Kenyan Hellen Obiri wins 5,000 meters race at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

World 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri put smiles on the faces of Kenyans as she won gold medal at the 21st Africa Senior Athletics Championships inside Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Nigeria, last evening.

Obiri, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in Australia last April, blew away a field of nine athletes to win 15:47.17.

The Kenya Defence Forces runner summoned her sheer ingenuity as she opened a 15-metre gap –which raised Kenyan hopes after the chaotic arrival into the west African nation.

The race turned into another Kenya versus Ethiopia track rivalry. Ethiopians stormed into the lead from the gun with a slow pace but Obiri dictated the proceedings from the fifth lap as team mates in world cross country bronze medallist Lilian Kasait and Loice Chemining also picked up the pace. They kept close tabs for the next two laps before Kasait and Chemining fell back.

Ethiopians looked to hold on the chasing pack despite the searing pace. Obiri went on to widen the gap as she approached the bell with a scintillating run.

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Africa’s battle in 5,000m has always revolved around Kenyans and Ethiopians, with Kenyans winning four times in the last five editions.

Sheila Chepkirui orchestrated a 1-2 finish for Kenya in Durban, South Africa, in 2016 in what offered sweet revenge over Ethiopians, who sealed spots in Morocco in 2014 after Almaz Ayana and Sentayehu Ejigu won gold and bronze.

Gladys Cherono and Veronica Nyaruai, the two KDF soldiers, won gold and silver medals in Porto-Novo, Benin, in 2012. That was after Vivian Cheruiyot stunned Ethiopia’s track  queen Meseret Defar at Nyayo Stadium in 2010.

Emmanuel Korir, Ferguson Rotich and Jonathan Kitilit will line up in today’s 800m final after they sailed through the semi-finals yesterday.

Korir, who boasts a world leading time in the two-lap race of 1:42.05, won heat two in 1:46.91 ahead of  Botswana’s Nijel Amos.  

In heat two, 2016 Diamond League Trophy winner Rotich led from the gun to win in 1:48.18 while Kitilit returned 1:46.55, the fastest time in the semis.

A forth night ago, the 23-year-old Korir set the world leading time that is the fastest since David Rudisha’s world record winning mark of 1:40.91 time at 2012 London Olympics Games. It puts him sixth on the world all-time list.

In 400m final, Alfas Kishoyian and Jared Momanyi who finished in second places in their semis, will fly the national flag today.

Yesterday, Mark Otieno bowed out of the 100m after finishing sixth in 10.69 seconds.  

In 100m finals, South African Akani Simbine, pre-race favourite won gold in 10.25 seconds while his compatriot Henricho Bruintjies settled for silver while Nigerian Simon Magakwe bagged bronze.