African Competitions in Athletics
2010 African Championships in Athletics
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| The 2010 African Championships in Athletics was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 July to 1 August 2010. |
| The African Championships in Athletics were held in Kenya for the first time. Previously two major athletics events have been held in Kenya, namely 1987 All-Africa Games and 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. |
| The championships were awarded to Kenya at the April 2007 Confederation of African Athletics Congress in Dakar, Senegal. |
| The event was originally scheduled to be held from April 28 to May 2, 2010, but due to delayed preparations the event was moved forward.The Moi International Sports Centre was initially set to become the host venue, but it was later changed to the smaller Nyayo Stadium. |
| Medal table | Nyayo National Stadium | ||||||
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |  |
|
| 1 | Kenya | 10 | 7 | 8 | 25 | ||
| 2 | Nigeria | 8 | 5 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 3 | South Africa | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 4 | Egypt | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 5 | Algeria | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 6 | Morocco | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 7 | Botswana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 7 | Tunisia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Ethiopia | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Senegal | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 11 | Côte d'Ivoire | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 12 | Ghana | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 13 | Uganda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 14 | Lesotho | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Nyayo National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located near the city centre. The stadium was built in 1983 for a capacity of 30,000. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The popular AFC Leopards football club plays most of its home games at Nyayo stadium. The stadium is also used for athletics and various ceremonies. Other facilities at the Nyayo Stadium include a gymnasium and a 50-metre swimming pool. The completion of the Nyayo Stadium gave Kenya the opportunity to be placed in the category of nations that were invited to bid for the 4th All-Africa Games in 1987, a bid that was awarded to Kenya, giving it International status. In essence, the Nyayo Stadium "gave birth" to Moi International Sports Centre. The Nyayo Stadium is the host venue of the 2010 African Championships in Athletics. |
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| 15 | Libya | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 16 | Cameroon | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 17 | Sudan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 17 | Gabon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 19 | Burundi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 19 | Seychelles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 21 | Togo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 21 | Madagascar | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 21 | Mauritius | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 21 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Participating nations | |||||
| Algeria | 16 | Gambia | 3 | Rwanda | 14 |
| Angola | 6 | Ghana | 14 | Senegal | 13 |
| Benin | 5 | Guinea-Bissau | 2 | Seychelles | 14 |
| Botswana | 14 | Kenya | 106 | Sierra Leone | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | 12 | Lesotho | 2 | Somalia | 5 |
| Burundi | 8 | Liberia | 5 | South Africa | 41 |
| Cameroon | 12 | Libya | 3 | Sudan | 7 |
| Comoros | 1 | Madagascar | 6 | Swaziland | 1 |
| Ivory Coast | 10 | Malawi | 1 | Tanzania | 21 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 11 | Mali | 5 | Togo | 4 |
| Djibouti | 2 | Mauritius | 15 | Tunisia | 7 |
| Egypt | 14 | Morocco | 19 | Uganda | 27 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2 | Mozambique | 5 | Zambia | 9 |
| Eritrea | 6 | Namibia | 6 | Zimbabwe | 4 |
| Ethiopia | 63 | Nigeria | 37 | ||
| Gabon | 2 | Republic of the Congo | 7 |
| High powered rivalries expected in Nairobi – African Championships preview |
| Nairobi, Kenya More than half a dozen bitterly-contested rivalries among Africa’s premiere athletics talent will be on tap when the 17th CAA African Athletics Championships (28th July- 1st August 2010) kickoff at the Nyayo stadium in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Wednesday (28). |
| This year’s championships will also serve as an important qualifier to select Africa’s team for the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split, Croatia (4-5 September 2010). |
| Rudisha v Mulaudzi - men’s 800m |
| Africa’s biggest star in this track season has arguably been Kenya’s defending African 800m champion David Rudisha. The 21-year old, who started his season in February, has set the track season alight with some outstanding performances including a 1:41.52 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium that took him to number three on the world lists and saw him smash the African record at the distance. In five starts over two laps, Rudisha remains unbeaten and brings with him the hottest unbeaten streak into the championships. |
| For all these fast times in top meetings in the last two years, Rudisha has yet to win any medals in global championships as a senior with the African title he won two years ago in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia his only senior championship medal. That, however, cannot be said about experienced South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who is the reigning World champion at the distance and two-time World indoor champion in the event as well. The 29-year-old will again provide Rudisha’s biggest challenge, although the Kenyan has won all three of their head-to-heads this season. |
| The field will be missing Sudan’s twice world indoor 800m champion Abubaker Kaki, who chose to instead focus on anchoring the Sudanese team in the 4X400m. But it will not be short of star power with Alfred Kirwa Yego, the 2007 World champion and 2009 world bronze medallist. |
| Defar v Cheruiyot v Ejigu - women’s 5000m |
| ?The women’s 5000m pits together an athlete with a large repertoire with an in-form one as Kenya’s reigning world 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot clashes with four-time World indoor 3000m champion Meseret Defar in a repeat of the 2007 and 2009 world championship 5000m finals. |
| Cheruiyot will toe the start line in Nairobi on the back of an impressive outdoor season in the Samsung Diamond League with victories in Lausanne (3000m) and Paris (5000m) where she handed out comprehensive victories to Defar and Melkamu in the former. |
