NAIROBI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Joshua Cheptegei says that winning the World Cross Country title last weekend lifted the pressure off his chest as he aims to dominate the long distance races in 2019.
The Ugandan, who trains in Eldoret, says he will turn his focus on the Diamond League and the World Championships fully aware, he has ignited a new front against Ethiopians and Kenyan athletes, who will want to beat him, given the chance.
Not only would Cheptegei like to be the man to succeed Mo Farah as world champion at 10,000m this year, he aims to replicate Farah's longevity.
"My ambition is to dominate the track for the next five or six years," Cheptegei said on Thursday from Eldoret.
Only then will the Ugandan think of moving up the gears to the lucrative marathon world. For now, though, track distances, cross country and the half marathon are his - rather generous - limits.
"I have unfinished business with the track. I need to establish myself as a serious contender. It will get tougher, but I trust my training," he said.
For the first time, Uganda is the strongest senior men's team, capping a period of 10 years during which the yellow singlets have been increasingly prominent at world level.
There's more to come from Cheptegei, and if the performance of compatriot Jacob Kiplimo and the other three teams in junior women, junior men and senior women is any guide, expect plenty more to come from Uganda.
To reach this feat, Cheptegei will have to avoid unnecessary injuries, which may curtail his rise as the heir apparent to the legendary Mo Farah.
Last year, Cheptegei was feeling vulnerable and had lingering knee problems, an injury suffered when he walked into a door at his home.
In December, the 22-year-old Uganda prodigy was involved in a car accident when another driver ran into him. Although he escaped sustaining any serious injury, Cheptegei was left with some blisters, which have lingered on to affect his cruise.
"My lower back had a lot of pain," he explains. "It also knocked my confidence. It had a lot of effects; I was not in my best shape."
But that is water under the bridge and as Cheptegei celebrate his new status as world champion, for the first time in the senior cadre, he will fantasize on dominating the long distance in the Diamond League and the build up to 2019 Doha World Championships in October.
