How women outshone men in eventful season for Kenyan athletes

The year 2023 will be a season to remember for the female athletes who saved the country blushes, outdoing their male counterparts in most of the championship events.

Female athletes from Kenya ruled the airwaves, led by double Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon who had a hugely successful year, dancing queen of  800 metres Mary Moraa, Beatrice Chebet and Peres Jepchirchir.

Will the women replicate the performance in the busy 2024 season?
The country fielded teams at the 44th World Athletics Cross Country Championships held on February 18 in Bathurst, Australia, the 19th World Athletics Championships on August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary and the enhanced World Athletics Road Running Championships held on October 1 in Riga, Latvia.

Kenyan youngsters also posted memorable performances at Africa Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 Championships held on April 29 to May 3 in Ndola, Zambia.

The highlight events next year are the Olympic Games scheduled for July 26 to August 11 in Paris, World Athletics Indoor Championships due March 1 to 3 in Glasgow,  Scotland and World Cross Country Championships scheduled for March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Also on the cards are the World Athletics Relay Championships set for May 4-5 in Nassau, Bahamas, World Athletics Under-20 Championships on August 26-31 in Lima, Peru and African Games in March 8-23 next year in Accra, Ghana.

The World Athletics Championships in Budapest will go down in history as the championships where women athletes ran the show.

The female athletes came to the rescue, winning six of the country’s 10 medals, that included three gold, as the men’s team failed to secure a single victory for the first time in 40 years.

It is only in the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, where Kenya failed to win a single medal.

Since that poor showing in Helsinki, Kenyan athletes improved, their best show coming in 2015 in Beijing, where the country topped the medal standings for the first time.

The country hauled 16 medals - seven gold, six silver and three bronze in Beijing, with the most significant results coming from Julius Yego and the late Nicholas Bett. The two weighed in historic victories in men’s javelin and 400m hurdles respectively.

Sally Barsosio made history as the first Kenyan woman to win at the World Championships when she claimed the 10,000m gold during the sixth edition of the championships in 1997 Athens, Greece.

Kenyan women have outgunned the men in performance before, bringing more gold medals at the 2013 (Moscow) and 2019 (Doha) editions of the World Athletics Championships, but Budapest’s outing was special.

The women won three gold medals from each of the championships in Moscow and Doha, with the men getting two gold medals from each event.

In Budapest, Kipyegon, the multi-track world record holder, and Moraa raised Kenya’s flag high.

Kipyegon became the first woman in history to sweep the 1,500m and 5,000m gold medals in one world championship, a feat she accomplished a month after she shattered world records in the 1,500m, 5,000m, and one mile races.

It was Kipyegon’s third world 1,500m title after her previous exploits in 2017 (London) and 2022 (Oregon), which elevated her to the greatest middle distance athlete ever.

Winning the world 5,000m title on her fourth appearance over the distance saw her join Kenya's other greats, Vivian Cheruiyot (2009, 2011) and Hellen Obiri (2017, 2019), who have won the world 5,000m title.

The 23-year-old Moraa helped Kenya recapture the 800m crown after a decade, stunning defending world champion Athing Mu from United States of America (USA) and 2021 world silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain, who had relegated her to bronze last year in Oregon.

Moraa’s victory in 800m on the final day saw Kenya finish fifth overall in the medal standings and top in Africa with 10 medals; three gold, three silver and four bronze.

The United States of America again topped with 29 medals - 12 gold, nine silver and eight bronze.

Moraa, the national 400m record holder, became the third Kenyan woman to win the world title over the two-lap race after Janeth Jepkosgei (2007) and Eunice Sum (2013).

However, the men will have to pull up their socks after the best performance came from Daniel Simiu (10,000m) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m), who settled for silver medals as Jacob Krop spared the country an embarrassment with bronze in the men's 5,000m.

Kenyan men have not won a world title in 5,000m since Benjamin Limo in 2005, while Charles Kamathi was the last Kenyan man to have won gold in  10,000m for the country in 2001.

It was great to see the return of women’s 3,000m steeplechase world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech from injury to win silver for Kenya in her specialty, as Kenyan-born Bahraini Wilfred Yavi won gold.

