Photo credit: Etienne Fiacre / Monaco Run

Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) has set a new world record in the 5K Sunday in Monaco.

Cheptegei finished the Monaco Run 5km in the time of 12 minutes and 51 seconds and by doing so took an impressive 27 seconds of the previous world record that was set by Rhonex Kipruto (KEN) which stood at 13:18.

Cheptegei said shortly after the race, “Wow, this is a really great. I had sub-13 minutes in my mind today so when my legs felt good during the race I decided to really go for it. To take this many seconds of the record makes me very happy and is a great first test for me in an important season.”

He has demonstrated a great range in his running owning bests of 3:37.82 in the 1500-metre distance as a 20-year-old to 26:48.36 in the 10,000m event from October 2019. His 5,000m best – the track version of the 5K – is a world-class 12:57.41.

The 23-year-old won the 2019 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark and took gold at the 2019 Doha World Athletics Track and Field Championships. Before that he earned double gold during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

The only major triumphs for Cheptegei is an Olympic gold medal and he will have that opportunity in five months time.