KAMPALA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei will open his 2026 season at the Burj2Burj Half Marathon in Dubai on February 8, organizers said.
Cheptegei, who won the Tata Steel Kolkata Road Race in India last month, said he is aiming for a strong start to the year.
"I am preparing well because I am confident of having a better performance in the new season than last year. It is always an athlete's wish to perform better than the previous season," Cheptegei told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist said he plans to use half marathons to sharpen his speed as he continues his transition to longer distances.
"These half marathons will help me improve a lot in the speed ahead of the marathons in 2026. I am slowly adapting to the marathon races since I stopped running track races," added Cheptegei, the 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder.
Cheptegei made his marathon debut at the 2023 Valencia Marathon, finishing 37th. He set a personal best of 2:04:52 last year when he placed fifth at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon.
He is set to face competition in Dubai from Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir and Tanzania's Alphonce Simbu. Kipkorir finished fourth in the 5,000m at last year's Shanghai Diamond League and won the Copenhagen Half Marathon and Al Sharqiyah Half Marathon, while Simbu won Tanzania's first World Championships gold medal in Tokyo in 2025. ■
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