MADRID, 31 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish athlete Mohamed Katir was unable to defend his victory in the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana when he lost to the Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei on the night of December 31 through the streets of Madrid, while the Ugandan Prisca Chesang also won the women’s race .
Cheptegei confirmed his favoritism as world record holder of 5,000 and 10,000 meters and prevailed in the traditional appointment to say goodbye to the year running in the Spanish capital. The African prevailed with a time of 27:11, approaching the test record from 2018 (26:41), after running alongside Katir until kilometer 8.
The Murcian, who was looking for a beautiful icing on the cake for a tremendous 2022 -world bronze in 1,500 meters and European silver in 5,000–, fulfilled the expected one-on-one with Cheptegei. Both led the race from the second kilometer along with Jesús Ramos, saving a rough start nearby, with several riders affected.
In single file they went with the Ugandan launching continuous attacks until Ramos went down through Atocha. The second half of the race was the duel at the top between Cheptegei and Katir. They were even on Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona and on Avenida de la Albufera, the entrance to Vallecas, they were also on par.
The African’s push ended the trick of Katir, who had cut the Spanish victory drought last year after 19 years. The last kilometer and a half sealed the exhibition of the Olympic champion of 5,000, silver in 10,000, who arrived alone at the Rayo Vallecano stadium, taking the title from Katir (27:18).