This archive report was first published on 20 August 2021.
Published on August 20, 2021, Kenyan athletes made a remarkable impression at the World Under-20 Championships.
Benson Kiplagat secured Kenya's first gold medal in the men's 5000m final on August 19, 2021, with a personal best of 13:20.37.
He edged out Ethiopia's Tadese Worku, who clocked 13:20.65, and Levy Kibet, who finished third with a time of 13:26.01.
With this win, Kiplagat retained the title won by Edward Zakayo in Tampere, Finland in 2018.
“Am so excited with the gold medal that I did not expect but good preparations earned me the title. I am really excited for the gold medal. I didn’t know that I will win the race but it has just come as a surprise. I told my compatriot to pray before competing and God has really worked for us,” Kiplagat told Daily Sport.
Levy Kibet, who won bronze, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, saying: “Winning bronze medal was not and this is a good start for my career. I wanted to be on the podium and we had planned to push the pace in turns and it worked. We saw yesterday what they did in the 3,000m race and we couldn’t allow that today. It’s great to bag a gold medal.”
Meanwhile, Teresiah Muthoni won the second gold for Kenya in the women's 3000m final at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, clocking 8:57.78.
Zenah Jemutai secured silver with a personal best of 8:59.59, while Ethiopia's Melknat Wudu took home bronze in 9:00.12.
