Kenya ranks top at the World Athletics U20 Championships
Kenya finished top on medal standings in the World Athletics Under 20 Championships that was held at Kasarani Sports Complex in Nairobi, Kenya.
The games event which started on Tuesday, August 17 and ended on Sunday, August 22 saw Kenya bag 16 medals- 8 gold, 1 silver and 7 bronze.
Finland came second while Nigeria took position three. Both countries bagged four gold medals each. Other notable performances included Ethiopia, Jamaica and South Africa who went home with three gold medals each.
Teresia Gateri, winner 3000m race. Image courtesy/ Zax sports
The last day of the championship was Team Kenya’s highest performance, with the country bringing home three gold medals in one day. Final day star athletes included Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Purity Chepkirui, and Amos Serem, who finished first in their races.
The first Kenyan athlete to bag gold in the event was Benson Kiplangat after he finished first in the 5000m race.
Kenyans took to social media to celebrate the performance of the Kenyan team with a video of former Prime Minister Hon. Raila Odinga celebrating Kenya’s win circulating the internet during the last day of the championship.
Odinga later took to his official Twitter page to congratulate the athletes’ commendable performance.
Congratulations to our Athletes on their sterling performance at the #WorldAthleticsU20 Championships successfully hosted in Kasarani.
The 🇰🇪 team grabbed a massive haul that includes 8 Gold Medals to emerge top of the table. Our youth have shown great promise.
Well done! pic.twitter.com/e5c8GvjBvc
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) August 22, 2021
Featured Image: Africa Updates (Twitter)