| In contrast, Defar has endured a mixed 2010 campaign. The 26-year-old got the year rolling with the second fastest time over the 5000m indoors in Stockholm and then created her own piece of history by winning a fourth consecutive world indoor 3000m in Doha at the expense of Cheruiyot. Her outdoor campaign also started encouragingly with a personal best (4:02.00) over the 1500m in New York before a bout of flu saw her finish third over the 3000m in Lausanne behind Cheruiyot and Turkey’s Alemitu Bekele, despite pre-meet hopes of an African record at the event. |
| But a shocker in Nairobi could come from fellow Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu, who has surprised many this season by leading the diamond race over the 3000m/5000m and has victories in Shanghai and Monaco to show for her improved campaign. Ejigu finished third behind Defar and Cheruiyot in Doha in March and should push the duo very closely in Nairobi. |
| Masai v Dibaba - women’s 10,000m |
| In addition to Cheruiyot who came of age in Berlin last year by becoming the first Kenyan winner of the women’s 5000m World title, Kenya will have high hopes once again in World 10,000m champion Linet Masai as she bids to regain the title from Ethiopian hands. |
| The 21-year-old has had a mixed season since her surprise victory in the German capital. Apart from winning the New York Mini 10km this year, Masai has performed on the track with modest results with appearances in Shanghai (2nd over 5000m) and Lausanne(10th in her least favourite 5000m). But she will start the race in Nairobi with full confidence having beaten Dibaba twice over the last year – in the 5000m in New York and at the World Cross Country Championships where she finished second to Dibaba’s below-par fourth place performance - and winning the ultra-competitive Kenyan trials for the championships. |
| In contrast, Dibaba is hoping to complete her first full track season in two years after sitting out 2009 with injuries. She brings a 100% record on the track this season to Nairobi following 5000m victories in New York and Eugene and is unbeaten in the 10,000m in the five years since she made her debut over the distance in July 2005. |
| A surprise in the event could come from defending African 5000m champion Meselech Melkamu, who steps up to the 10,000m after her successful experimentation with the event last year. Melkamu improved Dibaba’s African record to 29:53.80 in Utrecht last year and was a close second at the World championships behind Masai and won the only high-profile 10,000m this season in Ostrava in 31:04.52. |
| Langat v Burka v Lakhouad - women’s 1500m |
| The women’s 1500m also sees another Ethiopia v Kenya rivalry between Olympic 1500m champion Nancy Jebet Langat and defending champion Gelete Burka. After a lacklustre 2009, Langat has returned back to top form this season with victories in Doha, New York, and Oslo, but finished third in her last competitive outing before Nairobi behind Burka and Moroccan Btissam Lakhouad. Burka clocked the first sub-four minute performance of the season on that occasion and will be eager to preserve her 100% record over the 1500m on African soil, while Lakhouad hopes to build on her performance in Lausanne where she broke the ten-year old national record over the distance, also with a sub-four clocking. |
| Badji v Mokoena v Gaisah - men’s Long jump |
| There is also an exciting matchup in the men’s Long Jump where South Africa’s Olympic and World silver medallist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena clashes with in-form jumpers Ndiss Kaba Badji, who heads the African lists this season with a leap of 8.27m; and Ghana’s 2005 World Championships silver medallist and 2006 African champion Ignasious Gaisah, who is consistently jumped this after two years of injury problems. |
| More Kenyan dominance expected |
| The host nation is also expected to feature dominantly in the many of the other middle distance races. Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop starts as the favourite in the men’s 1500m, although he can expect stiff competition from young star Silas Kiplagat, who ran the fastest time in the event in almost four years last week in Monaco. Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremedhin, fourth at the World indoor championships, and South Africa’s reigning African bronze medallist Juan Van Deventer are expected to provide the biggest foreign challenge. |
| Both the men’s and women’s 3000m Steeplechase titles should also go to the Kenyans even without the likes of double world champion Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsele Koech. The favourite in the men’s race is Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi with world bronze medallist Richard Mateelong and world leader Abraham Cherono also in the reckoning. Their biggest opposition should come from Uganda’s Benjamin Kiplagat, who improved his personal best to 8:03.81 in Lausanne three weeks ago. |
| World bronze medallist Milcah Chemos is the woman to watch in the women’s event along with compatriots Mercy Njoronge and Lydiah Rotich. Ethiopia’s Mekdes Bekele and Sofia Assefa, second and fourth in Addis Ababa two years ago, will hope to disrupt a Kenyan clean sweep. |
| And Olympic silver medallist Janeth Jepkosgei is also the favourite in the women’s 800m with Moroccan Halima Hachlaf her biggest challenge. ??Sprints - Can Okagbare win three gold medals? |
| As its tradition in these biennial championships, Nigerian athletes will start as favourites in the sprint events. The biggest star in their large squad of 60 is Olympic Long Jump bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare, who has shifted focus this year to the 100m with some success. The 20-year-old, who is a student of the University of Texas in El Paso, has been entered to compete in the 100m, 200m, and the Long Jump and has a realistic chance of winning a treble in Nairobi after leading the African lists in all the three events (11.03 for the 100m, 22.71 for the 200m, and 6.88m for the long jump). Her biggest challenge in those events should come from compatriot and defending 100m champion Damola Osayemi. |
| However, the men’s sprints are less likely to be dominated by one country. Ghana’s Aziz Zakari is the leader on the African lists, but can expect stiff competition from Nigerian trio Benjamin Adukwu, Ogho-Ogene Egwero, and Obinna Metu, who follow him on the season’s lists. South Africa’s Simon Mogakwe props the continent’s lists in the 200m. |
| The best of the rest |
| In other events, Botswana’s defending champion Amantle Montsho is the women to look out for in the women’s 400m. The 22-year-old, who is a product of the IAAF High Performance Training Centre in Dakar, Senegal, has consistently appeared in the finals of major championships and top-tier track meets in the last three years and is looking to better her 49.82 championship record set two years ago in Addis Ababa. |
