When athletics is much more than a sporting event

Kenya's George Meitamei Manangoi celebrates his win in the 1,500m finals. /IAAF

New Kenyan heroes were born over the past few days. Almost overnight, the likes of George Manangoi, Caren Chebet and Dominic Ndingiti have become familiar names across the country, after they secured gold medals for Kenya at the World Under-18 Athletics Championships in Nairobi.

In fact, the entire team made our country proud, finishing fourth on the medal table. An incredible feat against the world's very best young athletic talent. And beyond the track stars, the championship itself was another massive Kenyan success story. Flawless organisation, a huge, passionate crowd of 55,000 on the final day and justified high praise from IAAF chief, Lord Sebastian Coe.