Single medal for Team Kenya at World Indoor Championships
By Dennis Mabuka, March 6, 2024Team Kenya endured a frustrating outing at the World Indoor Championships after they managed to secure one medal from the event at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
Steeplechase queen Beatrice Chepkoech clinched Kenya’s only medal at the event after winning bronze in the women’s 3,000m race on Saturday night.
The steeplechase world record holder came home in a time of 8:22.68, a new National Record and a Personal Best.
The race was won by American Elle St Pierre, who crossed the line in a new Championship record time of 8:20.87, outsprinting Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, who earned silver in 8:21.13.
The American ran a very tactical race, sitting in fourth place behind Tsegay, Chepkoech and Australian Jessica Hull for most of the race, before kicking in at the final bend of the 200m track.
Chepkoech had led in the race for the first 800m before Tsegay took charge upfront and Hull followed behind her.
With the single medal, Team Kenya finished 27th overall as the United States of America emerged at the top with 20 medals, six gold, nine silver and five bronze while Belgium came second with a total of four medals – three gold and a bronze.
Kenya’s 4×400 metres men’s team led by Wiseman Were, Zablon Ekwam, Kelvin Tauta and Boniface Mweresa reached the final but finished fourth missing out on the medal bracket.