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Kenyans on top of the world

Veronica Nyaruai Wanjiru wint het goud op de 3000 mtr

Door Peter Njenga in Beijing

A small band of 21 Kenya juniors were last night crowned world champions after six days of competition which brought together 1,400 athletes, here. Never has any country ever dominated athletics competition from the 800 metres to the 10,000 more than these magnificent boys and girls. They expressed there own brand of the “shock and awe” philosophy to the rest of the world. Kenya are re-building their athletics force to be ready for global domination at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

De resultaten
For the first time in history, girls matched the boys medal for medal, marking the turning point for women athletes.
With six gold, six silver and three bronze medals, Kenya won these championships for the first time ahead of China (5-4-5) and Estonia (4-0-0). Kenyas 4×400 metres relay team finished fourth in the final, losing the bronze with by only a few strides. Joseph Ebuya brought down the curtain with a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres, his second after a silver in the 10,000m to bring Kenyas tally to 15 medals in 13:35.95. The 5,000m was won by Ethiopian Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia in 13 minutes 31.34 seconds followed by team mate Abreham Cherkos in 13:35.95. World junior cross-country champion Mangata Ndiwa finished fourth in 13:44.03.

De volgende stappen
Nobody could deny the Ethiopian after breaking away with two laps top go. Cherkos silver was a victory for a boy when arrived here on Saturday and briefly got lost as he was not expected. Before this race, Irene Jelagat led Mercy Jelimo to victory in the girls 1,500m, a medal which assured Kenya of the number one position in the world. Jelagat followed the footsteps of Winnie Chebet, Veronicah Nyaruai and Caroline Chepkurui who won their events in commanding style after she took the lead and started sprinting with 300m to go. At first it appeared like a suicidal move but with each passing stride she lengthened her lead and Kenyans on the stands were already celebrating with 200m to go. She clocked 4:08.88 which is her lifetime personal best time. Jelimo though a bit far, passed Yuriko Kobayashi after a short struggle at the 200m mark and crossed the finish line in 4:12.48. The mens race was a big contrast. Ndiwa admitted later he felt sluggish and things did not work for him. Ebuya who won the 10000m silver last Wednesday kept up with the Ethiopians who knew the Kenyans were not in the best of shapes and took a commanding lead. Before the bell it was obvious Ebuya was running late and fast. They produced a thrilling finish which marked an African domination in distance events.

© Kenyan News