KAMPALA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's top runners Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo will face tough competition in the 2026 London Marathon scheduled on April 26.
"We are very excited that our two top athletes who have shifted to marathon will compete in the London Marathon this year," Uganda Athletics president Dominic Otuchet told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"Cheptegei and Kiplimo are experienced runners who are slowly getting better and better since moving from the shorter races to marathon," he added.
Kiplimo won the 2025 Chicago Marathon, while Cheptegei is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Kiplimo, also the reigning cross country world champion, will be eager to move a step better in the London race after finishing second last year behind Kenya's Sabastian Sawe.
The Ugandan duo will face the challenge of Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha and Hagos Gebrhiwet. Kejelcha, who has two world championships silver medals in the 10,000m along with the 5,000m gold in the Diamond League, will be making his debut, while Gebrhiwet has two world championships medals and won the Olympic bronze in the 5,000m.
