For Joshua Cheptegei, every race counts and the results are measured to the dot.
His profile is too big to veer away from any pinch of attention. Tonight, the two-time world 10000m champion will launch his outdoor season business on track in Italy.
Cheptegei is inevitably the lead face in a field of 18 men set for the 5000m for Golden Gala in Florence, a leg of the Wanda Diamond League (DL).
The race is a build-up for Cheptegei as he bids to complete an iconic hat-trick of 10000m titles come the Budapest World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital in August.
“It’s a good test to see how the level is at the moment in a strong field,” said Cheptegei’s coach Addy Ruiter.
The 26-year-old runner has not competed on track in almost a year, from actually 10 months ago when he came ninth in the 5000m final at the Oregon Worlds in Eugene, USA. Read more
