Tag: Beatrice Chebet

Africans Shine at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great People1 Comment
Botswana’s 4×400 relay team celebrating their gold medal (Source: Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

Africa had an awesome show at the World Athletics Championships last week, which took place in Tokyo, Japan, from Sept 13 to 21.

First of all, congratulations to Botswana which cemented its place by winning the country and continent’s first ever gold in 4 x 400 m relay in the men’s discipline. On Sunday, Botswana’s team of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi edged out the US, the winners of the last 10 world titles, in a rain-drenched race, while South Africa took third position; the team had previously earned the silver medal in the Men’s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics last year. This gold victory has caused the country’s president to declare Monday September 29 a public holiday to celebrate the country’s victory in the Men’s 4×400 metres in Tokyo. President Duma Boko hailed the gold medal as a “historic African win“, in an online address praising the team for their performance. From New York where he is attending the UN General Assembly, President Boko added, “I’ll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes.” The country finished 5th in the medal tally behind the US, Kenya, Netherlands and Canada, with 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medals. Busang Collen Kebinatshipi won gold in the men’s 400 m, while Bayapo Ndori took silver in the same discipline.

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, gold, and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, silver, react after the women’s 5,000 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. (Source: Pic/AP, PTI)

Our Kenyan sisters Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon did not disappoint. They were on fire! Beatrice Chebet triumphed in the Women’s 10,000 m and 5,000 m winning gold in both; she became the third woman to ever complete the 5,000m-10,000m double at a World Championships. Faith Kipyegon came through with a gold in the Women’s 1500 m, and silver in the 5000 m; she has now matched retired men’s world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj as the only other athlete in history to amass four 1500 m titles at the championships. Lilian Odira and Faith Cherotich took gold in the Women’s 800m and 3000m steeplechase, while Peres Jepchirchir took gold in the Women’s marathon. Dorcus Ewoi took silver in the Women’s 1500 m. The men did not disappoint either with Emmanuel Wanyonyi taking gold in 800 m, while Reynold Cheruiyot and Edmund Serem both claimed bronze medals in the Men’s 1500 m and 3000 m steeplechase respectfully.

Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu won the gold medal in the Men’s marathon – making it the first gold medal for the country at the World Athletics Championships.

Flag of Ethiopia

Ethiopia took silver in the Men’s 10,000 m with Yomif Kejelcha, while Gudaf Tsegay took bronze in the women’s version of the discipline. Tigst Assefa took home silver in Women’s marathon and Sembo Almayew bronze in women’s 3000 m steeplechase.

Djamel Sedjati of Algeria won the silver medal in the Men’s 800 m.

Soufiane El Bakkali won silver medal in the Men’s 3000 m steeplechase.

Our Nigerian sister Tobi Amusan did not disappoint, taking home the silver medal in the Women’s 100 m hurdles, her country’s sole medal at these world championships.

As stated earlier, the South African men’s team, made up of Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk, and Zakithi Nene, won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 m behind Botswana and the US.

Kudos to our African athletes, and we hope to see more and more victories in the future.

 

Flag of Kenya

While at the Berlin marathon, Kenya made a clean sweep with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s. Sawe finished in 2h2min16s to make it 3 wins in his first three marathons. Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third. In the women’s marathon, Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru – also of Ethiopia – coming third.

African Victories at the Paris 2024 Olympics

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment

The Paris 2024 Olympics have just ended, and African athletes have shined in usual disciplines i.e. those where we are used to seeing them, but also on those never conquered before. They made us proud and served us joy, endurance, and passion. At these games, we also saw more Africans representing other countries European and even Asian and winning medals: Bahrain, Qatar, Japan, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Canada, US, … and winning for them as well. In essence, Africa shined a lot! For this article, our focus will be on African athletes representing the continent.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)

We had faith in our Kenyan sister Faith Kipyegon… and she delivered: Faith won her 3rd successive Olympic gold in the women’s 1500 m, making her the first African to ever win gold in the same event 3 times in a row. Last Monday, she had won silver in a very contested Women’s 5000 m at the Olympics, where she was first disqualified for track obstruction, and then reinstated as the silver medal winner after appeal by the Kenyan federation. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet won the first Kenyan gold medal of these Olympics in the Women’s 5000 m, and proved unbeatable in the Women’s 10,000 m delivering gold there as well. Mary Moraa, Faith Cherotich, and Hellen Obiri all took home the bronze medal in the Women’s 800 m, Women’s 3000m steeplechase, and in the Women’s Marathon respectively. Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in the Men’s 800 m. Ronald Kwemoi won silver in the Men’s 5000 m, while Benson Kipruto and Abraham Kibiwot took home bronze in the Men’s Marathon and Men’s 3000m steeplechase respectively. In total, Kenya earned 11 olympic medals: 4 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronzes.

