Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, World champion, and World Cross Country champion.
Joshua Cheptegei is a long-distance runner and 2019 world champion in the 10,000 m run.
He is also the first man in history to hold the 5,000 m and 10,000 m world records in the same year (2020).
The super runner bagged a silver medal in the 1000 meters race held at World Championships in London.
Besides World Championships, Cheptegei had a double gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Queensland, Australia. Not to mention, he has participated in many games to this date.
Besides long-distance running, he also took part in a road race held in Monaco.
Facts About Joshua Cheptegei
- Full Name: Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei
- Date of Birth: 12 September 1996 (25 years old)
- Place Of Birth: Kapsewui, Uganda
- Religion: Christianity
- Nationality: Ugandan
- Height: 167 cm (5’6″)
- Weight: 52 kg (115 lb)
- Hair Color: Black
- Eye Color: Black
- Build: Athletic
- Parents: Stephenson Kwalya Munerya And Nadna Oyakawa (Mother)
- Siblings: Two siblings: Rebeca Yori Oyakawa & Mariano Israel Mariano
- Education: Bachelor of Education (Bugema University)
- Marital Status: Married
- Wife: Carol Yeki
- Children: Jethan (son) & Jenima (daughter)
- Profession: Long-Distance Runner, Athlete
- Team: NN Running Team
- Level: Senior Distance Runner
- Active Years: 2015-present
- Net Worth: $4 million
- Sponsors: Nike
Early Life Of Joshua Cheptegi
The long-distance runner grew up in Kapsewui, Kapchorwa District.
Talking about his nationality (tribe), he belongs to Ugandan nationality and follows Christianity religion. Since he was born on 12 September, his zodiac sign is Virgo.
Likewise, Cheptegei is the son of Stephenson Kwalya Munerya. Unfortunately, there is no information on his mother.
Not much is known about his childhood days; he keeps it a secret.
Education
Sports and games have always been Cheptegei’s passion. He even played football in school. But, despite football being his first choice, he later switched to long jump and triple jump instead.
Eventually, he realized that he was set for more success in running. Cheptegei was not only good in sports. He was studious too and was a lover of literature. Therefore, he obtained a Bachelor of Education (B.ed) degree from Bugema University.
Furthermore, Joshua is an employee of Uganda University and was coached by Addy Ruiter. Before going professional, he represented his University at the World Cross Country Championships, where he bagged the gold medal.
Joshua Cheptegei Professional Career
Cheptegei started his professional career in 2015. He excelled at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, accomplishing 9th position.
Furthermore, he ran in Rio Olympics 2016 in the 5000 and 8000 meters race and accomplished the eighth and sixth positions.
The year 2018 was outstanding for him, as Joshua participated in the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Queensland, Australia.
His performance was exceptional at this event. He bagged the gold medal at both 5000 and 10,000-meter races.
Besides this, Abrar Osman landed in the second position at 42:34. Furthermore, Muktar Edris came third with 42:56.
Cheptegei set new records in the year 2019. He won the senior men’s race at the 2019 IAAF Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
In the 2020 summer Olympics held in Tokyo, the long-distance runner was able to win the gold medal in the 5,000 meters race.
Likewise, at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, Cheptegei broke the record by running a 15km split of 40:43 min.
Cheptegei Rise As A World Champion And Broke World Records
In Valencia, Spain, Cheptegei made a new record in the 10 km Road Race; in 2019. His time was 26:38, defeating his previous records.
On 16 February 2020, Cheptegei set a new world record at a 5 km road race. It was previously held by Robert Keter (with 13:22) in 2019.
Later in August 2020, Cheptegei made a new record at the Monaco Diamond League in the 5000-meter race with a time of 12:35:36. He managed to break the record of Kenenisa Bekele, set sixteen years ago.
When asked where he got the motivation to set the record at Monaco, he said that the lengthy lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics helped him succeed.
Cheptegei made the record by 2 seconds. His splits were 2:31.87; 5:03.77; 7:35.14 and 10:05.46. After the race, Bekele congratulated Cheptegei through his Twitter account.
Furthermore, in October 2020, Cheptegei broke the world record in Valencia and set a new record of 26:11:00 in the 1000-meter running race wearing Nike’s controversial Vaporfly Next% shoes.
He was rumored to be wearing the Adidas shoe; however, he wore Nike shoes. As a result, he set the record by 6 seconds. Earlier this record was set by Bekele 15 years ago.
Likewise, as of 2022, Cheptegi won the Cannes 10Km in 26 minutes and 49 seconds.
Joshua Cheptegei Awards And Accomplishments
Cheptegei has set several records throughout his professional career. Certainly, there are more to come. So let’s have a look at the awards and highlights he has made so far…
- Won the gold medal in 10000 meters race at 2010 IAAF World Athletics, Doha.
- Bagged Silver Medal at 2017 World Championships London.
- Received Gold medal at both 5000 meters and 10,000 meters at the Common Wealth Games, Australia.
- Earned Gold at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, held in Denmark.
- Won Gold at 2014 World Junior Championships, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
- Won Gold Medal at the World Cross Country Championships, representing his University in 2014.
Joshua Cheptegei Personal Life
Speed Star Cheptegei married his girlfriend, Carol Yeko. Currently, the super couple has two children. Their son’s name is Jethan, and their daughter’s name is Jenima.
There is no doubt that Joshua’s wife is a caring mother and a loving wife. She supports her husband in every step of his life.
Yeko comes from a religious background. She believes in God and follows Christianity. Her mother, Jessica Chesiakit, played an excellent role in her devotion to the religion.
Knowing more about her, she came from a low-income family. Her role model was her father. Unfortunately, her father passed away when she was only 14.
My dad was everything to me. He was an inspiration, and I looked up to him. His death was the biggest blow and one of my lowest moments.
Although she lost her father, she remained resilient. Yeko completed her A level from East High School, Ntinda, Kampala. She later took a Diploma in Civil Engineering from Uganda Technical College, graduating in 2014.
Then, she completed her engineering from Ndejje University and graduated in 2018. Also, Jessica has nine more siblings in her family; four are elder, and the rest are younger.
Outside Running Career
Besides his career, Cheptegei is also a philanthropist. He not only believes in social work but also raises funds for it.
In 2014, along with his wife Yeko, she started a foundation named “Cheptegei Development Foundation.” The goal of the organization is to support needy and underprivileged children.
Moreover, Yeko stated:
We started the foundation because we wanted to offer opportunities to talented young people from poor backgrounds. We also provide funding for brilliant children to access education.
Besides this, they annually organize an event. Parents register their children to participate in the events, and the best three among the competitors are offered education scholarships from the foundation.
Furthermore, the foundation is aware of girl education and distributes sanitary pads for girls’ menstrual hygiene.
Besides running, Cheptegei loves to watch football. In fact, football was his first love, and Robert Lewandowski is his favorite player.
Joshua Cheptegei Net Worth And Earnings
Cheptegei has made a prosperous professional career. After all, he has been dedicated to it for the past five years.
So, it’s safe to say his net worth could be increasing day by day. Although not disclosed yet, he has an estimated net worth of $4 million. Similarly, his salary amount is also expected to be in the millions.
Furthermore, he also earns from his sponsor NIKE and other various endorsement deals.
Not to mention he owns a big house with various car collections. He is living a lavish lifestyle with his family.
