This archive report was first published on 21 September 2019.
Kenya's dominance in athletics was reaffirmed on Saturday at the inaugural Africa Deaf Athletics Championships held at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, Nairobi.
The five-day event, which featured 12 countries, came to an end with the hosts emerging victorious, scooping a total of 54 medals (20 gold, 16 silver, and 18 bronze).
Nigeria emerged second on the medal table with 8 medals (two gold, five silver, and one bronze).
Team Kenya's coach Sammy Kibet attributed their victory to good preparation and luck, saying, "It is a record, which will take time before it is broken. The achievement has surpassed my expectations, because I had targeted 30 medals. Apart from the good preparation we had in training, we were lucky because all our athletes were fit for their respective events and we had a few supporters around to cheer us."
The hosts started the march to victory in style when they took all the podium places in the half marathon, which headlined the last day's events.
With their rivals Ethiopia missing from the starting line-up, the hosts were expected to shine in the race and Daniel Kiptum led his colleagues, David Njeri and Lucas Wanjiru Wandia to victory.
The trio endured the hot conditions to win gold, silver, and bronze medals in 1:09:14, 1:09:36, and 1:11:56 respectively.
