemutai, Doreen Chesang and Rachael Zena Chebet.
The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships are set to be held in Gdynia on October 17.
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