Uganda’s long distance running trio of Jacob Kiplimo, Joshua Cheptegei and Oscar Chelimo have all qualified for men’s 5000m final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after finishing in the top five of their heats on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium in Japan.
Kiplimo and Cheptegei were seeded in heat 2 and finished fourth and fifth respectively with times of 13:30.40 and 13:30.61.
For Chelimo, the Olympic debutant who was seeded in heat 1 finished fourth with a time of 13:39.07. He is a Junior World Cross-country bronze medalist.
The men’s 5000m final will be held on Friday with Uganda being one of the favorite nations to claim silverware at the event.
Cheptegei, Kiplimo have already claimed silverware at the event after winning Silver and Bronze respectively in the men’s 10000m last week. The pair will attempt a double and Chelimo will fancy his chances.
The Olympic Games will wind down this weekend and Uganda’s hopes of silverware still remains in track events.
