Kiptum wins boys' 10,000m

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Dominic Kiptum of Western Region won boys' 10,000m after clocking 29 minutes 58.5 seconds yesterday morning in Embu.

Rift Valley’s Kevin Kibiwot was second in 30:04.1 while Victor Kimtai of Nyanza crossed the finish line 20.4 seconds later to complete the podium finish.

An elated Kiptum said his victory was the culmination of hours of dedication he put in training ahead of the championships.

“I trained hard for today’s race and I’m glad my efforts paid off. It was a bit tricky at the beginning of the race but remained focused on the prize and it motivated me to push for victory,” Kiptum said. 

In the boys' 10,000m walk race, world Under-18 bronze medallist Dominic Ndigiti, from Nyanza, carried the day in a time of 42:26.2.

Ndigiti’s closest challenger Hestone Baraza, from Rift Valley, clocked 43:54.9 to take silver while Dominic Kirimi bagged bronze for Nyanza Region.  

Catherine Reline dominated girls' 5,000m race dashing to victory in a time of 16:39.2.

Reline oozed class as she left her opponents grasping for breath, easily cruising to gold and affirmed the dominance of Rift Valley Region in athletics. 

Western’s Margret Akidor was second after clocking 16:41.1 while Shantel Jeptoo, also from Rift Valley, took bronze in a time of 16:45.6.

Michael Kibet clocked 8:06.2 to win boys' 3,000m race. Jackson Kavesa raced in 8:09.0 to finish second while Gideon Rono finished third in 8:13.7.

The top two athletes in all races booked their tickets to the East Africa games set for August in Rwanda.