Letsile Tebogo after winning gold in 200m (Source: Onuaonline)

We had our eyes on Letsile Tebogo who missed out on the 100m  podium, but earned the top most place in the Men’s 200 m thus giving Botswana and Africa as a whole its first ever gold medal in a 200 m. Since our brother Frankie Fredericks of Namibia who used to delight us, and always ended with silver, this is a very first. Tebogo also led the Botswana’s team to a silver medal in the Men’s 4x400m relay, again a first for any African country ever, letting the world know that Africans can no longer be discarded in these disciplines.

Joshua Cheptegei (Source: Dailyexpress.co.ug)

Before the Olympics, our Ugandan brother Joshua Cheptegei told us that this will be his last Olympics, and promised us magic. Cheptegei did not disappoint, he ran his heart out serving us a performance worthy of a novel, coming from behind to win gold in the Men’s 10,000 m, and landing Uganda its first gold at the games. Compatriot Peruth Chemutai won silver in the Women’s 3000m steeplechase.

South African team after 4 x 100m Relay win (Source: dispatchlive.co.za)

In swimming, Tatjana Smith of South Africa made her country proud by winning gold and silver medals in the Women’s 200m and 100m breaststroke events; recall that Smith, born Schoenmaker, was the Tokyo 2020 Gold medalist in the 200m breaststroke category. South Africa also landed 2 bronze medals in rugby and mountain bike with Alan Hatherly. Although flag bearer Akani Simbine ended 4th in a highly contested Men’s 100 m track and field, Simbine and the rest of his team delivered us silver in the Men’s 4 x 100 m relay, again a first for South Africa, and for Africa as a whole in winning a medal in the discipline. Jo-Ane van Dyk delivered silver in the Women’s javelin throw.

Algeria took home 2 gold and 1 bronze medals, one gold from the controversial athlete Imane Khelif who is said to be a man competing in female boxing, and another gold from Kaylia Nemour in the Women’s Uneven bars in artistic gymnastics. Nemour‘s victory is a first for Africans in gymnastics. Djamel Sedjati took home the bronze medal in the Men’s 800 m.

Tamirat Tola wins Men’s Marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics (Source: afrik.com)

Tamirat Tola, who was just added to the Ethiopian Olympics’s team 2 weeks ago after his compatriot Sisay Lemma was injured, took home the gold medal in the Men’s Marathon, making Ethiopia and our legend Haile Gebrselassie who opened the marathon, proud. Berihu Aregawi won a silver medal for his participation in the Men’s 10,000 m. Tsige Duguma and Tigst Assefa both won silver in the Women’s 800 m, and the Women’s Marathon respectively.

Ahmed Elgendy wins gold in the first ever modern pentathlon (Source: TheTelegraph.com)

Egypt won 3 medals: 1 gold in the Men’s Modern Pentathlon with Ahmed Elgendy, 1 silver in Women’s 81kg weightlifting with Sara Ahmed, and 1 bronze in fencing with the Men’s individual Epee with Mohamed Elsayed. Elgendy‘s gold is the first gold medal for Egypt at any olympics, and a first in the discipline for an African athlete; he also becomes the first person to win in this brand new discipline at the Olympics.

Morocco  delighted us when Soufiane El Bakkali won the gold medal in the Men’s 3000m steeplechase; and the Moroccan football (soccer) team, currently Africa’s highest ranked soccer team at number 4 (the senior men’s team) in the world’s ranking of football team, took home the bronze medal by defeating Egypt.

Tunisia reveled us with gold in Taekwondo in the Men’s 80 kg with Firas Katoussi, and bronze in the Men’s 58 kg with Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi. Fares Ferjani won silver in Fencing the Men’s Individual Sabre.

Our dear brother Cheikh Sallah Cisse of Ivory Coast did not disappoint by taking the bronze medal in Taekwondo for Ivory Coast, in the Men’s 80kg; Cisse had given Côte d’Ivoire its very first gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Cabo Verde got its very first medal at the Olympic games through David de Pina who won bronze in the Men’s 51 kg Boxing.

