Double Olympic and triple World Champion Cheptegei among 23,000 runners for Tata Steel 25K Kolkata
Uganda’s double Olympic champion and triple World champion Joshua Cheptegei and women’s defending champion Sutume Asefa Kebede will be among the top runners to compete in the Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata on December 21.
Cheptegei won three consecutive World titles in 10,000m and set four World records, including in the 5K and 10K on roads. A winner of last year’s Delhi half-marathon and this year’s World 10K in Bengaluru, the Ugandan owns the 5000m and 10,000m World Records.
Tanzanian Alphonce Felix Simbu, who recorded a thrilling victory in the World Championships marathon in Tokyo in September, should give Cheptegei a run for his money in the World Athletics Gold Label event offering a total prize money of USD 142,214.
There will be a bonus of USD 25,000 for the athlete who betters the World Record of 1:11:08.
The first, second and third place finishers will win USD 15000, USD 10000 and USD 7000 respectively. Besides, there will be an event record bonus of USD 5,000.
More than 23000 runners are expected to take part in the race in different categories.
Published on Dec 09, 2025