Ugandan long distance runner Joshua Cheptegei is competing at the Olympics Track and Field for the last time in his career at the ongoing event in Paris, France.
The World Champion had hinted at the above before and after his triumphant race at Stade de France on Friday night, he further confirmed it.
The 27-year-old can’t be prouder having finished off in style with a gold medal in the men’s 10,000m at Olympics which was missing in his cabinet.
“I think this my last Olympics, track and field because I have won it all,” Cheptegei said in the aftermath of his breathtaking victory.
“It has been a great 10 years experience and after all these achievements I can say that I am a complete runner,” he added.
“With the records and titles on the track, my mind is now bored but the field is in good hands with the likes of Berihu Aregawi, Grant Fisher, and other exciting athletes who I believe have a bright future ahead.”
“The track and field has had a huge influence on my career and it is now time to embark on a new adventure on the road,” he noted.
He leaves the other athletes with a huge task of breaking his new Olympics record time of
26:23.14.
Ethiopian Aregawi and American Fisher completed the podium finishing second and third, respectively.
Cheptegei will be hoping to add another gold medal at the Olympics before he shifts focus to the Marathon when he returns to action on Wednesday in the 5,000m alongside his countrymen Jacob Kiplimo and Oscar Chelimo who are brothers.
He is the defending champions of the 5,000m at the Olympics having clinched it at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
