Date: Monday, 19 November 2018
The world 10,000m silver medallist took the lead earlier than planned as the pacemakers struggled to maintain the required pace. He passed the first five kilometres in 14:07 but increased his pace and covered the next five-kilometre section in 13:42 to reach 10 kilometres in 27:49.
The double Commonwealth champion still had another gear to move into, though, and he upped his tempo in the final third of the race to get back on pace for a world best. Having covered the final five kilometres in 13:16 and the final three kilometres in 7:46, he crossed the finish line in 41:05.
“After 10km I was outside the schedule for the world best so I decided to accelerate at 12km,” said Cheptegei after winning this race for the fourth time. “The last kilometre was hard but I really enjoyed it. I am very proud of my achievement and want to thank the organization and my team.”
Eritrea’s Abrar Osman finished a distant second in 42:34, 22 seconds ahead of world 5000m champion Muktar Edris.
