Kenya Gets First Gold in Tokyo Olympics

Emmanuel Korir at a past racing event.
Emmanuel Korir at a past racing event.
UTEP

Kenya won her first gold medal in the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Wednesday afternoon, August 4.

Emmanuel Korir clinched the victory after clocking in 1 minute 45 seconds 6 microseconds followed by his counterpart Ferguson Rotich who also bagged the silver medal in the 800 meters men's finals. 

This ends the country's quest to win a gold medal throughout the prestigious event since its onset on Friday, July 23. 

An image of Kipchoge
Athletes running during the London Marathon on Sunday 4 October 2020.
AFP

The remarkable feat was lauded by Kenyans who pointed out that the win could symbolise an upside to what has been a dire start at the Olympics. 

"Yes. What a tactical run and strong finish, congratulations Emmanuel Korir on winning the 800m Olympic Gold Medal and Ferguson Rotich on taking the Silver Medal. The Entire Nation is proud of you both. Well in!" ODM leader Raila Odinga tweeted minutes after the win. 

Earlier on, Hyvin Kiyeng had scooped the bronze medal in the women's 3000 meters Steeplechase final. She finished behind USA's Courtney Frerichs (silver medal) and Uganda's Peruth Chemutai who emerged victorious. 

Further, Julius Yego, the Javelin maestro finished 24th in the qualifiers with a season's best of 77.34 performance missing out on a chance to reach the finals. 

Speaking after the event, Yego attributed his performance to a biceps injury. 

“I’m happy I competed at all today because I have a biceps injury which has really been disturbing me and yesterday I didn’t know I would compete at all,” Yego stated. 

Benjamin Kigen, on Monday, August 2, had bagged Kenya's first medal at the event- finishing third in the 3000m Steeplechase finals. 

The country will look to turn their quest and chase for more gold. Among the hopefuls include the world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge who will be defending his title. 

Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to a full marathon in under 2 hours: (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria on Saturday, October 12.
Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to a full marathon in under 2 hours: (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria on Saturday, October 12.
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