Team Kenya has turned its sights to the upcoming Commonwealth Games after an impressive outing at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana, where the nation ranked second on the medal standings.
Team Kenya amassed 17 medals in Ghana including five gold, five silver and seven bronze.
South Africa led the overall standings with 22 medals as Ethiopia placed third with 14 medals.
Assistant team manager Lt Col. Albert Lagat hailed the country’s showing at the African Senior Athletics Championships as a glowing testament to Kenya’s expanding talent pool.
Lagat praised the youthful Kenyan contingent for punching above its weight insisting the championship performance reaffirmed the country’s growing strength across both track and field disciplines.
“We took a very young team to Ghana, and they did phenomenally well to finish second behind South Africa,” Lagat said.
“This performance underscores the incredible depth we possess as a country. The dedication to discovering and nurturing world-class talent is burning brighter than ever.”
He noted that the performance underlined a resurgence that stretched far beyond the nation’s trademark distance dominance.
The Kenyan squad made significant inroads in field events, relays and middle-distance races.
One of the standout revelations was rising shot putter Belinda Adhiambo Oburu, who announced herself on the continental stage by clinching bronze on her debut appearance in national colours.
Oburu heaved a distance of 16.39m to place third behind South African Uyis Collette (17.63m) and Gabon’s Mekam Carine (16.71m).
“Representing Kenya for the first time and coming back from Accra with a bronze medal is a massive achievement,” said Oburu.
After her continental breakthrough, she now has her sights set on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
“I finally feel like I belong among the elite. My focus now shifts immediately to the KDF Championships and Commonwealth Games trials. Competing at the Commonwealth Games is my ultimate dream this year.”
In the men’s 800m, Kelvin Loti battled through logistical setbacks to storm to gold in 1:45.47 ahead of Morocco’s Bouchejda Imade (1:45.62) and Ghana’s Alex Amankwah (1:46.18).
“We faced significant logistical challenges in Ghana, but our resilience carried us through,” Loti remarked.
“I am incredibly happy with my progression in the 800m, and this is a strong indicator of even bigger results on the horizon.”
Veteran javelin maestro Julius Yego once again rolled back the years to strike gold with a 79.87m mark, his sixth continental title while Diana Wanza and Diana Chepkemoi spearheaded Kenya’s distance-running excellence with commanding victories in the women’s 10,000m (31:33.26) and 3000m steeplechase (9:29.18) respectively.
Kenya Medalists in Accra
Gold
Kelvin Loti — 800m
Kelvin Chesang — 10,000m
Diana Wanza — 10,000m
Julius Yego — Javelin
Diana Chepkemoi — 3000m Steeplechase
Silver
Mercy Kosgei — 3000m Steeplechase
Edwin Too — Decathlon
Stephen Ndungiri — 20km Walk
Silvia Kemboi — 20km Walk
Men’s 4x400m Relay
Bronze
Asbel Kiprop — High Jump
Silas Senchura — 10,000m
Belinda Oburu — Shot Put
Laban Kiptoo — 5000m
Isaac Ndute — Long Jump
Women’s 4x400m Relay
Mixed 4x400m Relay