| South Africa’s Louis Van Zyl, defending men’s 400m Hurdles champion and another top circuit performer, starts as the overwhelming favourite in his event. Other returning champions to watch out for include Botswana’s Kabelo Kgosiemang in the men’s High Jump, the South African quartet of Simone du Toit (women’s Shot Put), Elizna Naude (women’s discus), Sunette Viljoen (women’s javelin), and Chris Harmse (men’s Hammer Throw). |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
| Kiprop takes men’s 10,000m as African championships begin in Nairobi |
| Nairobi, KenyaKenyan marathoner Wilson Kiprop won a bitterly-contested men’s 10,000m on the opening day of the 17th CAA Safaricom African Athletics Championships at the Nyayo stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. |
| In the other two finals on day 1, Burger Lambrechts led a South African podium sweep in the men’s shot put as the rainbow nation stormed to the top of the medal standings ahead of host nation Kenya. And Senegal’s Amy Sene caused a major upset by beating Egypt’s defending champion Marwa Hussein in the women’s hammer. |
| Kiprop holds off Kipsiro in the men’s 10,000m |
| With just two finals on the opening day and the men’s 10,000m representing the host nation’s best chance of medals, a capacity crowd of 20,000 filled the Nyayo stadium in anticipation of the “race of the day” and they were not to be disappointed as 23-year old Kiprop held off the challenge of the All-African Games 5000m champion Moses Kipsiro to win gold in 27:32.91. |
| The pre-race hype had billed the contest to be another battle between Kenya and their East African neighbors Ethiopia, but unlike two years ago where Gebregziabher Gebremariam led a clean sweep of the medals on home soil, the Ethiopians could not offer any resistance. |
| In the absence of Gebremariam and his fellow medalists Ibrahim Jeylan and Eshetu Wondimu, Ethiopia’s medal hopes lay on two-time Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Sileshi Sihine. But after losing ground on a breakaway group of the three Kenyans in the race - Kiprop, Matthew Kisorio, and Geofrey Mutai - and Uganda;s Kipsiro, Sihine pulled out of the race with eight laps left with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. |
| Two laps earlier, the Kenyan trio and Kipsiro pulled away from the Ethiopians. But after Sihine dropped out and the Ethiopian challenge faded, Kiprop and Mutai exchanged the lead in the succeeding laps in order to drop Kipsiro. However, they only succeeded in dropping off their compatriot Kisorio with Kipsiro comfortably running just behind the front pair at the bell. |
| The trio ran side-by-side going into the final lap, but Kiprop kicked first with 200 metres to go and despite the gallant efforts of Kipsiro to play catch up, the Paris Half Marathon winner held on to take his first African title. |
| “I am happy about my first African title,” Kiprop said after the race. “The plan was to cooperate with my team mates and then see who could win the race. It is really great and I am extremely happy.” |
| Lambrechts takes Shot Put title by 1 cm |
| The day’s other final, the men’s Shot Put, was equally too close to call until the final stages where veteran 37-year old South African Burger Lambrechts took victory with his very last throw of the contest. |
| His compatriot Roelof Potgieter led after the first round with a throw of 17.74m and further extended his lead on his fourth throw of 18.62m. At this point, only Lambrechts had thrown further than 18m. Potgieter fouled on his fifth attempt, but looked assured of victory before Lambrechts pulled back the years with a throw 18.63m to take his second African title, twelve years after his first in Dakar, Senegal. |
| “I think it was an interesting competition today,” said the soft-spoken Lambrechts. “The lead changed I think four times and it was very competitive. I was hoping to throw around 19 metres, but the circle was dusty and slippery. I am very happy about my performance here and hope to hang around as long as I can.” |
| Sene shocks Hussein in women’s hammer |
| The surprise result of the day was reserved in the women’s Hammer Throw where Senegal’s Amy Sene threw a national record of 64.11m to take victory ahead of Egypt’s Marwa Ahmed Hussein (62.36m), who has won African titles in each of the last four editions of the African championships. Togo’s Florence Edem Apefa Ezeh also improved her own national record to win bronze in 57.94m. |
| Favorites advance in qualifiers, Bourrada leads Decathlon |
| Apart from the day’s two finals, it was a busy day of heats and qualification rounds in the sprints, the 800m, and field events. |
| In the men’s 100m, Nigeria’s 2007 All-African Games champion Obinna Metu (10.37) was the fastest in the first round with his compatriots Ogho-Ogene Egwero, Benjamin Adukwu, and Ghana’s 2000 African Champion Aziz Zakari also easily making it through to to the semifinals. Zakari (10.16) and Nigeria's Ogho-Ogene (10.17) went on to lead all qualifiers in the evening's semi-finals. |
| Nigeria’s pre-race favorite Blessing Okagbare was fastest in the women’s 100m semifinals ahead of compatriot and defending champion Damola Osayemi and Agnes Osazuwa. |
| Kenya’s 2007 world champion Alfred Kirwa (1:48.66) was the fastest in qualifier in the first round of the men’s 800m, but compatriots David Rudisha (1:50.51) and Jackson Kivuva (1:49.93) easily cruised through their heats. South Africa’s World champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi had a bit of a scare in his heat, but qualified in third place. |
| Defending women’s 400m champion Amantle Montsho, South Africa’s World and Olympic Long Jump silver medalist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena, Nigeria’s defending men’s 400m bronze medallist were impressive as they lead in their opening rounds. |
| And Algeria’s defending champion Larbi Bourrada is the overnight leader in the men’s Decathlon with 4312 points after the first day. He is followed by compatriot Mourad Souissi (4119 pts) ahead of Tunisian Hamdi Dhouibi (4021 pts). |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
| Meite, Okagbare take 100m titles, Cheruiyot over Defar again in the 5000m - African champs Day 2 |
| Ivorian Ben Youssef Meite’s shock victory in the men’s 100m, Nigerian Blessing Okagbare’s expected victory in the women’s 100m, and Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot’s 5000m triumph over Ethiopian archrival Meseret Defar were the highlights of the action on day two of the 17th CAA Safaricom African Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. |
