Andrew Oryada, Special to ESPN 6y

Chesang 'won't feel achievement' until Olympic gold

Olympic Sports

Uganda's Stella Chesang says that winning Olympic Games gold in the 10,000m is her obvious target, and she won't feel on top of her game until that medal is in her trophy cabinet.

At the Commonwealth Games in April, Chesang was the surprise 10km winner in a time of 31.45:30. She outsprinted Kenya's Stacy Ndiwa and fellow Ugandans Mercyline Chelangat and Juliet Chekwel, who had been performing better than her this season.

Chesang told KweséESPN that she had never doubted her ability to win medals: "I always believe in training hard and it was just a matter of time for me to win a gold medal on the big stage."

But while she was pleased with the Gold Coast win, she was looking ahead to Tokyo in two years' time, adding: "I will not feel any big achievement till I win an Olympic gold medal and my target is to do that in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"I know keeping at the top as a sportswoman is not very easy because there are times when you just can't hit your targets. Now that I have won a Commonwealth Games gold medal, my targets will now keep growing."

Chesang said that after failing to move past the heats in the 5,000m at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, she decided she needed to work harder: "I promised myself that I will stand at the podium receiving a medal at the Commonwealth Games and Olympics."

The Ugandan made her debut in a top international event in 2013 at the World Youth Athletics Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, but did not perform well in the 5,000m race. In 2015, she finished fourth in the 5,000m final of the World Junior Championships in Oregon, USA.

She followed it with a bronze medal in the 5,000m at the 2015 Africa Junior Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That same year she won the senior women's race at the World Mountain Running Championships in Wales.

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