Lokedi blames fatigue for poor show in Delhi

John Lokedi competes in the 5000T13 finals during the New Delhi 2025 World Para athletics Championships at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 02, 2025. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

John Lokedi has blamed fatigue for his performance in the ongoing New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The Kenyan athlete finished fourth in the men's 5000m T13 finals, which was won by Russian Aleksandr Kostin on Wednesday. Algerian Abdelhadi Boudra and Brazilian Jean Oliveira da Silva settled for silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Lokedi started well in the first rounds before fading off in the dying minutes due to what looked like exhaustion.

"The race was good. There was no pressure. I competed in 1500m on Tuesday, I didn't rest and this could have affected my performance. I tried all my best and I thank God for this performance. My aim was to reduce my time. My next project is training for Olympics 2028," said Lekedi.

Just like Lokedi, Brian Esogon had a bad day in the office failing to qualify for the finals with a slow time despite finishing second in his heat in 400m T12.

But Sheila Wanyonyi was in cloud nine after breaking African record to win silver in javelin on Sunday.

John Lokedi competes in the 5000T13 finals during the New Delhi 2025 World Para athletics Championships at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 02, 2025. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

"I knew getting a medal is not easy, but once I threw the first throw, I realised I can be in the medal bracket and pushed myself to win silver," said Wanyonyi.

"There are a lot of competitions ahead, and from here I'm going to work on the mistakes. My target is to become a world record holder, nothing else."

On her part, Nancy Chelagat, who won a silver medal in the 1500m said: "My aim was to improve on my time but unfortunately the weather couldn't allow. I was training in a very cold area and here it's too hot."

Nathan Kemboi, an upper amputee who finished ninth in javelin on Monday, said he was satisfied with the results, citing poor preparations for the performance.

"I operated from home. I was training at any open ground I found and javelin needs an open place," said Kemboi.