Muzala Samukonga of Zambia wins Bronze in the Men’s 400m (Source: pulsesports.ng)

Zambian Muzala Samukonga won the bronze medal in the Men’s 400m. This may be Zambia’s first medal at the Olympics; if not, it is Zambia’s first medal in the discipline ever. And the Zambian team also came out 4th in the Men’s 4 x 100 m relay one step short of a place on the podium; this tells you the future that this Zambian team holds if it perseveres.

We cannot wait to see Africa at the Los Angeles Games in 2028!

Africans at the Paris 2024 Olympics so far …

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Hugues Fabrice Zango getting his triple jump (Source: bbc.co.uk)

The controversial opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has not dimmed the spirits of African athletes, they know that they are there to work and make their continent proud.

Before the beginning of the games, there were a few African athletes to watch out for:

Our golden athlete Hugues Fabrice Zango, the first gold medal of Burkina Faso, and representing us all on the triple jump. As a fun fact, Zango also recently defended his PhD thesis in Electrical Engineering, and looks to make the colors of his country shine again this year.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)

Our loved one, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon… we all have faith in her to make us proud again. With 2 world titles won and 4 world records, Faith is hoping to win her 3rd successive Olympic gold in the women’s 1500m; if she manages to accomplish this, she will be the first African to even win gold in the same event 3 times in a row. On Monday, she already won silver in a very contested Women’s 5000 m at the Olympics, where she was first disqualified for track obstruction, and then reinstated as the silver medal winner after appeal by the Kenyan federation. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet won the first Kenyan gold medal of these olympics.

The revelation is this year’s Eritrean athlete Biniam Girmay who has won stage events at the Tour de France, becoming the first African to ever do so, and also topping the points classification. We will be on the look out for him in cycling.

Letsile Tebogo (Source: SportNewsAfrica)

We had our eyes on Letsile Tebogo of Botswana who took silver in the 100m and bronze over 200m  at the world championships; however, the 100m did not go well for Tebogo, but we are all throwing our support behind him for the 200m. Our young brother lost his mother, Seratiwa Tebogo, his pillar and rock back in May, and we are sending him lots of love and support.

Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria is a wrestling baobab in Nigeria and Africa, with 14 continental titles, 4 commonwealth medals, and a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, today, Oborududu lost on advancing to gold or silver, but will be competing for the Bronze medal tomorrow.

Flag of Uganda

Before the Olympics, our Ugandan brother Joshua Cheptegei told us that this will be his last Olympics, and promised us magic. Cheptegei did not disappoint, he ran his heart out serving us a performance worthy of a novel, he came from behind to win gold in the men’s 10,000m, and land Uganda its first gold at the games so far. Compatriot Peruth Chemutai won silver in the Women’s 3000m steeplechase, while Kenyan Faith Cherotich won the Bronze medal.

In swimming, Tatjana Smith of South Africa made her country proud by winning gold and silver medals in 200m and 100m breaststroke events. South Africa also landed 2 bronze medals in rugby and mountain bike with Alan Hatherly. Flag bearer Akani Simbine ended 4th in a highly contested 100m track and field men’s final.

I will write an article at the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics games to tally all our victories.

Africa made us Proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest

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Hugues Fabrice Zango (Source: The Straits Times, AFP)

Over the past few days, Africans have made us proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships which took place in Budapest, Hungary. There were so many outstanding contributions, and amazing firsts.

The list starts with our brother Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso who dominated the field and took home the gold medal in the men’s triple jump. This is his country’s first gold at the World Championships. Zango has consistently improved over the years from bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, to silver at the Eugene 2022 World Championships, to now gold. When interviewed, he said, “I am proud to be the man who keeps his word. I promised to make history and I did it tonight… We have some troubles in our country now and it is an incredible mission to bring some positive emotions to them.” Keep it up brother, we are so proud of you!

Letsile Tebogo (Source: SportNewsAfrica)

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana made us proud by becoming the first African to win a silver medal at the World Championships ever in the men’s 100 m, and a bronze medal in the 200 m. In events dominated by Americans and Jamaicans, brother Tebogo showed that Africans should not be counted out.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)

We held onto Faith, and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya delivered! There isn’t another athlete as consistently dominant over such a range as Kipyegon. She won gold medals in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m in Budapest, capping a year in which she obliterated world records at 1,500 meters, the mile and 5,000 meters in the span of seven weeks this summer. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet took silver in the women’s 5000 m; while Jacob Krop took home the bronze medal in the men’s 5000 m. Ethiopia‘s Diribe Welteji took home the silver medal over the women’s 1,500 m distance behind Faith.