| In the day’s other events, South Africa’s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena easily won his first African title in the men’s long jump, Seun Adigun made it a successful day for Nigeria with gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, and Algerian Larbi Bourrada took the men’s decathlon. |
| Meite shocks strong field to win first African sprint title for Ivory Coast |
| The result of the day came in the men’s 100m where Meite registered the shock of the championships so far by winning the men’s 100m. The Ivorian created a bit of history by becoming his country’s first individual gold medalist in the biennial championships since Serge Doh won the men’s discus in 1996. |
| The 23-year old was only sixth fastest in the African lists before the start of the championships with four of the five leaders competing in the final on Thursday, but after going off the blocks third quickest, he easily made ground on the competition and took victory in a personal best time of 10.08, the fastest time in these championships since Segun Ogunkoya’s 9.94 performance in Dakar, Senegal 12 years ago and a national record. |
| Ghana’s former champion and pre-race favorite Aziz Zakari (10.12) and South Africa’s Simon Magakwe (10.14) followed Meite across the finish line for silver and bronze respectively. |
| “This is a personal best, a national record, and the first medal for Ivory Coast in a long time and I am really happy,” said a delighted Meite. “It was a hard race and I was confident after the heats of victory and knew that I would win.” |
| One down, two to go - Okagbare claims 100m championship record |
| While the men’s 100m was a shock, there was little surprise in the women’s corresponding race as Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare confirmed her pre-race tag with her first ever African title. |
| The 21-year old, who is still a student in the University of Texas at El Paso in the US, recovered from a bad start to clock 11.03 and break compatriot Mary Onyali’s championship record by two hundredths of a second. |
| Gabon’s Perennes Pau Zang Milama, fourth in the world indoor championships 60m, prevented a clean sweep of the medals for Nigeria by finishing second in 11.15, a personal best and a national record, with defending champion Damole Osayemi third in 11.22. |
| “It was a huge relief winning,” said Okagbare. “I thought my start was very bad. But after 30 or 40m, I was doing my race. I was worried that I might be disqualified and that’s why I started very badly. I am happy with the victory and for the championship record.” |
| Impressive Cheruiyot beats Defar again |
| For the crowd at the Nyayo stadium, there was only going to be one final on the day with home favorite and world champion Vivian Cheruiyot taking on four-time World indoor 3000m champion Meseret Defar in the women’s 5000m. |
| The 26-year old Kenyan had an inferior head-to-head record (14 victories for Defar over the 5000m to Cheruiyot’s three) going into the race, but had significantly won their last two outdoor encounters and was again favored to triumph over the Ethiopian on home soil. |
| Both Cheruiyot and Defar chose conservative tactics for the 12-and-half laps by electing not to push the pace from the front for large parts of the contest. It was Defar’s compatriot Sentayehu Ejigu, this season’s Samsung Diamond League 3000m/5000m leader, who tried to make the first real move of the race with eight laps left, but that only succeeded in whittling the starting field of 13 to just seven runners with all three Kenyans - Cheruiyot, Ines Chenonge, and Esther Chemtai - the three Ethiopians - Defar, Ejigu, and Sule Utura - and Tanzanian Zakia Mrisho still in contention. |
| Chemtai, with four laps to go, and then Cheruiyot, a lap later, also tried leading from the front, but the seven in the leading pack arrived together at the bell on walking pace. |
| Cheruiyot made the first serious kick of the race with 300 metres remaining and continued to pull away from Defar until she reached the finish line in a 16:18.72 ahead of Defar (16:20.54) with Ejigu holding off Chenonge to claim bronze in 16:22.32. |
| “This is a championship and that is why the time is very slow,” said a delighted Cheruiyot. “The victory is very special for me as I am competing in my country and today, I did not want to lose in front of my people.” |
| 8.23m enough for Mokoena in Long Jump |
| South Africa’s Olympic and World silver medallist Godfrey Khotso Mokoena took the men’s Long Jump with a modest leap of 8.23m. Although he has been struggling this season with injuries, the 25-year old needed just one attempt beyond eight metres to take victory ahead of Senegal’s Ndiss Kaba Badji (8.10m) with Nigeria’s Stanley Gbagbeke (8.06m) taking bronze. Ghana’s 2006 African champion Ignasious Gaisah did not start the final after a recurrence of a foot injury. |
| Adigun, Bourrada, Dinar, El Ghazaly all win easily |
| In the day’s other four finals, Nigeria’s Seun Adigun won her country’s second gold of the day with victory in the women’s 100m Hurdles in 13.14s. Algerian Larbi Bourrada was an impressive winner of the men’s Decathlon with 8148 pts ahead of compatriot Mourad Souissi, who improved his personal best to 7818 points, and Mauritius’ Guillaume Thierry (7100 pts). Moroccan Nisrin Dinar comfortably won the women’s Pole Vault with 3.70m, 20 centimeters clear of second placed Laetitia Berthier of Burundi and a further 10cm ahead of Ivorian Sinali Alima Outtara. And Egyptian Abdellatif El Ghazaly defended his men’s discus title with a throw of 59.30m ahead of compatriot Yasser Ibrahim Farag (58.71m) and South Africa’s Victor Hogan (58.11m). |
| Track semis- Rudisha, Kirwa, Kikaya, Montsho, Thiam, Burka, Langat, Van Zyl all through but Mulaudzi pulls out |
| In the day’s track semifinals, all the pre-race favorites easily made it through to their finals on Friday and Saturday. |
| African record holder and the face of the championships David Rudisha made easy work in the men’s 800m final with the fastest time in qualifying (1:46.58) ahead of compatriots Alfred Kirwa and Jackson Kivuna. But South Africa’s World 800m champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi is out after failing to start the semifinals with a hamstring injury. |
| Libya’s Mohammed Khawaja looked impressive in qualifying for the men’s 400m final by winning his heat in 45.42, the fastest of the three heats. Democratic Republic of Congo’s 2006 champion and African record holder Gary Kikaya also made it through after winning his heat in 45.55. |
| As expected, Botwswana’s defending champion Amantle Montsho dominated the women’s 400m semifinals by clocking the fastest time of the two heats in 50.39. Also through is 2001 World champion Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal. |
| There were also no surprises in the women’s 1500m semis as pre-race favorites, Kenya’s Olympic champion Nancy Langat and defending African champion Gelete Burka ,both easily made it through. The fastest runner in qualifying though was Kenyan Irene Jelagat who won the first heat in 4:13.97. |
