Kenya’s Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi won gold in the men’s 5000m at the Lima, Peru, 2024 World U20 Championships.
In an exciting fashion, Kenya won its first medal at the World U20 Championships 2024 on Wednesday morning when Andrew Alamisi won the men’s 5000m final.
At the Estadio Atlético de la Villa Deportiva Nacional in Lima, Peru, Alamisi, then 17 years old, secured the gold medal by outlasting a strong field in a race that showcased both tactical genius and raw speed.
Thanks to his strong personal best, Alamisi was regarded as the pre-race favorite and performed as expected.
He ran a well timed race, putting up a strong sprint in the last meters to cross the finish line in 13:41.14. Abdisa Fayisa of Ethiopia fought hard and took second place in 13:41.56, finishing close behind. Kenneth Kiptop of Uganda won the bronze in a time that was a season record of 13:41.73.
Ishmael Kipkurui, the other Kenyan competitor, finished fourth in an equally excellent race and just missed out on a podium spot. The race remained fiercely contested until the last few meters.
Japan’s Kaito Matsui surprised everyone by stepping up his pace in the early going of the race.
With a first lap time of 64 seconds, the Japanese competitor surged to the lead from the beginning.
But soon, Matsui’s unsustainable pace caught up to him, and his lap times dropped to 67 seconds and up.
Matsui finished last as the race went on because to a sharp decline in his performance and eventual laps by the lead group.
As the pace slowed, athletes from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Burundi quickly took the lead and formed the leading group.
The lead group shrank to eleven competitors by the last 1000 meters, but Alamisi’s move in the last kilometers signaled the start of the genuine race.
The Kenyan was able to win the gold medal and earn his country’s first medal of the championships because his kick in the homestretch was too powerful for Fayisa to handle.
With a championship-record time of 14:39.71, Ethiopian athlete Medina Eisa successfully defended her title in the previous women’s 5000m final.
The current winner, Eisa, stunned everyone with her performance and pulled ahead of the field early.
Mekedes Aleshemete, a fellow countryman, won the silver, and Charity Cherop of Uganda won the bronze.
Mercy Chepkemoi and Sheila Jebet of Kenya placed fourth and fifth, respectively, narrowly outside the medal positions.
From the beginning of the race, Eisa and Aleshemete maintained control and developed a sizable lead by the 3000m mark, which they reached in 8:57.28.
With little over three laps remaining, Eisa pulled away from her countrymate and never looked back, winning easily and giving Ethiopia its eighth gold medal in the women’s 5000m in the previous nine World U20 Championships.
The race favorites put up impressive runs in the women’s 3000m steeplechase heats.
Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia won her heat handily in 9:30.59, followed by Diana Chepkemoi of Kenya in second place and Nancy Chepkwurui of Uganda in third place in 9:49.06.
Ethiopia’s Firehiwot Gesese won the second heat with a time of 10:00.96. Kenya’s Sharon Chepkemoi and Uganda’s Loice Chekwemoi completed the top three with times of 10:01.85 and 10:07.59, respectively.
Be the first to comment