The Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) has unanimously voted athlete Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei as the best sportsman for the month of October 2019.
This was during the Sports Journalists’ annual general assembly that also doubled as the monthly convention held at Imperial Royal Hotel in Kampala on Monday, 4th November, 2019.
Cheptegei, a long distance runner claimed Gold in the men’s 10,000m at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar on 6th October.
He posted 26:48:36 – the best mark achieved worldwide this season – beating a field of 18 athletes, the other three failing to finish.
In that particular race, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha came second to win silver with 26:49:34 (Personal Best) while Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto finished third to take bronze in 26:50:32.
Cheptegei ran the race with fellow Ugandan Abdallah Mande (finished 17th in 28:31:49), and its the latter who set the pace for nearly the first five minutes but later dropped off.
It was Cheptegei’s third major gold medal this year after winning two at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships (team and senior).
Commendations:
The sports journalists outlined a long list of sportsmen and teams for the incredible performances during the previous month.
Rower Kathleen Grace Noble (Rower), Joseph Cwynaai (Golfer), Female Pool Cranes, Arthur Blick Junior & George Ssemakula (Motorsport), Titus Okwong and Daniel Baguma (Golfers) were all commended.