| And South Africa’s defending men’s 400m Hurdles winner Louis J Van Zyl is also safely through to the final after winning his heat in 49.73, but was second in qualifying to Senegal’s Mamadou Kasse Hanne, who won his heat in 49.45. |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
| Rudisha sizzles 1:42.84 as Kenya collects three golds in Nairobi - African champs, day 3 |
| A stunning championships record by David Rudisha was the highlight of day three at the the 17th CAA Safaricom African Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday (30). |
| It capped a successful day for Kenya who drew level with South Africa at the top of the medal standings - five gold, three silver, and two bronze - with two further victories for Nancy Langat in the women’s 1500m and Richard Mateelong in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase. |
| In the day’s other finals, South Africa’s Louis Van Zyl won his third African 400m Hurdles title, Botswana’s Amantle Montsho easily defended her women’s 400m title, and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare won her second and third gold medals of the championships with victory in the women’s Long jump and 4 x 100m Relay. |
| Rudisha goes sub-1:43 at a canter |
| After his African record time of 1:41.51 in Heusden, Belgium, this summer and a series of consistent performances in the 800m this season, Kenya’s David Rudisha was the star of African athletics going into these biennial championships. But after his run-away victory here and a massive improvement on his own championship record (1:44.20) set two years ago in Addis Ababa, the 21-year old more than fulfilled his pre-race status. |
| The confident Kenyan was the overwhelming favourite after cruising through the heats, and without pacemakers and running at an altitude of 1700m above sea level, Rudisha chose bold front-running tactics from the gun. He took the starting pack through the first 400m in 51.59 and then effortlessly glided through the last lap to stop the clock in 1:42.84, a stadium and championship record. Compatriots Alfred Kirwa and Jackson Kivuva followed Rudisha across the finish line to complete the first ever clean sweep of the event. |
| “Even without a pacemaker, I knew that I was going to run very fast,” Rudisha said. “I was really focused on the race before the start. I was expecting 1.43, but I am surprised that I ran 1.42. I am also very happy that we won all medals for Kenya. It is something special.” |
| Despite his consistency this season, however, the African record holder wouldn’t be drawn to suggestions that he is within touching distance of Kenyan-born Dane Wilson Kipketer’s 1:41.11 World record. “I do not want to think about the world record,” he said. “I want to keep on running fast and hope it comes when it comes.” |
| Mateelong beats Kemboi in the steeplechase |
| Defending African champion Richard Mateelong kept up the momentum from Rudisha’s performance with gold in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase where he beat World champion Ezekiel Kemboi in a tactical contest. |
| After a slow opening half of the race, Mateelong, Kemboi, and Ugandan Benjamin Kiplagat pulled away from a trailing pack of five runners with two laps to go. But after they dropped Kiplagat 600 metres before the finish, the two Kenyans made it a race of their own going into the final lap. The World Championship bronze medallist kicked with 300 metres to go and continued to pull away from his illustrious compatriot before stopping the clock in 8:23.54. Kemboi held on comfortably to take silver in 8:26.13, while Ethiopian Roba Gari overtook Kiplagat midway through the last lap to take bronze in 8:27.15, surprisingly the first Ethiopian medal in the event since 1992. |
| “My target here was to retain my African title and make the African team [for the Continental Cup], so I am very happy about that,” confirmed the race winner. “My target this season is to hopefully improve my personal best and run under 8 minutes.” |
| Langat over Burka in tactical 1500m |
| The final gold of the day came in the women’s 1500m where Olympic champion Nancy Langat confirmed her impressive form this season with a commanding sprint victory. |
| Ethiopian Bertukan Feyessa took the leaders through 700 metres in a slow 2:04.25 and continued to lead until the 1000 metre point when Langat took over the front running. She took the pack through the bell in 3:12.11 and started to pull away at with 300 metres to go before Burka, running in the middle of the chasing pack, had to side-step a tiring pack before chasing the Kenyan. |
| Burka looked like she could close in on Langat, but after glancing back at with 250 metres to go the Kenyan pulled away before crossing the line in 4:10.43 with Burka (4:11.12) comfortably holding on for silver ahead of Moroccan Btissam Lakhouad (4:11.81). |
| “I expected the first two laps to be faster and when the pace was slow, I was confident of victory,” said Langat. “I was confident of my sprint and after looking back, I knew I can pull away from Burka. This victory gives me great confidence for the rest of my season. I hope I can get a fast race where I can run under 4 minutes and improve my personal best.” |
| Okagbare takes third gold |
| In a frantic day of finals, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare added two more gold medals to her 100m crown from the previous day with victories in the Long Jump and 4x100m Relay. |
| And the 21-year old made use of her multi-tasking skills to complete the feat. After opening the women’s long jump with 6.55m, she then skipped her next two attempts to compete in the relays anchoring the Nigerian team to gold in 43.45. |
| She then cut short her lap of honor with the rest of her teammates to return to the jumping pit and produced a winning leap of 6.62m to take gold ahead of compatriot Comfort Onyali (6.42m) and Moroccan Jamaa Chnik (6.30m). |
| Third African title for Van Zyl |
| South African Louis Van Zyl had less of a busy day compared to Okagbare, but completed a hat-trick of African titles with a hard fought victory in the men’s 400m Hurdles. |
| The 25-year old may have been the prohibitive favorite, but after a bad start, he was forced to make ground on compatriot Cornel Fredericks before eventually using his experience to move clear in the final two hurdles. Despite clipping his final hurdle, the South African took victory in 48.51 ahead of Fredericks (48.79) and Senegal’s Mamadou Kasse Hanne (49.10). |
| “I did not expect that,” said Van Zyl when asked about Fredericks’ run. “I came here expecting to run 48 something and win my third African title. I am happy about that. It was not a good race. I did not have a good start and I messed up my last hurdle. My plan is to complete in two more Olympic games and hopefully win four more African titles.” |
