Joshua Cheptegei has said his focus is on becoming just the eighth man to successfully complete the 5,000m-10,000m double at an Olympic Games.
The Ugandan, 24, set world records over both distances last year, adding to the 5,000m world gold he won at Doha 2019.
“It is demanding a lot, in terms of racing and mindset but I want to give myself a try to win both gold medals.”
Seven men have won both 5,000m and 10,000m golds at the same Olympics, with Britain’s Mo Farah doing the double at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Joshua Cheptegei aims for ‘amazing’ Tokyo double – https://t.co/QXKyP1ZIE7
Cheptegei’s 10,000m world record came at a specially-designed event in Valencia in October
Joshua Cheptegei has said his focus is on becoming just the eighth man to successfully complete the 5,00… pic.twitter.com/vZIeiFBSDN— Eric Thompson (@isearch247) December 29, 2020
As a teenager, Cheptegei finished eighth and sixth in the 5,000m and 10,000m finals respectively in Rio.
“It would be really amazing to win the double, but if I win gold in the 10,000m I would still be grateful,” Cheptegei added.
Uganda have won only two Olympic gold medals in their history, with John Akii-Bua winning the 400m hurdles in 1972 and Stephen Kiprotich winning the marathon 40 years later in London.
