Gdynia (Poland) (AFP)

New middle-distance boss, the Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei tackles the World Half-Marathon as a favorite on Saturday in Gdynia where he will try to grab his first road title and mark the season definitively.

By breaking two world records in two months (5,000 m on August 14 in Monaco, 10,000 m on October 7 in Valence) and by wiping the legendary Kenenisa Bekele from the shelves, the 24-year-old rider has set the bar very high, s' imposing as the current benchmark over long distances.

Cheptegei has only made three outings this year but he has each time set a historic time since to his two exploits on the track we must add a world record for the 5 km, broken on February 16 in Monaco (12 min 51 dry).

Enough to make the Ugandan the scarecrow of these World Championships, initially scheduled for March 29 but postponed due to Covid-19.

If successful, the one who owns the world gold medals in the 10,000m and cross country would conclude this special season in style, cut off from the Tokyo Olympic Games, and would become the second athlete to win a title at this level as well on tartan, bitumen and cross, joining in the annals the Moroccan Khalid Skah.

The only downside for Cheptegei: he has never run a half marathon in his career.

But is this really a concern for the Ugandan phenomenon, also holder of the second all-time fastest time over 10 km (26 min 38 sec) behind the Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto and the best performance over 15 km (41 min 5 sec)?

"It's a new challenge for me but I'm hungry because there haven't been many events this year and if I can win this one and top my season with a title, this would be very special to me, ”he said.

In the absence of the Kenyan world record holder Geoffrey Kamworor (58 min 01 sec), who has won the last three editions of the Worlds but was the victim of a serious accident in June when he was hit by a motorcycle in training, Cheptegei Should especially be wary of the Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie, at the head of the 2020 balance sheet and the fifth performer in history (58 min 38 sec).

Among the women, it is a duel at the top that the Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh, world record holder in mixed race (1 h 4 min 31 s), and the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, the fastest in a half marathon should engage. exclusively female (1 h 5 min and 34 sec).

Defending champion Netsanet Kebede Gudeta and runner-up Joyciline Jepkosgei will also be one to watch.

© 2020 AFP