Two of my posts have focused on the distance running GOAT. These are difficult arguments as they’re based on multiple factors including performance consistency, transcendent races, times, etc. Thus far, the debate has remained among Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie, and Eliud Kipchoge. I’ve alluded to the fact that someone else will eventually be in the discussion and it’s possible that person is waiting in the wings.
Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda has not come close to putting himself in the GOAT conversation but he has had a couple of remarkable races recently that suggest he could challenge the current three. This past December, he broke the former 10K world record by six seconds in a time of 26:38 (it has been broken again). As a point of reference, no one has run under 26:40 on the track since 2008. Last summer, he won the World Championships at 10000M and is the most likely to win gold at that distance in Tokyo. Most recently, he obliterated the 5K world record in a time of 12:51. This was 31 seconds faster than the previous one, nine seconds better than the fastest time recorded on the road, and, if you’re following the math, the first time a road 5K was run in under 13:00.
GOAT status partly depends on official world records, times on the track, and marathon accomplishments. He has not yet made the top 25 all-time list for 5000M on the track but he is on it for 10000M. And, he has not run the marathon but most distance runners won’t attempt that distance until later in their career.
Track plays a large role in the distance running world but many of the big events (Olympics, World Championships) will see more focus on tactical pacing and maneuvering for the win as opposed to going for new records. To put it another way, it’s hard to say how much ideal opportunity there will be for Cheptegei to go for world records, especially since there can be more money in road racing. (It may be that we’ll eventually need to simply adjust our parameters for how we’re evaluating the GOAT. Maybe other distances will become a factor in the argument, such as the half-marathon, or 12K, or cross-country.)
With Cheptegei’s 10K road record already being broken (and by a wide margin) he has not set a new standard there. The 5K road world record had been set just over a year before he broke it. With the margin of time, he has set a new standard though it will be some time before we see whether it’s one that other runners will reach and surpass as well, or whether his record remains untouched for the forseeable future.
A lot needs to happen to push Cheptegei into contention but I won’t be surprised if he’s there in the next several years. In the meantime, I mentioned in an earlier post that Mo Farah, winner of 5000M and 10000M gold at the last two Olympics, announced his return to the 10000M for the Tokyo games. If Cheptegei triumphs over him and the rest of the field in Tokyo, it may not just be a torch being passed to a 10000 great, it could be someone building credentials towards GOAT status.
Sources used:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10,000_metres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Cheptegei
https://www.worldathletics.org/news/report/joshua-cheptegei-5km-world-record-monaco
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