| 50.03 for Montsho in women’s 400m, Libyan Khawaja shocks in men’s 400m |
| Botswana’s Amantle Montsho, the defending champion and heavy favourite in the women’s 400m, had little trouble in the defense of the title she won two years ago. The 27-year-old was already clear off the field at 200m and put on a decent effort at cracking the 50s barrier before slightly coming up short in 50.03. Nonetheless, she was more than a second ahead of Senegal’s Amy Mbacke Thiam (51.32) and with Nigeria’s Shade Abdugan (51.63) taking bronze. |
| “I was looking to improve on my personal best from Addis (49.82) or at least run under 50s,” she said. “But it is a good performance and the second fastest time of my career and I am looking forward to Croatia to run in the Continental Cup.” |
| There was a shock, however, in the men’s 400m where Libyan Mohammed Khawaja took an unlikely victory in one of the surprises of the day. The 2009 Mediterranean Games champion clocked 44.98, a national record, to beat Sudan’s Rabah Yousif (45.18) and the Congo Democratic Republic’s 2006 African champion Gary Kikaya (45.28). |
| Khawaja’s astonishing effort, however, came at a cost. After rushing through the media/athlete mixed zone waving off all interview requests and pleas from his delegation to do a lap of honuor, he collapsed inside a tent used to store competing athletes’ kits and had to be stretched off to hospital after lying unconscious for a few minutes. |
| .. And the rest of the action |
| In the day’s other action, Lesotho’s Ts’oalei Selloane took victory in the women’s High Jump with 1.75m ahead of Seychelles’ Lissa Labiche (1.70m) and Kenya’s Cherotich Koech (1.55m). South Africa’s Elizna Naude defended her women’s Discus Throw title with a last round throw of 56.74m. And South Africa drew level with Kenya on top of the medals table with victory in the men’s 4X100m relays ahead of Nigeria and Ghana. |
| Ghana’s Margaret Simpson (3497 pts) leads the women’s Heptathlon after four events with South African Janet Wienand (3289 pts) and Nigeria’s Patience Okoro (3277 pts) following behind. |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
| Dibaba takes down Masai in 10,000m to notch first Ethiopian gold in Nairobi - African champs, day 4 |
| An impressive finishing kick by Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba won Ethiopia’s first gold of the 17th CAA Safaricom African Athletics Championships at the Nyayo stadium in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday. |
| In the other highlights of day four, Nigeria’s Oke Tosin leaped 17.22m to win the men’s Triple Jump, but missed the championship record by just one centimetre. Algeria’s Hadj Lazib took a surprise win in the men’s 110m Hurdles ahead of Nigerian favorite Selim Nurudeen. And Egyptian Abdel Mohsen Anani won the men’s hammer beating South African five-time champion Chris Harmse. |
| Dibaba saves the day for Ethiopia |
| With just two silver and two bronze medals from the first two days, traditional powerhouse Ethiopia started the fourth day of the championships without a gold and were in danger of returning home empty handed if they failed to reach the top of the podium in the women’s 10,000m. |
| There was also pressure on Kenya’s world 10,000m champion Linet Masai with a capacity home crowd expecting the host’s sixth gold medal of the championships. |
| But the athletes from the two distance running powerhouses had little interest in pushing the pace in the opening eight laps with Tanzanian Restuta Joseph opening a large gap of about 20m on a reluctant chasing pack composed of Kenyans Masai, Pauline Korikwang, and Doris Changeiywo and the Ethiopian trio of Dibaba, and World Championships silver and bronze medalists Meselech Melkamu and Wude Ayalew respectively. |
| The pack finally caught Joseph after eight and a half laps, but even then, none of the top contenders took an interest in taking up the pace before eventually reaching the halfway point in a tactical 16:39.01. |
| After urging her teammates to push the pace from the front, Masai moved to the head of the pack with 11 laps to go and picked up the pace on her own. She ran the next 1000m in 3:01 and the increased pace only helped to drop her compatriots Korikwang and Changeiywo, with the three Ethiopians hanging on without any problems. |
| Another searing 1000m, 3:03 this time, saw Ayalew drop off with five laps to go with Melkamu and Dibaba sticking behind the Kenyan with consummate ease. The trio ran shoulder to shoulder for the next four laps before both Dibaba and Melkamu kicked at 400m leaving Masai trailing behind. Dibaba started to move away from Melkamu at 200m before stopping at the finish line in 31:51.39 with Melkamu coming home in second for an Ethiopian one-two in 31:55.50 ahead of Masai, who ran a season’s best in 31:59.36. Dibaba’s final 400m was timed at 61 seconds, not as quick as her 58 second final lap at the 2005 World Championship 10,000m but good enough to send a small contingent of Ethiopian supporters based in Nairobi over the roof in ecstatic celebrations. |
| “All the injury troubles I had last year have gone away this season,” said Dibaba, who is now undefeated in all her seven career races over the 10,000m. “I knew that Linet would be strong at running laps and I prepared for that. I am very delighted about victory here. There was a lot of pressure coming into the race because we had not won gold. I did not want us to go home without gold.” |
| 17.22m for Tosin in Triple Jump |
| Earlier in the day, Nigeria’s Oke Tosin won the men’s Triple Jump with a leap of 17.22m, a personal best which was just one centimetre shy of Ghanian Andre Owusu’s 17.23m championship record from Dakar, Senegal, set 12 years ago. |
| The 29-year-old, who holds a dual Nigerian and UK citizenship, was only one of two Africans (the other is South African Tumelo Thagane who led the African lists with 17.09m before the start of the championships) to have jumped beyond 17 metres this season with a leap of 17.05m in London in June. But after leaping 16.70 in his opening round and jumping 16.87 in both his second and third jumps, he unleashed his winning effort in the fifth round, but then skipped his last attempt knowing gold was secured. |
| Behind him, Thagane had a bad day on the jumping peat only managing 16.64m with his second attempt, which was only good enough for bronze behind Cameroon’s defending silver medalist Huge Lucien Schlek-Mamba, who jumped 16.78m for silver. |
| “I felt a bit tired after the fifth attempt and that’s why I passed my last one,” Tosin said. “I am happy about achieving a personal best and I hope to continue improving this season. The objective here was to do above 17 metres and I am happy with that.” |
| Anani beats Harmse in men’s hammer |
