Kenya's women's 4x1500 metres relay team celebrates on the track after
setting a new world record while winning the event during the IAAF World
Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, May 24, 2014. PHOTO | COURTESY
|
Kenyans once again ruled the world of athletics, setting world
records in men’s marathon and women’s half marathon races besides
retaining their title at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in
August.
However, that performance was blighted by cases
of doping involving 26 athletes in the last two years, including a
shocking report involving two-time Boston and Chicago Marathon champion
Rita Jeptoo who turned positive for banned substances.
Kenya
made two new important strides setting two new world records in both
men and women’s 4x1,500m races at the inaugural World Relays
Championships in Bahamas in May.
Kenya's women's 4x1500 metres relay team
celebrates on the track after setting a new world record while winning
the event during the IAAF World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas,
May 24, 2014. PHOTO | COURTESY |
Florence
Kiplagat broke the world half marathon record by a significant margin
at the Barcelona Half Marathon in February 2014, running 1 hour,05:12min
to beat Mary Keitany’s old mark by 38 seconds. Kiplagat also took the
world record for the 20 km distance as well with a time of 1:01:56.
Kenya’s
Dennis Kimetto ran his way to a world marathon record of 2:02:57 at the
Berlin Marathon on September 28. Kimetto outclassed compatriot Emmanuel
Mutai (2:03:13) who also dipped below the previous best mark.
SMASHED WORLD RECORD
Kimetto shaved a whopping 26 seconds off Wilson Kipsang’s previous world record set on the same course last year.
At
Nassau, Kenya’s performance in the inaugural relay was punctuated with
three gold medals and two World records in the women and men’s 4x 1,500m
where World champions Mercy Cherono and Asbel Kiprop anchored their
respective teams to glory.
(READ: Record-breaking night for Kenya)
Kenya
established a world record of 14:22.22 in the men’s 4x1,500m final, as
Kiprop, Silas Kiplagat and James Magut turned back challenges from
Ethiopia and the USA before simply striding away from everyone else in
history. They lowered the record by 14 seconds.
Kenyan
women’s 4x1,500m team of Cherono, Faith Kipyegon, Irene Jelagat and
Hellen Obiri improved the world record by more than half a minute to
16:33.58. The previous world best of 17:05.72 had been set by another
Kenyan team in April.
The Kenyan quartet of Ferguson
Rotich, Sammy Kirongo, Job Koech Kinyor and Alfred Kipketer made an
obvious attempt at the world record, which has stood at 7:02.43 to
another Kenyan squad since 2006, but their gun-to-tape run yielded
7:08.40.
World
champion Eunice Sum, Sylivia Chesebe, and Janeth Jepkosgei ran a
national record of 8:04.28 but still lost to USA team that clocked
8:01.58.
Although medals were elusive in the shorter
relays, the quartet of Stephen Barasa, Carvin Nkanata, Tony Chirchir and
Walter Moenga proved their worth, setting a new national record of
1:22.35 with a fifth place finish in an event that went to the Jamaican
team in a World Record time of 1:18.63.
Athletics once
again remained as Kenya’s major medals provider at 20th edition of the
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, what with the country retaining their
titles from the previous edition with 23 medals (10 gold, 10 silver and
three bronze).
Kenyan women retained all the titles
previously won in 2010 Delhi Games, collecting six gold, four silver and
two bronze medals with historic sweeps in 10,000m and 3,000m
steeplechase. Kenya had won athletics title in Delhi with 11 gold, 10
silver and eight bronze.
Quite significant was Julius
Yego’s history blitz in men’s javelin. After winning the 2011 All Africa
Games and 2012 Africa titles to finish 12th at the 2012 Olympics and
fourth at the 2013 World Championships, the phenomenal ‘Youtube man’ won
the country its first gold in field events at the Club Games.
(READ: Yego spears and pens history)
Interestingly,
it’s at the 2010 Delhi Games where Yego made his international debut,
finishing seventh and not even a groin injury in training at Glasgow
would deter the 25-year-old police officer from making history.
Julius Kiplangat Yego celebrates taking gold in
the final of the men's javelin throw athletics event at Hampden Park
during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on August 2,
2014. PHOTO | BEN STANSALL | AFP
The men’s dismal performance in long distance races and the general lacklustre outing by sprinters across the board was of great concern.
Caleb
Mwangangi reclaimed the 5,000m title from Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro but
their bid to take the 10,000m from the Ugandan came a cropper when
Emmanuel Bett settled for silver.
Kenya's Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku reacts after
winning in the men's 3000m final during the IAAF Continental Cup 2014 on
September 14, 2014 at the Grand Stade in the Moroccan city of
Marrakesh. PHOTO | FADEL SENNA | AFP
Kenya
lost its men’s marathon crown to Michael Shelley from Australia as
Stephen Chemlany got silver. Kenya lost both the 800m and 400m titles.
