The end of an era for Ugandan icon Josh Cheptegei, who forfeits before men 5000m race

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Transcript
00:00a deeper look with Africa's eye on the Olympics, which comes in the form of the indomitable
00:06Bulelu Tinta, who joins us from South Africa and does not miss a moment of these games. Bulelu,
00:12so glad to have you on again. Now, I guess if we're going to do a quick overview of where things
00:17stand for the continent at the Games, we can't overlook this end of an era for Ugandan icon
00:24Josh Tseptege, who is arguably the greatest 5,000 metre runner of all time and yet is walking away
00:32from the distance. Why? Well, we are all shocked here as the Ugandan Olympic Committee has just
00:38announced that he is fatigued from running the fastest 10,000 metre Olympic race of all time.
00:44Remember, all 13 men who came in first there broke the previous Olympic record. So it was an event
00:50like no other. The greatest race, they are calling it over any distance in Olympic history. They say
00:55he is too fatigued and he is absolutely broken. And the great man has bookended his career by
01:00ending it there. I just want to give you a quick catalogue of this great man, 5,000 and 10,000 metre
01:05world record holder, 10,000 silver in Tokyo, 5,000 gold in Tokyo, four time world champion. For me,
01:12the undisputed greatest of all time. And in Uganda, they call him a legend, an icon and a national
01:19treasure. The reason it's all over, the reason we're so sad, he will no longer be on the track
01:24of the Olympics and running loses a legend. But the marathon gains this great man as the great
01:30Sir Mo Farah and Eliud Kipchoge have done. They leave the track and they now embrace the marathon.
01:36The greatest of all time has left the 5,000 and 10,000 metres after being too fatigued to run
01:42in the 5,000 metre title. And another key moment is some celebrations from Kenyans who've seen
01:51one of their own or not. It depends on which way you're looking at it.
01:55We let her true feelings slip. Tell us a bit more about what the deal is with Winfred
02:01Yavi's celebrations. In my favourite Freudian slip, possibly of all time, this young woman,
02:07an absolute dynamo at the age of 24, she left Kenya 10 years ago and she said the competition
02:13in her own words was too stiff. We know how great that ITEN training centre can be. She
02:18runs in the colours of Bahrain. But when asked how she felt about setting a brand new Olympic
02:23record in the 3,000 steeplechase, there she is looking fantastic and delighted over the finish
02:28line. She said, you know, this is a great moment, not just for me, but for Kenya. And she repeated
02:35that to say, not just for me, but for Kenya. And in that moment, she showed that Kenya was in her
02:41heart, even though on the front of her shirt, it said Bahrain. And I must tell you, those in East
02:46Africa, particularly in Kenya, are absolutely in love with that statement. So in her heart,
02:50and that gold medal, although it'll go to Bahrain, we're celebrating it just as hard here in Africa.
02:56And another top athlete whose allegiance is in no way in question is Faith Kipyegon.
03:02Why is so much hanging on her upcoming performance?
03:08If she does it, she's the first human being, not woman, the first human being to ever win
03:13three 1,500 races. That's 1,500 metres in a row in terms of a gold medal at the Olympics.
03:20Just like her, I'll be short and sweet. She is one of one, the greatest of all time.
03:25Thank you so much for that breakdown, Bulele. We're looking forward to having you
03:29back on as these last few days of the Olympics get underway. That is all the time we have for
03:37Eye on Africa for now. Thanks for joining us. Do so again if you can. Until then, take care.

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