Why Joshua Cheptegei has officially reached legendary status

Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei celebrates after breaking the 10,000m track world record during the NN Valencia World Record Day at the Turia stadium in Valencia on October 7, 2020. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP)

Wednesday’s NN Valencia World Record Day lived up to the billing as Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei (26:11.00) and Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey (14:06.62) smashed the world records in the men’s 10,000m and women’s 5,000m.

Only 11 men have held both the 5,000- and 10,000-metre world records. Several of the names on that list — Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Haile Gebrselassie, and Kenenisa Bekele — were considered the greatest distance runner of all time upon their retirement, and that’s a title that is certainly attainable for Cheptegei should he continue on his current trajectory.