Kenyan Women Shine At World Athletics Championships

Kenya was the best African team at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Hungary, winning 10 medals and finishing fifth overall.

The country edged out rivals and neighbours Ethiopia by one gold, but Kenya’s gold medal harvest was also historic because for the first time at the global competition none of its male athletes won the top prize.

Faith Kipyegon became the first woman to win gold in both the 1500m and 5000m while Mary Moraa won the women’s 800m for Kenya’s third gold on the last day. Moraa celebrated with her customary jig at the finish line that earned her the name “Kenya’s dancing queen”.

Uganda were thrilled with two golds, but Ethiopia will feel they could have done better after winning only two gold medals – that’s half the number they won at last year’s Championships where they were the second overall behind hosts USA.

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo lived up to expectations as the continent’s rising sprint star winning silver in the men’s 100m before ending the competition with bronze in the 200m. The 20-year-old said quitting social media was key to his success in becoming the first African man to win a medal in the 100m at the Championships.

Burkina Faso’s gold in the triple-jump is probably the continent’s most storied result from the Championships. Hugues Fabrice Zango won his country’s first gold in the history of the Championships and the first title for any African nation in the discipline.

Zango has now completed a set of medals in the triple jump – gold, silver and bronze – in the last three World Championships.

The 30-year-old, who is also a PhD candidate in electrical engineering, said afterwards he hoped his gold medal could bring some “positive emotions” to his compatriots as the country faces political instability.

Source: BBC