2021 was a memorable year for Kenya’s athletes

2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Faith Chepng'etich Kipyegon feted with the Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) by President Kenyatta.PHOTO:[Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

The 2021 season for Kenyan athletes started with high hopes even as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to hit the globe.

But it ended with a rich history thanks to their resilience and never-say-die attitude.

The crisis ravaged training and competitions. Training camps in the country were shut which dealt a big blow to preparation for some few races.

Most athletes stuck to online training instructions from their coaches at the beginning of the season.

But they emerged and staged good shows at the Olympic Games, World Under 20 Athletics Championships and the Kip Keino Classic, the World Athletics Continental Tour meet.

Kenyan athletes stunned the world when they ventured into virgin territories in track events and even set the par high in road races.

Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after 100m final during The Kip Keino Classic-World Athletics Continental Tour 2021 at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi on September18, 2021. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Two-time Olympic champions Faith Chepng’etich (1,500m) and Eliud Kipchoge (marathon) emerged among global stars that made it to the final round of World Athletics Athlete of the Year gala.

The two, who train under Dutchman Jos Hermens of Global Sports Communication, were among the three Africans shortlisted in the list of 10 finalists.

In the rising stars’ category, Kenya’s 800m specialist Emmanuel Wanyonyi was in the mix.

Wanyonyi, at the age of 17, won gold in 1:43.76 (quite an impressive time for his category) at the Under-20 World Championships on home soil as he set the fastest time of the year for an Under-20 athlete.

Chepng’etich, 27, won the Olympic 1500m title in August in Tokyo, becoming only the third woman to retain her title after becoming a mother in-between the Games. She won the World Athletics Diamond League trophy and set the national 1500m record.

She enjoyed a near-perfect season in 1500m in what excited athletics fans, given she overcame strong challenge from Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan. That stood as one of the showstoppers at the Olympics.

She suffered her only defeat this year when she lost to Hassan at the Diamond League meeting in Florence, Italy.

She won the Monaco meeting with a world-leading national record of 3:51.07 – just one second shy of the world record – and then notched up victories at the Olympics with a Games record of 3:53.11 and at the Diamond League final in Zurich.

Kipchoge won the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, The Netherlands, in April, beating 45 world class marathoners who were seeking qualifying times for Tokyo Olympic Games. He beat the closet rival by almost two minutes in 2:04:30.

He went ahead to retain his Olympic title, winning 80 seconds ahead of his nearest opponent – the largest winning margin in a men’s Olympic marathon since 1972. Kipchoge was named the Tokyo Olympic Games Athlete of the Year.

Jepchirchir, twice the world half-marathon champion and the world 21km record holder for women’s-only race, produced a brilliant showing at the Olympic Games in Sapporo in August.

She became just the second Kenyan woman to win the Olympic Marathon title since the event was added to The Games in 1984 in Los Angeles. She later became the first Olympic champion to win New York City Marathon.

Ferdinand Omanyala re-wrote history by lowering his 100m national record by 9.76 seconds at the Kip Keino Classic meet at Kasarani Stadium. The record is an all-time African mark.

Then Amos Serem emerged from obscurity to win World Under-20 Championships 3,000m steeplechase title in what –with his salutes to the crowds on the homestretch and the stylist dance –brought back memories of four-time world champion Ezekiel Kemboi’s dominance.

Heristone Wanyonyi stunned the world at Kasarani Stadium when he won a rare gold medal for Kenya in 10,000m race walk at the World Athletics U20 Championships. The star now aims to be a sports scientist.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge celebrates after winning gold medal in men's marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, yesterday morning. [Reuters]

Wanyonyi, who sat for his KCSE exams this year, believes he will attain his desire of studying Sports Management when he finally joins college later this year.

His long-term plan is to put those skills into good to improve the standards of race walking in the country when he ventures into sports administration later in life.

Wanyonyi was inspired to take up race walking by his primary school teacher. And just like Julius Yego, he took to you YouTube to further his skills.

More surprises also emerged in the season when Elisha Rotich produced a strong performance to clinch his first title at the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon.

Rotich, who was a caretaker for his brother’s real estate in Eldoret before venturing into running produced an impressive display of strength over the final kilometres to cross the line in 2:04:23, 40 seconds faster than Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele’s previous course record.

Women marathon gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya celebrates on the podium. [Reuters]

Rotich not only improved his personal best by 55 seconds but he also produced the eighth fastest time of the year.

Diana Kipyogei won the 125th edition of the BAA Boston Marathon, winning the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race in 2:24:45.

Kipyogei, contesting just her third ever marathon and her first in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, emerged with the biggest victory of her career to date after making her break at about 29km. Little was known of Kipyogei before Boston Marathon showdown.

Titus Ekiru ran the fastest ever marathon in Italy, clocking 2:02:57 as he successfully defended his Milano Marathon title in a new course record.

This is the fifth fastest marathon of all time. Ekiru, the African Games Half Marathon champion, reduced almost two minutes off his time when he won the race for the first time in 2019, clocking 2:04:46.

Kenya also staged a successful Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour meet.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe lauded Kenyan performances in the season and asked Athletics Kenya to strive and ensure the nation competes in more track and field events.

­­­“I had conversations with the Kenyan federation, but I spent a week or two later and realised that they are keen on stretching their dominance beyond track events,” he said in a virtual interview.