I am done with the track for good - Cheptegei

Joshua Cheptegei misses the track. But he is not turning back.

The multiple world and Olympic champion spoke about life away from the track ahead of his appearance in the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday and doubled down on his retirement from the surface that brought him so much success, including three world titles and two Olympic gold medals.

Asked whether he might consider racing on the track at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Cheptegei responded: “I would say I’m totally done with track now. For me now, it’s to look for new challenges, which is why I’m here in Tokyo again.

“I've had really a good time in track,” Cheptegei said. “I’ve really had incredible moments in track especially winning many medals from championships, Olympic Games.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm going to miss track but then I realised, 'OK, I've been doing this for quite a long time and now it's the right time for me to transition and see the other part of life.'

“Something sweet is sometimes also not good. You have to really see challenges beyond what you've been able to do.

“I miss track, but I have to leave.”

Cheptegei would have been delighted with his performance in the Tokyo Marathon after running 2:05:59 and finishing ninth. It was a much better showing than his debut marathon in 2023 when he came home in 37th position with a time of 2:08:59.