| The surprise of the day came in the men’s hammer where South Africa’s Chris Harmse, who has won the last four hammer titles in the African championships and overall has five victories in the event, suffered a rare defeat at the continental level to Egyptian Abdel Mohsen Anani. |
| In earnest, Harmse had a day to forget with only one throw beyond 70 metres and four fouls. But that should not take the credit away from Anani, the 2004 World junior silver and 2006 African championship bronze medalist, who threw better than 70 metres in all his six attempts and took victory with 74.72m. A disappointing Harmse won silver with 72.56m ahead of another Egyptian Mostafa Hesham El Gamel, who threw 71.40m for bronze. |
| Viljoen defends, Simpson returns |
| In the day’s other events, South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen defended her women’s javelin title with a championship record of 63.33m, five metres shy of the African record she set last month in Ostrava (66.38m). Compatriot Justine Robbeson was the only other thrower to manage above 60 metres with 60.24m ahead of Egyptian Hanaa Omar Hassan, who won bronze with 55.14m. |
| Ghana’s Margaret Simpson, the 2005 World championship bronze medalist, improved South African Junice Joseph’s championship record to take the women’s heptathlon with 6031 points ahead of South Africa’s Janet Wienand (5500 pts) with Lesotho’s Ts’oalei Selloane winning her second medal of the championships after the high jump gold taking bronze (5302 pts). |
| The men’s 110m Hurdles title went to Algeria’s Hadj Lazib in 13.77 with Nigeria’s Selim Nurudeen (13.83) and South Africa’s Ruan de Vries (13.98) taking silver and bronze respectively. |
| Kiprop and Jepkosgei fastest in qualifiers |
| In the day’s preliminary races, Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop was fastest in qualifying for the men’s 1500m in 3:43.33. South Africa’s reigning silver medalist Juan Van Deventer, Kenyans Silas Kiplagat and Nicholas Kemboi, Moroccan Amine Laalou, and Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremedhin all qualified easily for Sunday’s final. |
| Kenya’s Olympic and world silver medallist Janeth Jepkosgei also looked impressive in qualifying for the women’s 800m final. Moroccan duo Halima Hachlaf and Btissam Lakhouad, bronze medalist in the 1500m, are also through to Sunday’s final. |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
| Kenya captures five gold medals as African champs conclude in Nairobi |
| Host nation Kenya dominated the closing day of the 17th CAA Safaricom African Athletics Championships with five more gold medals, but there was plenty of drama, close finishes, and surprises at Nyayo stadium in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday. |
| Yator’s slip gives Soi 5000m title in Kenyan sweep |
| The biggest drama of the day came in the men’s 5000m final where long-time leader Vincent Yator slipped in the final 10m of the race to allow compatriot and Olympic 5000m bronze medalist Edwin Soi to sneak through for victory in another clean sweep of the medals for Kenya. |
| After a slow opening two laps, the race picked up pace after three laps when Ugandan Moses Kipsiro, who had won silver in the 10,000m on the opening day, led three of his compatriots followed by a large pack of 26. But Yator, sixth in the World Junior Championships 5000m in Bydgoszcz, Poland, two years ago, was the first to make a real breakaway attempt at 3000m when he opened up a small gap over Kipsiro, with compatriots Soi and Mark Kiptoo edging ahead of Ethiopians Tariku Bekele and Imane Merga. |
| One lap later, Soi and Kiptoo overtook Kipsiro and virtually ended the event as a race among nations as they opened a 30m gap on the Ugandan. A pair of 63-second laps saw the gap widening with Yator marginally ahead of his compatriots at the bell. |
| For the first 350 metres of the last lap, Yator dealt with Soi’s customary finishing kick impressively before he lost concentration in the final 10 metres and stepped on the grass outside lane one and wobbled to stay on his feet. Soi, who had looked beaten before that moment, quickly sensed his teammate’s discomfort and powered ahead to overtake him at the finish line in 13:30.46 with an unfortunate second in 13:30.53. Kiptoo completed the Kenyan podium sweep in 13:32.45 ahead of Kipsiro with Ethiopians Imane Merga and Tariku Bekele finishing fifth and sixth respectively. |
| “When I saw Vincent [Yator] slip, I knew that I had the chance and decided to give everything for it,” said the race winner. “I am happy for my first African title and to win all three medals in the 5000m feels really great. We had a plan before the race to break away like that and I am very satisfied that it worked.” |
| Bouras stuns Jepkosgei in women’s 800m |
| While the clean sweep in the men’s 5000m was unexpected by the Kenyans, victory in the women’s 800m was largely anticipated by the partisan crowd. |
| And for the first 750 metres of the race, it looked like the World and Olympic silver medallist Janet Jepkosgei had worked out her pre-race tactics very well after taking the pack through the first 400m in 58.64 and easily holding off her challengers from behind. |
| The real drama in the race started in the last 100 metres. First Moroccan Halima Hachlaf, who had led the African lists this year with 1:58.40, was floored amidst the rush to the finish. Then, Jepkosgei, who had looked comfortable in the lead, begun to slow down in the final 20 metres running on lane 2. It was a mistake that she would regret as unheralded Algerian Zahra Bouras overtook her on the inside lane to take victory in 2:00.22. A stunned Jepkosgei came home second in 2:00.50 with Moroccan Malika Akkaoui clocking a personal best time of 2:01.01 for bronze. Bouras is the daughter of Amar Bouras, who coached Algerian middle distance star Hassiba Boulmerka. She is coached by Ahmed Mahour Bacha. |
| “I am impressed by my own performance,” said Bouras. “I saw that the Kenyan was tiring in the final metres and she had opened up the first lane and I gave everything I had. This victory is unbelievable for me. I used to do the 400m and it is only this year that I switched to the 800m. This is my first African championships and the first time I have run the 800m in a big competition. I am very happy.” |
| Kiprop holds off Laalou and Gebremedhin |
| There were no surprises in the men’s 1500m where Kenya’s Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop comfortably held off the challenge from the advancing Amine Laalou for his first African title, an improvement on his 800m silver in Addis Ababa two years ago. |
| Running from the front in the first two laps, the former World junior Cross Country champion took the leading pack through the first 400m in 53.65 and then 1:53.65 before Mekonnen Gebremedhin, fourth at the World indoors this year in Doha, took over the lead. The 22-year-old Ethiopian was marginally ahead of the pack with Kenyan Silas Kiplagat close behind. |
