This archive report was first published on 18 November 2021.
On Wednesday, Josephine Sampaiyo led her teammates to victory in the cross-country competition held at Kimana Girls Secondary School.
Josephine, a sixth-grader from Winners Academy in Kimana, clocked 17 minutes and 11 seconds in the 5-kilometer race, followed closely by her classmate Maria Shali, who finished in 18:20.
Philes Malemba and Agnes Mwashigadi, both students at Kimana Girls Secondary School, took third and fourth place with times of 18:56 and 18:59, respectively.
The three athletes from Taita Taveta County joined the ACUWM camp this year and began training under the guidance of coach Boniface Nduva, a marathon runner who has competed internationally.
ACUWM director Robert Saruni expressed pride in the girls' performance and is optimistic that they will become skilled runners in the future.
However, another athlete from Taita Taveta, Jardeen Malemba, was unable to participate due to illness.
In the 1,500-meter race, Josephine demonstrated her skills by finishing first in 4:45, followed by Maria in 4:56, and Agnes in 5:05.
Coach Boniface Nduva praised his athletes for their performance and expressed his confidence that they will continue to improve as they grow older.
"I want our athletes to gain experience through competitions. Our main goal is to ensure that our athletes start from the grassroots level and progress to national and international competitions," Nduva said.
