| Real Name/Full Name | Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei |
| Nick Name/Celebrated Name: | Joshua Cheptegei |
| Birth Place: | Kapsewui, Kapchorwa District, Uganda |
| Date Of Birth/Birthday: | 12 September 1996 |
| Age/How Old: | 28 years old |
| Height/How Tall: | In Centimetres – 167 cm In Feet and Inches – 5′ 6″ |
| Weight: | In Kilograms – 52 Kg In Pounds – 115 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Parents Name: | Father – Stephenson Kwalya Munerya Mother – Nadna Oyakawa |
| Siblings: | 2: Mariano Israel Mariano and Rebeca yori Oyakawa |
| School: | Unknown |
| College: | Bugema University |
| Religion: | Christianity |
| Nationality: | Ugandan |
| Zodiac Sign: | Virgo |
| Gender: | Male |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Girlfriend: | N/A |
| Wife/Spouse Name: | Carol Yeki |
| Kids/Children Name: | Son – Jethan Cheptegei Daughter – Jenima Cheptegei |
| Profession: | Long-Distance Runner |
| Team: | NN Running Team |
| Social Media Profile: | Facebook |
| Net Worth: | $4 Million |
| Wikipedia: | Wiki Profile |
| Last Updated: | December 2024 |
Joshua Cheptegei is a renowned Ugandan long-distance runner who gained much popularity through his wins, with his first major win being in 2019, where he became the 2019 World Champion of the 10,000m Race.
In 2020, Cheptegei had two world records making him unique. He set new records in both the 5,000m and 10,000m races. The new set records in the 5,000m race were a record of 12:35:36 in August 2020 and a 26:11:00 world record for the 10,000m race in October 2020.
He has had a successful career life and is one of the most successful Ugandan long-distance athletes. Keep reading this article as we get to know more about the life, biography, personal life, education, and net worth of Joshua Cheptegei in 2024.
Biography and Early Life
Joshua Cheptegei was born on 12 September in the year 1996 in Kapsewui, Kapchorwa District, Uganda. His father’s name is Stephenson Kwalya Munerya, while his mother is known as Nadna Oyakawa.
Cheptegei, together with the family, resided in his birth village during his early childhood. In his early days, he would run to school, and this has contributed highly to his professional career.
Joshua Cheptegei belongs to the ‘Sabiny’ Tribe, who are mainly found on the slopes of Mount Elgon. The Sabiny Tribe is a sub-tribe of Kalenjins who mainly inhabit larger parts of Western Kenya and are known to produce the world-best athletes.
Education
Cheptegei did his primary education from his village at Kapchorwa District, where he had a great passion for sports. In his early time in school, he used to play football. Though he dearly loved playing football, he later changed his active sport to Triple Jump and Long Jump.
He, however, later realized that his talent was in long-distance running. With this, therefore, he then invested most of his time in long-distance running during his high school education.
Being a lover of literature, he joined the Bugema University in Kampala after his High School education. At the University, he studied Bachelor in Education in languages and literature. He then got joined the Uganda National Police, whereby he continued with his professional career in athletics.
Personal Life: Wife, Wedding, Kids, Son, Daughter, etc.
Joshua Cheptegei is a married man through which he married his longtime lover known as Carol Yeko Cheptegei. They met earlier before Cheptegei gained his popularity, with which Carol came to realize of his potential 2 months later.
Carol Yeko once quoted that:
“Cheptegei is a close friend to one of my in-laws, and one Sunday, he came to pray from our church. After the main service, he attended our youth meeting, where he was introduced to me, not as a relatively successful athlete but as Cheptegei,”
Carol Yeko
The two lovebirds are blessed with two children known as Jenima Cheptegei, who is their daughter, and their son, known as Jethan Cheptegei.
Carol Yeko is known to be a humble lady despite being married to a celeb. She is a strong believer in God, and as a Christian, she is active in church activities.
Carol Yeko is a successful Civil Engineer who runs her own company. In addition to this, she also runs the Cheptegei Development Foundation together with his husband, whose vision is to nurture talents as well as supporting underprivileged children.
Professional Career
Joshua Cheptegei commenced his professional career in the year 2015 after his high school education. During this time, he participated in the 2015 World Championship that was held in Beijing. He came out to be in the 9th position that was a great achievement for him.
After this, he then was featured in the Rio Olympics in the year 2016, where he participated in the 5,000 meters race, coming out in the 8th position and the 8,000 meters coming out in the 6th position.