| At the bell, Gebremedhin started a brave sprint to the finish which did well to disperse a jostling and pushing chase pack. With 200 metres to go and with Gebremedhin still ahead, he was left with five genuine chasers before Kiprop and then Laalou overtook him at the bend. Kiprop never looked back before stopping the clock in 3:36.19 ahead of Laalou’s 3:36.38, with Gebremedhin edging out Kiplagat for bronze in 3:36.65. |
| “The race was fantastic and cheering squad was outstanding,” commented Kiprop on the rasping support he received from the crowd. “I have run with Amine and Mekonnen many times in Europe this season and knew that they were strong. I am quite delighted about the victory. My plan this year is to do well at the World Cup and run sub-3.30 if I get the opportunity.” |
| African record and third title for Wanjiru |
| Kenyan Grace Wanjiru broke the only African record of the championships when winning her third African 20Km Race Walk title in 1:34.19. The 30-year-old took the lead with 2km left and walked home with victory ahead of Tunisia’s Chaima Trabelsi with Ethiopian Aynalem Eshetu taking bronze. Ethiopia’s Asnakech Ararsa, silver medallist two years ago in Addis Ababa, was disqualified after 14km. |
| “I was planning to do a personal record here and I am happy about it,” said Wanjiru, who has now won three of the four African titles since the event was introduced in the program in 2004. |
| In the men’s corresponding event, Tunisian Hassanine Sebei clocked championship record time of 1:20.36 to beat Kenya’s 37-year old-veteran David Kimutai (1:21.07) and Algerian Hicham Medjeber (1:22.53). The 26-year-old, who was bronze medallist two years ago in Addis Ababa, was coached by Tunisia’s 2007 World championship bronze medallist Hatem Gouala until last year and said his legendary countryman was his inspiration for the victory. |
| “I connect with Hatem all the time over the phone,” he said. “He gives me a lot of advice and helps me a lot. He is an inspiration to me.” |
| Seoud shocks Meite, Osayemi just holds on |
| Earlier in the day, the 200m races had contrasting fortunes for the pre-race favorites. Nigeria’s Damole Osayemi, silver medalist in the women’s 100m and part of her country’s 4X100m relay winning team, took an expected victory to win her third medal of the championships. After a good start, Osayemi clicked into gear at the 100 metres and looked clear of Gabon’s Perennes Pau Zang Milama at 150 metres before slowing down towards the finish and nearly allowing South Africa’s Estie Wittstock to catch her. Nevertheless, Osayemi took victory in 23.36 ahead of Wittstock (23.50) with Milama holding off the advancing Delphine Etangana of Cameroon to take bronze (23.59), her second medal of the championships after 100m silver. |
| But the men’s 200m was a complete surprise with victory going to Egyptian Amr Ibrahim Mostafa Seoud in a history-making 20.36, an Egyptian national record. Pre-race favorite and Ivory Coast’s 100m champion Ben Yousef Meite was second in 20.39 with South Africa’s Simon Magakwe, the fastest African coming into the championships, third in 20.56. |
| Seoud’s outstanding effort in beating Ivory Coast’s 100m champion Ben Yousef Meite was the first North African victory in the men’s 100m or 200m sprints in the history of the championships. In fact, the only North African woman to win an African sprint title was the legendary Moroccan Nawal Mouatwakel, who won the 200m in 1984! |
| “I just decided to kill it,” said Seoud referring to his last ditch effort to secure victory over Meite. “I am surprised with the victory. This is the first year that I seriously trained. I have been preparing for this race in Colorado (he has been training at the University of Northern Colorado since November 2009 with Kevin Galbraith) and I am very happy.” |
| Chemos over Assefa in women’s steeplechase |
| The afternoon’s action started with the women’s 3000m Steeplechase in what was expected to be a dominating victory of world leader Milcah Chemos. After a dominant first half of the race in which she and Ethiopian Sofia Assefa dropped off their other challengers, she was given the race of her life by Assefa in a rasping sprint finish. At the end, Chemos held off the Ethiopian for victory in a championship record time of 9:32.18 with Assefa taking silver in 9:32.58. Kenyan Lydiah Rotich beat her compatriot Mercy Njoroge for bronze in 9:37.32. |
| Lambarki takes emotional 400m Hurdles title, Idris recovers from mourning to take high jump bronze |
| A major championship would not be complete without a few moment of real emotion. Nairobi 2010 produced two such moments. The first came in the women’s 400m Hurdles where Moroccan Hayat Lambarki (55.96) sneaked a surprise victory over Nigerian pre-race favorite Ajoke Odumosu (55.97) on the finish line. The shocked Moroccan quickly burst into tears after crossing the finish line and then again during the medal ceremony for the event. |
| The second came in the men’s High Jump, but had little to do with the event winner Botswana’s Kabelo Kgosiemang, who cleared 2.19m for victory. In a dramatic competition for second, four athletes cleared 2.15, but silver was awarded to Bong Matogno of Cameroon, while Fernand Djoumessi, also of Cameroon, and Sudan’s Mohammed Younis Idris tied for bronze. It was an emotional moment for Idris, who had heard about the passing of his father a day before the competition, but decided to compete on Sunday. |
| In the day’s other individual finals, Egypt’s El Sayed Abdelrahman beat African leader Gerardus Piennaar in the men’s javelin with a throw of 78.02m. Sarah Nambawa won Uganda’s first gold in the field events with a national record of 13.95m in the women’s Triple Jump. And Nigeria’s Miriam Ibekwe won the women’s shot put with 13.67m. |
| Kenya won its fifth gold of the day in the men’s 4X400m relays ahead of Botswana and Nigeria, while Nigeria Nigeria won an easy victory in the women’s event in 3:29.26. 800m specialist Janet Jepkosgei redeemed herself from losing in the women’s 800m final by anchoring Kenya to silver in 3:35.12 beating Senegal’s Amy Mbacke Thiam, whose country took bronze in 3:35.55. |
| Facts and figures - Kenya dominate championships |
| A spectacular firework display closed the 17th edition of the championships that saw a record 47 countries take part and 24 countries winning at least one medal. It was a fitting end to the campaign for the hosts who finished atop of the medals table with ten gold, seven silver, and eight bronze medals ahead of Nigeria and South Africa. |
| Benin will host the next edition of the championships in 2012 if they can confirm the backing of their government within one month. |
| Elshadai Negash for the IAAF |
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