Kenya staged a spirited performance to win the first gold medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia, yesterday morning.

During the first day of the event, Betty Chelang’at took the top honours in the women’s 3,000m race and there was double delight as Nancy Cherop settled for bronze and just came short of vanquishing Ethiopia’s Tsiyon Abebe who was crowned with a silver medal.

Chelang’at produced a powerful display with a killer kick on the back straight, moving away from her two pursuers, to eventually defend the title that was won by compatriot Teresiah Muthoni during the 2021 Championships held in Nairobi. Chelang’at stayed strong all the way to the finish line after clocking 9:01.03 ahead of Abebe (9:03.85) and Cherop (9:05.98). 

It was ecstasy at its best and after a military-style salute to the crowd, Chelang’at dropped to her knees, raised her arms in celebration and then clasped them in thankful prayer. 

But she was just as quick to rise to her feet and take off with her teammate for a lap of honour that was akin to her last 300 meters when she mesmerized the crowd.

“I train hard, and that’s the reason why I always prevail over others,” said Chelang’at.

Based in the high altitude Iten region where he is under the tutelage of coach John Litei, Chelang’at added: “I waited until three laps remaining, then I see that I have enough left. I thank God for the feat, not least my coach.”

More medals

But what exactly does the future hold for her and especially taking into consideration that she has a whale of a time to win more medals before calling it quits ion athletics?

 “I want to represent my country and run in the Olympic Games and hopefully bag a medal for Kenya,” she said

 Cherop paid tribute to her coach, Peter Bii, saying she was “expecting to win the race” but was content with bronze.

Meanwhile, Kenya missed a medal in the men’s 5,000m race after Samuel Kibathi and Nelson Mandela finished sixth and eighth respectively in the final.

Kibathi fell in the last few meters as he clocked 14:07.82 with Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune winning gold in 14:03.05 ahead of Eritrea’s Merhawi Mebrahtu, who clocked 14:03.33.

Yihune’s compatriot Samuel Habtom settled for bronze with a time of 14:03.67.

In other results, World Under-20 3,000m Steeplechase bronze medalist Faith Cherotich led fellow Kenyan Pamela Kosgei in qualifying for the final of the water and hurdles event.

Cherotich, who was in the second heat, took control of the race and led till the finishing line with an impressive time of 9:38.18 ahead of Ethiopia’s Meseret Yeshaneh, who timed 9:41.99. Rihab Dhari from Tunisia came third in 10:13.49.

In the first heat, Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew ran from the front after four laps to set a time of 9:52.65 ahead of Kosgei, who qualified for the final in 10:09.89, while Uganda’s Loice Chekwemoi was third in 10:10.82. The duo will be seeking to fill the gap left by Jackline Chepkoech who has since graduated to the senior level. The final isb scheduled for Friday morning.

In the women’s 800m, the duo of Nelly Chepchirchir and Everlyne Chepkoech eased into the semifinals almost without breaking a sweat.