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Kenya: Graceful Momanyi Can Bring Gold Medal
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Mutwiri Mutuota
Nairobi
Grace Kwamboka Momanyi has the potential to bring Kenya's long 14-year wait for a senior women's individual title at the World Cross to an end on Sunday in Edinburgh.
Her shock win at the 2008 Kenya's National Cross-Country Championships completed the remarkable comeback from a career-threatening injury for the runner who was recently recruited by Kenya Police.
The mother of one had an injury-plagued 2006, missing most of the season and at one time, thought her career was over as she battled a ravaging hip injury and illness.
Grace Momanyi winning the senior women's 8km race at the National Championships on March 1. Picture: Robert Gicheru
She had just joined Osaka-based Japanese corporate team, Daihatsu, in April when she was first diagnosed with anaemia and she could only train lightly since she was on medication.
"I think my body just disagreed with Japanese weather, food, training and everything," she recalls.
That August, just as she was regaining full fitness, she suffered a hip injury that would lay her off for another five months.
"I was feeling pain from my ankle to my hip and it was so painful I could barely walk," she said.
She added: "My husband was helpful during this period. Having had his career curtailed by a knee injury, he helped by massaging my hip as the doctors had ordered. Being there and supporting me emotionally every time I felt like giving up."
At the beginning of last year, she could hardly walk, but started slow recovery, jogging for 20 minutes at first then an hour when she felt no reaction.
On September 14, she marked her competitive comeback with a bang, winning the Safaricom Sambaza 10km race in Gucha near her hometown of Kisii in 35:10.
On October 5, she notched her second successive victory at the Safaricom Kebirigo Road Race where she took top honours in 34:12.6.
Reigning champion
Now fully back, Momanyi won the women's 8km race at the Kisii leg of the national cross-country circuit before she stretched the run to four when she triumphed at the Sao Silvestre de Luanda 15km road race in Angola in a time of 53:13 on New Year's Eve.
During the keenly-contested national trials, Momanyi stayed in the middle of the pack until the final two laps when she joined front runners, 2006 Fukuoka World Cross junior champion, Pauline Korikwiang, and her successor in Mombasa, Linet Masai as well as Armed Forces pair Lineth Chepkurui and Doris Changeywo.
In the last 500m, Masai and Momanyi pulled away and the latter showed the reigning junior champion a clean pair of heels in the last 200m to cut the tape in 29:02.8.
Her victory was shocking since none of local and international pundits had made any mention of her in the build-up as she booked an automatic ticket to Edinburgh.
"Am so pleased especially since the field was very competitive and the weather a bit too hot. I felt strong as we approached the finish and I was able to pull from Masai (finished second)."
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Momanyi is in such blistering form that her coaches have tipped her as a credible medal prospect and reinforced that by naming her the team's vice-captain.
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