His improvement in every race gave him much motivation and inspiration to keep competing in the next races.
Cheptegei was then featured in the Commonwealth Games in 2018 that were held in Queensland, Australia. His performance in this competition was stunning as he went back home with two top medals. Joshua Cheptegei won both the 5,000 Meters and the 10,000 Meters race hence winning 2 gold medals in the same race.
He got into the limelight through which he became the talk of the town for his great achievement. It is during this time whereby there came confusion about whether Cheptegei is a Kenyan due to sharing most of Kenyan Athletes’ names.
In 2019, Cheptegei got featured in the 2019 IAAF Cross Country Championships that were held in Aarhus, Denmark. He won the senior men’s race with a win of 31:40 on the 10.24 km race while his Ugandan teammate, Jacob Kiplimo, finished second with 31:44.
Joshua Cheptegei World Records
Joshua Cheptegei set his world records, making him gain much fame in the year 2019. He set a new world record on 1st December 2019 on the 10,000 meters race held in Valencia, Spain. His world record was on 26:38, improved with an earlier record by Leonard Komon with 6 seconds. Nevertheless, this record was later lowered to 26:24 by the Kenyan athlete, Rhonex Kipruto. The record was lowered 6 weeks later in 2020 in Valencia, Spain.
Cheptegei set another new record on 16th February 2020 on the 5,000 meters race with a time of 12:51. He later set a new record on 14th August 2020 on 5,000 meters race with a time of 12:35:36, breaking the 16-year-old record by Kenenisa Bekele by 2 seconds.
On 7th October 2020, Cheptegei set another world record on the 10,000 meters with a time of 26:11:00, improving from the record set by Kenenisa Bekele with 6 seconds and a record of 15 years.
Joshua Cheptegei also won the 5,000 meters race in the Tokyo 2020 race held in Tokyo.
Awards and Achievements
Joshua Cheptegei has won several awards and had lots of achievements. This comes from his successful career. Some of the awards he has won include the following;
- In 2014, he won the Gold Medal for the World Junior Championships held in Eugene, United States for 10,000 meters race
- In 2015, he won the Gold Medal for the Africa Junior Championships held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the 10,000 meters race
- In 2017, he won the Silver Medal for the World Championships held in London, United Kingdom, for the 10,000 meters race
- In 2018, he won the Gold Medal for the 5,000-meter race on Common Wealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia
- In 2018, he won the Gold Medal for the 10,000-meter race on Common Wealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia
- In 2019, he won the Gold Medal for the World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark, for the 10,000 meters race
- In 2019, he won the Gold Medal for the World Championships held in Doha, Qatar, for the 10,000 meters race
- In 2021, he won the Gold Medal for the Olympic Games for the 2020 Tokyo held in Tokyo on the 5,000 meters race
- In 2021, he won the Silver Medal for the Olympic Games for the 2020 Tokyo held in Tokyo for the 10,000 meters race
Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Joshua Cheptegei in 2024
Joshua Cheptegei has an estimated net worth of $4 Million. This comes from the fortunes he has made from his successful career as an athlete playing as a long-distance runner. In addition to this, he has also won several medals which have contributed highly to his increasing net worth.
Cheptegei owns a house in Kapchorwa district where he built a mansion where they live together with his family. Additionally, he also drives some of the best cars. At some point, he got gifted a brand new car by President Yoweri Museveni
Some Interesting Facts You Need To Know
- Cheptegei is the 10th man in history to hold 10,000-meters and 5,000-meters world records concurrently
- Joshua Cheptegei is not a Kenyan in any way. He is fully a Ugandan born in Kapchorwa District, Uganda
- He is of the from the Sabiny Tribe, a subtribe to the Kalenjins mainly known to produce elite athletes in Kenya
- Cheptegei’s first sports love was football
- He got promoted to Inspector of Police from Special Police Constable after winning double gold awards in Commonwealth Games
- Joshua Cheptegei is also a philanthropist in which he advocates against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- He is a lover of literature
Having commitment and hard work as some of his core values, Cheptegei has remained to be among the elite athletes that have not only put his village in records but have also made Uganda come into a competitive place in athletics. He has remained passionate about his career.
Being a social person who cares for the well-being of others, he started the Joshua Cheptegei Foundation which focuses on nurturing talents and helping the less fortunate. He is a great inspiration to most Ugandans who are aiming at being athletes and beyond.