Kenya dominates as Rwanda falters at 2017 IAAF World XC Championships

Medal Table:1. Kenya – 12 (4 Gold, 5 Silver, 3 Bronze)2. Ethiopia – 9 (4 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze)3. Uganda – 3 (1 Gold, 2 Bronze)4. Bahrain – 1 Bronze5. Eritrea – 1 Bronze6. Turkey – 1 Bronze Men senior race1. Geoffrey Kamworor (Ken) 28:24 2. Leonard Barsoton (Ken) 28:36 3. Abadi Hadis (Eth) 28:43 Rwandan athletes48. James Sugira 30:5454. Alexis Nizeyimana 31:1157. Primien Manirafasha 31:1960. David Gakuru 31:2666. Jean Marie Myasiro 31:36106. Siragi Rubayita 33:54 Yet again it was a Kenyan affair at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships as they dominated the 42nd edition that took place on Sunday at the green lush of Kololo Ceremonial Independence grounds in Kampala, Uganda. Graced by the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni, the Kenyans again proved to the world that they are the masters of long and middle distance running after finishing the one-day event with the most medals (12). They won three gold medals in senior races in both men and women categories and mixed relay as well as silver medals in the former two categories plus three bronze medals in men U20 race, senior women race and women U20 category. Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor successfully defended his men senior title after covering the 10km race in 28 minutes and 24 seconds ahead of his compatriot Leonard Kiplimo Barsoton, who used 28’:36” while Ethiopian Abadi Hadis took bronze in 28’:43”. Rwanda fielded six athletes in the senior men race; however it was a far from convincing display from the local athletes. Reigning national cross country champion James Sugira, 20, was Rwanda’s best performer finishing in the 48th place posting 30’:54” while Alex Nizeyimana came in the 54th place posting 31’:11” with Premien Manirafasha coming at 57th place in 31’:19”. David Gakuru came in 60th place clocking 31’:26”, Jean Marie Vianney Myasiro posted 31’:36” to finish 66th and Siragi Rubayita crossed the finish 106th using 33’:54”. Of the 146 athletes that started the race, 132 managed to finish. Team Rwanda finished in the 10th place hence failing to improve on their performance at the previous edition that was held in Guiyang, China where they finished eighth. Kenya, 12 (4 Gold, 5 Silver, and 3 Bronze) was followed by Ethiopia in the medal table with nine medals (4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze) and hosts Uganda came third with three (1 Gold and 2 Bronze). Sixteen-year-old Jacob Kiplimo claimed Uganda’s first ever gold medal in World Cross Country history, winning the U20 Junior men race. Bahrain, Eritrea and Turkey finished in the fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively, each taking one bronze medal. Kampala was the fourth city in Africa to host the IAAF World Cross Country Championships after Rabat, Morocco (1975), Marrakech, Morocco (1998) and Mombasa, Kenya (2007). Aarhus of Denmark will stage the 43rd edition. The event was expected to attract some 550 participants from 59 countries. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

Latest News

Kenya dominates as Rwanda falters at 2017 IAAF World XC Championships