Nijel Amos from Botswana snatched the 800m gold, leaving his role model,
Olympic and World Record holder David Rudisha, to take silver.
The
400m defending champion Mark Mutai lost in the preliminaries as men’s
4x400m team that won silver in Delhi got disqualified in the
semi-finals.
Africa champion Joyce Chepkirui claimed
her maiden global title, stunning favourites Florence Kiplagat and Emily
Chebet to win women’s 10,000m title as the Kenyan girls swept the
podium for the first over the distance.
Joyce Chepkirui (CR) celebrates winning after a
sprint on the final straight as Florence Kiplagat (CL) falls over the
line in an unsuccessful effort to hold onto first place in the final of
the women's 10,000m at Hampden Park during the 2014 Commonwealth Games
in Glasgow, Scotland on July 29, 2014. PHOTO | ADRIAN DENNIS | AFP
Former
World junior champion Purity Kirui, 2010 Delhi champion Milcah Chemos
and Joan Kipkemoi write history with Kenya’s first sweep in women’s
3000m steeplechase.
World 1,500m bronze medallist
Hellen Obiri might have set new times in women’s metric mile race in the
semi-finals of 4:04.43 it’s the 2012 World junior 1,500m champion
Faith Chepng’etich, who eventually claimed the title.
Rita
Jeptoo’s fate was sealed after her “B” Sample urine test corroborated
her “A” Sample that tested positive for prohibited substance
Erythropoietin in an out-of-competition test in Eldoret on September 24,
2014.
It happened just days before the New York
Marathon race that was due for November 2 where Jeptoo was to collect a
share of the Sh90 million (US$ 1m) World Marathon Majors Series jackpot.
Jeptoo had made history as the first person to win
four consecutive World Marathon Majors Series when she defended her
Boston and Chicago Marathon titles.
Jeptoo expects a
two-year ban in January. She is the first top Kenyan athlete to fail
dope test since Matthew Kisorio two years ago. Kisorio completed his
two-year ban in July this year.
Both athletes are
under Federico Rosa and Claudio Berardelli’s stable. Deputy President
William Ruto has since read the riot act to athletics officials, saying :
“We have natural talent and it should not be corrupted by people
looking for short cuts... it is my hope that those behind the doping
problem are reined in as early as now.”
Jeptoo’s failed
drug test and an expose by German television channel ARD on drug abuse
by Russian and Kenyans athletes and the subsequent reports linking it to
a cover up by IAAF have sent things spinning at Athletics Kenya.
The
German documentary alleged that 150 athletes, among them 25 Kenyans,
had suspicious blood values and were not subjected to proper targeted
testing afterwards.
Nevertheless, Kipsang, who won his
third consecutive London Marathon in April in a course record time of
2:04.27, would follow up with another victory at the New York City
Marathon in 2:10:59 to claim the World Marathon Major Series. Mary
Keitany, who was making a comeback from maternity break won women’s NYC
race.
Mary Keitany of Kenya crosses the finish line to
win the Pro Women's division during the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon
in Central Park in New York City on November 2, 2014. PHOTO | ALEX
TRAUTWIG | AFP
Two times
world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat won the London Marathon in 2:20:21
where Florence Kiplagat finished in second place in 2:20:24.
Eliud
Kipchoge pulled away over the last two miles for his first major
marathon victory in Chicago, finishing in 2:04:11 as fellow countrymen
Sammy Kitwara 2:04:28 and Dickson Chumba 2:04:32 came in second and
third.
Kenya finished second behind United States of
America during the World Junior Championships held July in Eugene,
Oregon. They won four gold, five silver and seven bronze medals.
Alfred
Kipketer won gold in 800m with Jonathan Kiplimo Sawe, Barnabas Kipyego
going for victories in 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase. The only victory
in women came in 800m by Margaret Nyairera Wambui.
Just
like in 2011 and 2012, Kenyan made a clean sweep of all the titles at
the Third African Cross-country Championships in Kampala, Uganda in
March.
World junior cross-country silver medallist
Leonard Barsoton led a Kenyan 1-4 sweep in senior men’s 12km race as
reigning world junior cross-country champion Faith Kipyegon achieved a
similar feat in the senior women’s 8km race.
African
junior 5000m champion Moses Mukono won his second continental title in
junior men’s category as Agnes Tirop won in the women’s category
DOPING MENACE
Jeptoo was biggest culprit after Kisorio
Rita
Jeptoo’s fate was sealed after her “B” Sample test corroborated her “A”
Sample that tested positive for banned Erythropoiet.
It
happened just days before the New York Marathon where Jeptoo was to
collect a share of the Sh90 million of the World Marathon Majors Series
jackpot.
Jeptoo had made history as the first person to
win four consecutive World Marathon Majors Series. She expects a
two-year ban in January.
Jeptoo is the first top Kenyan athlete to fail doping test since Matthew Kisorio two years ago.
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