The 30th Olympiad is here and with the
athletics action just begun; this is Kenya’s moment to shine. The London
Olympics so far have been tremendous with plenty of exciting competitions and
performances that have kept spectators and viewers around the world mesmerized.
All indications are that there will be some quick times produced given the
super fast track surface at the Olympic stadium.
These Olympics have been good to sports fans in
sub-Saharan Africa in a way never been seen before as all events will be
streamed live in high definition on YouTube. This development is exciting as in many regions; people will have access to a level of
coverage that has never been available at all before on computers, phones and
tablets.
Kenya’s presence at these Olympics is powerful. Coming
from a very successful Beijing Olympics where we won 6 gold and a total of
fifteen medals, everyone expects this team to exceed that tally. And with good
reason! The caliber and quality of this team is exceedingly good.
My predictions for Team Kenya in London are 8 gold
medals and a total of 16 medals.
For the first time ever, the Kenyan women won 2
medals in the 10,000 meters setting the stage for even more medals to come in
the next few days. Pre-race favorite Vivian Cheruiyot did well to run her
fastest time ever, but was no match to probably the greatest female 10,000
meter runner ever, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia.
Dibaba at her best was always going to be tough to
beat and despite the best efforts of Sally Kipyego, who had the surprise
performance of the night to win silver, was peerless and defended her title
with ease.
The Kenyan Ethiopian rivalry at the long distance
events continues with our northern neighbours holding the edge after a Kenyan
advantage at the previous World Championships.
The London Games presents Kenya with four
opportunities to defend titles from Beijing. This occasion is very important
for Asbel Kiprop in the 1500 metres, Brimin Kipruto and Ezekiel Kemboi in the
3000 metres steeplechase and Pamela Jelimo in the women’s 800 metres as it
would gain them legendary status in Kenyan athletics history. No Kenyan athlete
has won their event twice in the Olympics and these four stars have this rare
chance to stand out with this kind of achievement in London.
One of the most exciting events of the Athletics
programme is the 1500 meters. The heats of the men’s 1500m inevitably attracted
great interest as Kenya paraded the three top athletes in the world who could take home the first Olympic 1500m medal
sweep in 104 years.
Asbel Kiprop, the
defending champion and world leader, is a particularly solid bet to repeat
given his performance in Monaco in late July where the performance he displayed
clearly made him the man to beat in London. Kiprop looks fully prepared for any
pace the race might throw at him – fast or slow. Should he succeed, he’ll
become only the second man to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the event ever.
Nixon Chepseba the third fastest of the Kenyan trio almost
didn’t make it through the heats as he was tripped from behind and briefly lost his balance and eventual
rhythm to miss out on the automatic spots. He was reinstated following an
appeal and should make good that reprieve to show his quality at the final.
The 3000 meter steeplechase final tonight represents an
opportunity for Kenya to extend its winning streak in the Olympics to eight
since 1984 and a total of ten since 1968. With two Olympic champions in the
team, the question isn’t who among these will win, rather will Kenya gain its
third triple medal haul in this event?
Team Kenya’s gold rush continues.
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