Kenya basks in 10,000m glory at African Senior Athletics event

Kenya's Diana Wanza celebrates after winning the 10,000m race at the 24th African Senior Athletics Championships on Friday in Accra, Ghana. [AK Media] 

Kenya has delivered a strong dominance in the 10,000m at the 24th African Senior Athletics Championships, currently running in Accra, Ghana.

Diana Wanza made it a 10,000m double gold for the country when she oozed class in the women’s 25-lap contest on Friday evening.

Wanza’a victory, which was the third gold medal for Kenya at the African show, followed Kelvin Chesang’s surprising triumph in the men’s 10,000m on Wednesday.

The Kenyan duo was debuting in the African Senior Championships.

Their results went into the history books, as it marked the first double for the country in the 10,000m.

Wanza dictated the proceedings, stepping forward in a measured pace and taking the leadership role in the last 10 laps.

Eventually, she bagged the gold medal in 31:33.26, while Rwandan Florence Niyonkuru took the silver medal in 31:43.73 as Ethiopian Asefu Kiros (31:45.91) settled for bronze.

The newly crowned African champion said she executed her tactical plans seamlessly in the race.

“I executed the race as I had planned. Winning gold was my dream, and I made my moves carefully,” said Wanza.

She added: “My next dream is to make the Kenyan team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games (set for Glasgow in July). I was position one in the national trials for the African Senior Championships, and I’m glad that I have secured victory. My dream was to make the podium.”

She was in the company of Chepngeno Mageso and Mercy Chepkemoi, who placed ninth and tenth, respectively.

Wanza joins the legends that have impressed on the continental stage. They include athletes such as Stacy Ndiwa, who outpaced Alice Aprot in the final lap to win a gold medal in 2018, an edition that saw Aprot bring home the silver medal.

Kenya also made a point in the field events after Belinda Adhiambo delivered a bronze medal in the women’s shot put.

Adhiambo put 16.39m for her bronze medal, coming behind gold medallist Uyis Collete of South Africa and Gabon’s Ndo Carine (bronze), who shot 17.63m and 16.71m.

“I came into the competition knowing that the competition would be tough. Our competitors had the technical advantage and did not struggle as much as we did,” Adhiambo said after bagging bronze.