Osaka 2007 will be go down in history as Kenya's best ever performance in a global athletics contest. Kenya finished second overall with 13 medal haul.  What makes it so glorious is that it came out of the blue. The performance of Kenyan runners in the European circuit during 2006 and 2007 was nothing to get excited about. Added to this is the fact that of late, Kenya has been suffering a series of defections.

Luke Kibet gives Kenya a dream start

Luke Kibet powers his way to the Marathon on the very first day of the championships, finishing ahead of defector Richard Yatich, now running for Bahrain. Of all the gold medals, Kibet's win in the marathon was the most unlikely to the casual observer. The marathon is the most unpredictable event. And Kenya's marathon team seemed decidedly second rate. Most of Kenya's top city marathon runners opted out as usual. Kenya produces an incredible number of world class marathoners but is never able to field strong teams during championships.

A clean sweep in the Steeplechase

While watching the steeplechase, with 2 laps to go, one could not help but think that Kenya's dominance in this event was going to be challenged. All the runners were bunched together including a Kenyan defector and Somalian defector running for Sweden who was a genuine threat. But at the bell, Ezekiel Kemboi and Brimin Kipruto began to pull away much to the relief of the Kenyan fans. Abdi Youcef of Sweden followed closely. Richard Matelong stayed behind with the pack and looked like he would finish outside the medals. At the 200m mark, Kipruto took off like bullet. Kemboi ever the team player, was content with silver and did not chase. Kipruto uncharacteristically hurdled the last waterjump at full speed and seemingly came close to tripping over it.   He finished 20m ahead of Kemboi. Matelong left his surge late and finished 3rd

Jepkosgei leaves them gasping

During the Grand Prix season, Jepkosgei was impressive but less than stellar. She routinely finished behind runners like Mutola, Sinclair of Jamaica,  Catalyud of Cuba and the 2 Russian favorites. She did not win a single race. But she must have been saving her strength for Osaka. She showed incredible strength during the preliminaries, easily winning in 1:58 and 1:56 and leading every race from start to finish. At the final she took off like she had been shot from a cannon, took the lead and never came close to relinquishing it. She stepped up a gear during the last 250m. Mutola, Benghassi  and  the Russian favorite gave chase. Benhassi did not have the strength to catch her and Mutola seemingly could not handle the pace and pulled up with 80m to go, falling over a cameraman. Jepkosgei had literally run her opponents into the ground.

Jepkosgei literally run her opponents into the ground

Ndereba drives Kenya to glory

Catherine Ndereba, known on the City marathon circuit as "Cathy the great" showed her guile, experience and sheer determination to beat opponents half her age. She ran patiently behind the lead pack for the first 35km then joined the leading pack and started to pull away with 4km to go. In the heat and humidity of Osaka, Ndereba gritted her teeth, held her form and held off her Chinese challenger to give Kenya yet another marathon gold, after having won gold in 2003. She was visibly digging deep during the last km as she muttered words to herself , possibly in her native tongue. Knowing that she is religious, it was probably a prayer

If there is any contemporary female athlete who deserves to have a major street or even a stadium named after her, it as to be Ndereba. Unlike other city marathoners who either refuse to represent the country or perform poorly when they run in national colours, Ndereba has always given her best. She has always won either gold or silver. Her consistency is excellent especially considering how unpredictable the marathon is. She should be an inspiration to all upcoming athletes who should aim to emulate her consistency. She has served her nation with distinction and we Kenyans hope she will be available again to wear national colors at Bejing 08.

Ndereba has been a model of consistency and patriotism. If any modern athlete deserved to have a stadium or s street named after her, it would be her

Alfred Kirwa in a last gap victory

Alfred Kirwa had never won a race in the European grand prix circuit so not much was expected from him. His previous performance in the national team vest had been less than impressive. The pace in the 800m final was slow for a chapionhsip final. Kirwa and teammate Wilfred Bungei appeared out of contention with 100m meters to go and to most it seemed they had made a tactical error. Gary Reed of Canada had what looked like an insurmountable lead. At the 700m mark, Kirwa unleashed his finishing kick. With 20m to go it appeared to be too little too late. As they crossed the finish line, it appeared that Reed had won but Kirwa soon raised his hand pointing at the scoreboard like a standard five child eager to answer a question is class; "teacher, teacher me". It was then that the TV viewers realized that Kirwa had won.

Other Notable performances

Eunice Jepkorir established herself as Africa's top steeplechaser, a month after breaking Dorcas Inzikuru's African record. All this despite having a hurdling style that makes all her supporters nervous. Jepkorir swictched succesfully from being a career road racer to being Kenya's best ever steeplechaser. More importantly, Kenya's future seems secure given the emergence of 19 year old Ruth Bosibori who broke the world junior record in taking fourth place. And she has thankfully learned to run in shoes rather than barefoot. Steepling barefoot is a recipe for injuries and a shortened career.

Vivian Cheruyiot and Priscah Jepleting Cherono finished second and third in the womens 5000m , a creditable performance considering that this was an event which the Ethiopians have throughly dominated. Cheruiyot finished just one second behind Meseret Defar.

Viola Kibiwott made it to the final of the womens 1500m and her 6th place finish is creditable given the fact that Kenya surprisingly never runners in this event final. Veronica Nyaruai and 19 has her entire career ahead of her. Hopefully she can get advice from experienced athletes and coaches who can help her find her best event and  fulfill her potential. Given that she ran the 3000m as a junior, it would make sense for her to switch to the 5000m or above.

Shadrack Korir and Asbel Kiprop finished 3rd and 4th respectively in the mens 1500m. Unfortunatley Kenya's top contender in this event was eliminated in the semis when a Moroccan runner tripped over and fell on him. 3 cheers to Korir for rising to the occasion and winniong an unexpected bronze. Asbel Kiprop is still young enough to be a form 4 student. His potential is immense. Hopefully he does not fall into the trap of greeed and run in too many races thus wearing himself out. But he will have to work incredibly hard to become an all time great. Perhaps Osaka 2007 is the motivation he needs. The great Billy Konchellah finished 4th at LA 1984 and it spurred him to future greatness.

The previously unknown Martin Irungu Mathahi defied all odds and won a bronze medal. His performance showed the incredible depth of talent that Kenya has. It was a creditable performance as he beat world cross country champion, Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea. Hopefully we will see Mathathi in the Kenya vest at the next world cross country championships.   Eliud Kipchoge won a silver medal in the mens 5000m, to add to the gold medal he won in 2003

Many cheers to the men and women in the Kenyan vests for giving Kenyans something to cheers for. Kenyans who visit other countries or live in other countries have very little that makes them hold their heads up high besides athletics. I for one find myself getting defensive or withdrawn whenever Kenya is mentioned in any other arena other than athletics. The Kenyan athletes beat out nations like Russia, Germany, Great Britain and Australia, yet unlike these countries, Kenyan athletes do not have the year round funding, excellent facilities or nationally coordinated programs. As an example, Elena Isinbaeva of Russia was a gymnast in Russias national program. It was there that she was spotted by the athletics coach who noted the fact that she had no trouble dealing with heights. As soon as she outgrew her gymnast body, she switched to athletics.

Hopefully this generation can help inspire the next generation of athletes. And hopefully the government will stop dilly dallying and pass the sports policy paper and create the national lottery so that the success in athletics can be transferred to other sports. Kenyans have been subjected to one humiliation after another as is documented in another article

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