London, ENGLAND: Hellen Obiri and Elijag Manangoi bagged gold medal each in their respective races to lead Team Kenya to a second place finish at the IAAF World Athletics Championships whose curtain came down on Sunday in London, England.
Having played a second fiddle to the 10,000m World champion Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia in the better part of the 5000m race, Obiri outpaces the former in the final lap before storming to victory in 14:34.86.
Elijah Manangoi would then add another gold to Kenya with win in men’s 1500m final with compatriot Timothy Cheruiyot coming second in a one-two success.
The triumphs saw Kenya finish second with 11 medals; five gold, two silver and four bronze behind champions United States who managed 30 medals.
The London performance, however, fell short of the China’s Beijing 2015 where Kenya for the first time in history of the championship topped the standings with 16 medals.