Mary Moraa (Source: The Star Kenya)

Kenya Mary Moraa won gold in women’s 800 m defeating favorite Athing Mu of the USA… this has been a long time coming since the Mozambican Maria Mutola, and South African Caster Semenya. Her compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi took silver in the men’s 800m.

In the 3000 m steeplechase, the Kenyan women Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cherotich took home the silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s event; while their countryman Abraham Kibiwot took home the bronze in the men’s event. Morocco Soufiane El Bakkali, the Olympic gold winner over the distance, took home the gold medal in the men’s event, while Ethiopia Lamecha Girma took home the silver.

Ladies Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, and Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia dominated their events to give us a trio winning gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10,000 m. Their compatriot Selemon Barega won bronze in the men’s 10,000 m. Uganda‘s Joshua Cheptegei dominated the men’s event taking home the gold medal, while Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo took silver.

Victor Kiplangat (Source: The Africa)

Ethiopia Amane Beriso Shankule and Gotytom Gebreslase won gold and silver respectively in the women’s marathon; they were followed by Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi of Morocco with the bronze medal. Shankule’s countryman Leul Gebresilase took home bronze in the men’s marathon. Uganda‘s Victor Kiplangat was victorious, taking home the gold medal in the men’s marathon.

Africa Shines at the 2022 World Championships

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Tobi Amusan broke the world record (Source: Getty Images)

Africa had a really good showing at the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon) in the US, this past week, with quite a few gold medals, multiple medals, broken world records, or simply reaffirmation of their domination on their disciplines.

Tobi Amusan of Nigeria broke a world record to win a Gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles, thus giving Nigeria its first gold at a world championship. Compatriot Ese Brume (Olympic Bronze long jump) won the Silver medal in the women’s Long Jump.

Hugues Fabrice Zango getting his triple jump (Source: bbc.co.uk)

Burkinabe Hugues Fabrice Zango who had won Bronze in men’s triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics, giving his country its first ever Olympic medal, went farther to win Silver at the World Championships this week.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: WorldAthletics.org)

Kenyan athletes were impressive as Mary Moraa got Bronze in the women’s 800m while Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (Olympics 800m Gold medal) won Gold in the men’s 800m. Faith Kipyegon, the Olympics Gold winner, retained her crown as the women’s 1500m queen of the distance with Gold. Conselus Kipruto took Bronze in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. In the women’s 5000m, Beatrice Chebet took Silver, and Jacob Krop took home Silver in the men’s discipline. The duo of Hellen Obiri (Olympic 5000m Silver winner) and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi took home Silver and Bronze medals in the women’s 10,000m respectively; while compatriot Stanley Waithaka Mburu took Silver in the men’s 10,000m. Judith Jeptum Korir took home the Silver medal in the women’s marathon

Djamel Sedjati of Algeria took Silver in the men’s 800m.

Gudaf Tsegay celebrating her gold medal in the 5000m (Source: BBC.co.uk)

Gudaf Tsegay (5000m Olympic Bronze medalist) of Ethiopia won Silver in women’s 1500m, and Gold in 5000m; while her compatriot Dawit Seyaum took the Bronze medal on 5000m.  In the 3000m steeplechase, the women Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe took Silver and Bronze respectively; while Lamecha Girma (Olympic 3000m steeplechase Silver medal) took Silver for the men. Letesenbet Gidey (Bronze at the Olympics 10,000m) won the Gold medal in the women’s 10,000m discipline. Gotytom Gebreslase took home the Gold medal in the women’s marathon, while her male compatriots Tamirat Tola and Mosinet Geremew won Gold and Silver in the men’s marathon.

Soufiane El Bakkali (Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase winner) of Morocco took home Gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

Joshua Cheptegei crossing the line (Source: Runnersworld.com)

Oscar Chelimo of Uganda won Bronze in the men’s 5000m. The duo Joshua Cheptegei (Olympic 5000m gold winner) and Jacob Kiplimo (Olympic 10,000m Bronze medalist) took home Gold and Bronze medals respectively in the men’s 10,000m.