THE CHAMPION'S ROAR: Kenya’s Elijah Motonei Manangoi wins the athletics men's 1500m final during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast on April 14, 2018. PHOTO | SAEED KHAN | AFP
14.April 2018
IN GOLD COAST
For three days, world 1,500 metres champion Elijah Motonei Manangoi couldn’t sleep.
The new Commonwealth Games 1,500m champion over the distance is the overall “Team Kenya” captain at these Games, and the fact that the Kenyan camp hadn’t garnered any gold medal eight days into the championship was cause for worry.
“I was asking myself, what I am I gonna tell President Uhuru Kenyatta,” the 25-year-old policeman said on Saturday after leading team-mate Timothy Cheruiyot to a 1-2 finish in the 1,500m final at the Carrara Stadium here on Saturday.
It was Kenya’s fourth gold medal at these championships and saw the country leapfrog cross-border rivals Uganda on the log at 13th place with 17 medals – four gold, seven silver and six bronze.
Kenyans will expect more athletics medals as the Games close on Sunday, albeit from a rather weak and much-maligned marathon team largely made up of rather inexperienced athletes along with those whose careers have seen better days.
Kenneth Mungara, Julius Karinga and Nicholas Kamakya will line up in the men’s race with the women’s team featuring Hellen Nzembi, Sheila Muriuki and Sheila Cherotich.
Manangoi’s victory on Saturday in three minutes, 34.78 seconds came shortly after fellow world champion Hellen Obiri cruised to gold in the 5,000m.
Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi took silver in 15:15.28 with 21-year-old Eva Cherono finishing seventh in a personal best time of 13:36.10.
Earlier in the javelin final, Alex Kiprotich finished 11th with a throw of 73.21 metres in an event won by India’s Neeraj Chopra (86.47) with Australia’s Hamish Peacock (82.59) taking silver and Grenada’s Anderson Peters (82.20) bronze.
YEGO APOLOGISES AFTER FLOP
Defending champion Julius Yego failed to make it to the final after a field infringement cost him dearly.
The Olympic silver medallist later posted an apology on his Facebook page.
“Mistakes make those who believe in winning like me stronger,” the policeman said.
“Sorry for everyone who believed and counted on me to deliver. I may have disappointed you, I am disappointed too not to have made the finals because of this mistake..."
And in the last track even of these championships, Kenya flattered only to deceive in the men’s 4x400m relay in which the quartet of Collins Omae, Boniface Mweresa, Aron Koech and Nicholas Bett was disqualified for obstruction.
Koech had run a fantastic third leg, powering from second last to hand over the baton to his twin brother Bett in first place, with Isaac Makwala-led Botswana taking gold in 3:01.78 followed by Bahamas and Jamaica.
Meanwhile, in the 1,500m final, just like was the case at last year’s IAAF World Championships in London, the 25-year-old Manangoi had to fight off a stiff challenge from compatriot and training partner Timothy Cheruiyot, opting to do the front-running and beating Cheruiyot for pace.
“I’d promised the President that we shall come back with medals and when they delayed in coming, I was a bit confused. I’m happy that now I will go back with the gold medal,” Manangoi said.
“I was sick for three days because for like four days there was no gold which gave us a lot of pressure, especially myself as captain."
Manangoi controlled the pace pretty much comfortably in the lead pack with Cheruiyot leading across the 200 metres (29.4), 400m (1:01.1) and 600m (3:09.1) before Manangoi injected pace for the strong finish.
“The race went according to plan."
“I knew I was in pretty good shape and that I just needed to manage the pace, whether it was gonna be fast or slow pace."
Cheruiyot was graceful in defeat, affording a smile despite finishing second behind Manangoi for the second time at a major championship after settling for silver at the World Championships in London last year.
“I really wanted to catch him this time, but I’m happy we got the gold and silver,” the 22-year-old said. “I know my time will come.”
Youngster Kumari Taki finished seventh in 3:38.74 with Scotland’s Jake Weightman (3:35.97) taking the bronze behind Manangoi and Cheruiyot.
“I’m happy with the way Kumari ran, because he’s a junior and these are his first senior championships.”
In the women’s 5,000m, just like fellow world champion Manangoi, Obiri was cautious and felt the pulse of the race, especially from the first 1,000 metres before hitting the front.
The Kenya Defence Forces runner crossed the 1,000m mark in 3:22.3 with Australia’s Madeline Hills and New Zealand’s Camille Buscomb among the lead pack.
“We had planned to go through the first two kilometres first and then see how race pace would be,” Obiri explained.
“Then we agreed to keep changing the lead and commanding the pace as a team, just like our men’s team did in the steeplechase.
“After 1km, I told Chelimo the pace was slow because we crossed 400 metres in 76-77 seconds so I went ahead for two laps and then asked Chelimo to go ahead.
“I saw Cherono was struggling because this was her first major race and that’s when I decided to go for it with Chelimo.”
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