Five golden girls and 1 golden gentleman ensured Kenya finished 2nd in the medal table as the curtains fell on the 20th World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.
Kenya finished second in the world, sweeping all women’s middle- and long-distance titles from 800m to the marathon, shattering three championship records and retaining three titles from the 2023 edition in Budapest, Hungary.
Major Beatrice Chebet proved to be the queen of long-distance track races, repeating her 2024 Olympic gold with gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m.
Faith Kipyegon was outstanding as she defended her 1500m title, her fourth global gold and 3rd in a row, before adding silver in the 5000 m.
Faith Cherotich reclaimed the 3000m steeplechase gold, the first time since 2019, with a new championship record, as Peris Jepchirchir delivered gold in the marathon, the first for Kenya since Ruth Chepng’etich in 2019.
Lillian Odira’s outstanding performance saw Kenya defend the 800m title, breaking the longest-standing championship record since 1983.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi, similar to the Paris Olympics, was the only Kenyan man to win a global title this year, taking the 800m gold with a new Championship record.
Making her debut at the global stage, US-based Dorcas Ewoi bagged silver in 1500m, while Edmund Serem won bronze in the 3000m steeplechase, as Raynold Cheruiyot added another bronze in 1500m.
With 11 medals – 7 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze – Kenya recorded the best-ever medal tally in history, surpassing the 2015 outing in China, when it emerged the overall champions with 5 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze.
The USA retained its overall title on 26 medals (16 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze), while Canada finished 3rd (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), followed by the Netherlands (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), as Botswana, New Zealand, and Spain were all tied on 2 gold and 1 bronze.
The next edition of the World Athletics Championships will be held in Beijing in 2027.
