Kenya tops table after historic IAAF World Championships
Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop (centre) reacts as he croses the finish line ahead of Kenya’s Elijah Motonei Manangoi, Morocco’s Abdalaati Iguider (lower) and Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi in the final of the men’s 1500 metres athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships at the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing on August 30, 2015. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
A majestic Asbel Kiprop wrapped up the historic performance when he stormed to a third consecutive victory in the men’s 1,500m race, a feat that brought the packed 80,000-seater Bird’s Nest Stadium to its feet.
Beijing. It was a marvelous seven-star performance for Kenya as the country claimed its maiden overall title at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday in Beijing, China.
A majestic Asbel Kiprop wrapped up the historic performance when he stormed to a third consecutive victory in the men’s 1,500m race, a feat that brought the packed 80,000-seater Bird’s Nest Stadium to its feet.
Kiprop, who was at the tail of the pack at the bell and with 200 metres to go, slowly worked his way up, hitting the front with less than 20 metres to go before winning in 3 minutes 34.40 seconds.
Elijah Manangoi wrapped up a 1-2 finish for Kenya just like in the 2011 Daegu championships, dipping his head ahead of Moroccan Abdalaati Iguider to snatch silver in 3:34.63. Iguider took bronze in 3:34.67.
Kiprop and Manangoi’s feat, which was preceded by Helah Kiprop’s silver medal in the women’s marathon in the morning, saw Kenya top the standings with 16 medals in total; seven gold, six silver and three bronze, finishing ahead of heavyweights Jamaica who were second with 7-2-3 and third-placed United States with 5-6-6.
Kenya’s previous best ever showing at the World Championships was during the 2011 edition in Daegu, South Korea, where the team claimed 17 medals; seven gold, six silver and four bronze, to finish third overall behind the US and Russia.
However, the haul from Daegu surpassed Beijing’s by one bronze.
The only other outing that came close to rivalling that performance was the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where athletics won the country 14 medals; six gold, four silver and four bronze.
Vivian Cheruiyot gave Kenya its first gold medal when she recaptured the 10,000m title she won at the 2011 Daegu Worlds.
Olympic champion and World record holder David Rudisha would then strike gold after two previous injury-plagued seasons. Nicholas Bett then made history as the first Kenyan to win a sprint event at the World Championships with the 400m hurdles gold medal.
Ezekiel Kemboi then chalked an unprecedented four consecutive World 3,000m steeplechase titles as Julius Yego’s pioneering exploits in javelin went a notch higher when he became the first Kenyan to win a major field event. (AFP)
