Paris, France | THE INDEPENDENT | Long-distance runner Oscar Chelimo has qualified for the men’s 5000-meter final after finishing fifth in heat two of the preliminary round on Wednesday afternoon.
The 22-year-old crossed the finish line in 13 minutes and 52.46 seconds, trailing Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won the race in 13:51.59, and Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary, who came second in 13:51.82.
Chelimo is Uganda’s only hope in the distance event following the withdrawal of his senior teammates Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo from the race. He arrived at the games village on Sunday, having only prepared for the 5000m, thus avoiding the prolonged stay in Paris’s humid conditions before his race.
This is Chelimo’s second appearance at the Olympics after the 2020 Tokyo where he finished last (16th) in the final of the 5000m race that was won by his compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, but previously he had finished 4th in heat one of the semifinal to qualify for the final.
Chelimo will now compete in a strong lineup on Saturday, aiming to defend the title won by Cheptegei three years ago in Tokyo. He will face fierce competition from top athletes, including Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordas and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who won the two heats.
I’m telling my fans that do not give up, we are Ugandans and we shall fight for Uganda. Stay with hope and cheer for me, don’t lose hope,” Chelimo recently told athletics fans after it was confirmed that he will be running alone in the 5000m race without Cheptegei and Kiplimo
Dradriga to Repechage
Middle-distance runner Tom Dradriga failed to progress directly to the next round of the 800m after finishing 6th in heat six with a time of 1:46.1. The race was won by Spain’s Attaoui Mohamed in 1:44.81, who progressed alongside Bryce Hoppel (1:45.3) and Max Burgin (1:45.4).
According to the qualifying rules, athletes who do not automatically qualify through the first round are granted an additional opportunity in the repechage. Dradriga will have a chance in the repechage tomorrow morning to secure a spot in the final.
Nanyondo Out
Winnie Nanyondo’s Olympic journey has ended after she failed to qualify for the women’s 1500m finals. Nanyondo finished 8th in the repechage with a time of 4:06.35 in a race won by Ethiopia’s Haylom Birke (4:01.47). Birke qualified for the final alongside Italy’s Ludovica Cavalli (4:02.46) and Spain’s Esther Guerrero (4:03.15).
Nanyondo was making her second attempt to qualify for the final after earlier failing to secure an automatic spot to the semifinals on Tuesday, finishing 10th with a time of 4:07.06. She needed to be in the top three in the repechage to join those who had already qualified through direct spots.
Uganda’s Schedule and Results
Oscar Chelimo: 6th in Men’s 5000m Heat 2 (13:52.46)
Tom Dradriga: 6th in Men’s 800m Heats 6 (1:46.1) Winnie Nanyondo: 8th in Women’s 1500m Repechage (4:06.35)
Tarsis Orogot: Men’s 200m Semis – 9:02pm
Leonard Chemutai: Men’s 3000m SC Final – 10:43pm