The championships unearthed new talent with the 19-year-old Wanyonyi’s exploits, and the continued rise of Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Beatrice Chebet, 23, who settled for bronze in 5,000m and Faith Cherotich, 19, who claimed bronze in 3,000m steeplechase.

Cherotich became the youngest podium finisher at the World Championships in steeplechase.

The newly crowned World Cross Country Under-20 champion Ishmael Kipkurui, 18, finished 10th in men’s 5,000m, where Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen retained his title, but the youngster has incredible potential.
The poor performance in men and women's marathon races, and men's steeplechase is a cause for concern for Kenya.

No medals came from the marathon, with Kenyan men missing the podium for the second consecutive time as victory was elusive for the third straight time. Kenya’s female marathoners  missed a medal at the championship for the first time since 2009 edition held in Berlin.

Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali dealt Kenya a blow again to retain the steeplechase title as Commonwealth Games champion, Abraham Kibiwott, scraped through for bronze.

Team Kenya staged a splendid show at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, clinching the overall title with 10 medals - six gold, two silver and two bronze.

Kenya recaptured the mixed relay title and retained women's 10km crown through Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Beatrice Chebet, besides recapturing men's Under-20 8km title for the first time in 12 years through Ishmael Kipkurui.

The country lost the women's Under-20 6km crown to Ethiopia's Senayet Getachew, where Pamela Kosgei settled for bronze. Uganda claimed back-to-back victory in the men's 10km race through Jacob Kiplimo.
Kenya failed to win a medal in the men's 10km for the first time in 14 years.

The country was able to claim all the team titles save for one. They clinched men’s 10km team title for the first time in eight years, recaptured the women's 10km team title they lost in 2019 and men's Under-20 8km team title for the first time since 2017.

The only team title that evaded the nation was women’s under-20 6km.
Once again, Team Kenya claimed the overall title at the World Road Running Championships in Riga with 12 medals - five gold, three silver and four bronze.

Kenyan athletes swept the podium in both men and women's half marathon, with Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchichir and Sabastian Sawe winning individual titles in Championship Records.

World Cross Country champion Beatrice Chebet went for the 5km crown to affirm the country’s immense talent.

Apart from Jepchirchir, the rest were representing Kenya for the first time in road racing, Chebet and Faith Kipyegon, who settled for bronze in Road Mile.

Jepchirchir, who joined the rare club of hat-tricks, orchestrated Kenya’s third podium sweep in the history of the championships after 2014 and 2016. Jepchirchir reigned in 1:07:25, as compatriots Margaret Chelimo and Catherine Reline settled for silver and bronze in 1:07:26 and 1:07:34.

Jepchirchir became the fourth athlete to win three world half marathon titles after long distance legend Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan-born Lorna Kiplagat of the Netherlands and Briton Paula Radcliffe.

Sawe, the Berlin Half Marathon champion, claimed his maiden championship victory when he snatched the lead from World 10,000 metres silver medallist Daniel Simiu, who waved and saluted him in the last 80 metres to win in 59:10.

Sawe, Simiu (59:14) and Samwel Nyamai (59:19) staged the podium sweep for Kenya, the first since 1995 when Moses Tanui, Paul Yego and Charles Tangus swept.

Sawe’s victory enabled the country to recapture the title it lost to Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda in 2020, as Kenya retained the Team title.

Kenya hauled 33 medals - 13 gold, eight silver and 12 bronze from the Africa Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 Championships in Ndola.
However, the focus was on one golden girl from Mount Elgon, the phenomenal Nancy Cherop.

Cherop, the World Under-20 3,000 metres bronze medallist, claimed three gold medals in girls’ Under-18, winning in 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m.

Kenya finished third behind winners South Africa, who once again topped the medal standings with 66 medals - 33 gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.

Nigeria emerged second with 17 gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals.

Team Manager Joseph Ilovi said the results could have tilted Kenya's way if the country had more numbers across the events.

Ilovi noted that South Africa beat the rest in the field events where they claimed virtually all the gold medals.

"They claimed all the four gold medals for instance in pole vault besides having an entry of 120 athletes while we had 48," said Ilovi, adding that they have learnt on where to improve.