Shanghai (China), May 15 (IANS): Promising Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei finished second in the 5,000m race at the 2016 IAAF Diamond League here.
Cheptegei, the African junior champion in the 10,000m event, timed in 13:00:60, while Kenya's Edris Muktar came first with a time of 12:59:96 on Saturday, reports Xinhua.
"This is very good news to have our athlete perform well in China," National Council for Sports Secretary General, Nicholas Muramagi told Xinhua in an interview.
In the same meet, another Ugandan Peruth Chemutai finished 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase but managed to set a time of 9:31:34 to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the World Junior Championships to take place in Bydyoszcz, Poland.
Including Chemutai, three women will make the Ugandan athletes team to the Olympics.
According to the Uganda Athletics Federation, although 12 athletes have now qualified for the Olympics, the target is 18.