7 May 2008
Nairobi — Sports Sub-editor Chris Tsuma covered the 16th African Athletics Championships for the Daily Nation. He gives his reflections on the week-long continental track and field show in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
How come that all track races are run anti-clockwise? It's feels cumbersome, visualising the opposite. This may be by design or it's one of those marvels of mother nature.
It doesn't matter because there are a few sights in competitive sport as compelling as a field of 200 metres sprinters sweeping round the bend for the home straight and the finish line.
At the 16th African Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa, this simple act of going round the corner of an athletics track, be it once or 24 times, was elevated to the level of the spectacular by a wonderful home crowd which was simply unable to remain seated or silent for the duration of any single event on the track or field.
The story of this crowd is at the centre of Addis 2008.
One of the most unflattering aspects of the Africa championships is absence of cash prizes but given a choice between money and the enthusiasm of the Addis crowd, it's likely many would prefer the noise.
One of the major sub-plots of Addis 2008 was the rivalry over medium and long distance races between Kenya and Ethiopia.
It has been played out on bigger scenes - the Olympics, and World Championships - but in Addis Ababa, the home crowd brought into sharper focus not just its intensity of this rivalry, but also its maturity.
The hosts were delirious when their runners won but still maintained the dignity to applaud their vanquished opposition like was the case when they routed Kenya in the men's 10,000m final.
It was numbing beating Kenyans took on that soggy opening evening of the championships but the team will be remembered more for quickly regaining its poise and making a contest of the remaining races.
The performances of David Rudisha and Pamela Chelimo in the men's and women's hundred metres was the highlight of this turnaround by Kenya. The ascent by Rudisha, a world junior and All Africa Games champion, to the senior Africa men's throne was expected and obliterating Sammy Koskei's 24-year championship record in the process merely added to his steadily rising stature.
It was the happening though, from the blue really of 19-year old Chelimo that excited the championships. On her first major race, the greenhorn is the African women's champion and also took home a silver medal in the 4x400m relay. The prospect of Kenya's 800m Beijing Olympics team comprising her and world champion Janeth Jepkosgei must be comforting to Athletics Kenya.
Haron Keitany's gritty final push for gold against the stiff challenge from South Africa's Juan Van Deventer was also up there among the best and showed that with better planning from AK and organisation, Kenya could have done better.
Olympic champion Kenenissa Bekele won the 5,000m gold but with Isaac Songok snapping at his heels all the way to the finish line.
In the women's race. Bronze medallist Grace Momanyi showed scant respect to Mesret Defar, taking the fight for silver with the Olympic and world champion right down to the finish line. Veronica Nyaruai and Chebet Lagat were outclassed.
Lucy Kabuu, running without support in the 10,000m women's race was not expected to do much against the Ethiopians but her resistance for 23 of the 24 laps was still appreciated by the crowd, only much less noisily than the Dibaba sister (Tirunesh and Ejegayehu) race for the finish line. The 3,000m men's steeplechase title was won routinely with a podium sweep by Richard Matelong, Michael Kipyego and Willy Komen but AK will be concerned the timid performance by Ruth Bosibori and Mercy Njogore despite Bosibori's bronze.
Rare javelin bronze
The sprinters - Tom Muside (100m men) Joyce Zackary (100m and 200m women) and Elizabeth Muthoka (400m women), Thomas Musembi, (400m men) - can be consoled only by their qualification for the finals. Sammy Keisekeny's rare bronze for Kenya in the javelin is hardly an indication that things are on the up for Kenya in field events.
The deficiency in this area was evident in the women's heptathlon where Florence Wasike (silver) would have won gold had she had she done better in the throws and jumps. The crowd was memorable and so was the competition.
But what a shame that those who were in Addis Ababa have no mementoes from the championships. There were no souvenirs for Addis 2008 on sale and it's inexplicable why the organisers neglected the commercial aspect of the championships.
No ticket sales
The stadium was always fully packed which was great but the fact that no tickets were on sale for the championships was a blot.
Even if the gate charges were underwritten by some secret benefactor, the value of the championships would have been higher if the fans had paid to watch. Going by their passion, there is little doubt they would still have filled the 30-seater Addis Ababa Stadium.
Despite such glaring oversights, and the absence of cash prizes, the president of the Confederation of Africa Athletics Malboum Kalkaba told a news conference last Friday that he was satisfied with the profile of the championships. Africa athletics needs a more ambitious president.
Overall, though, the 16 medals - five gold, five silver and six bronze - was not a bad effort by Kenya. Neither was a fourth place finish behind winners South Africa with 22 medals (12 gold) , Nigeria with 19 (seven gold) and Ethiopia (six gold) .
Nairobi 2010 is next. One of the targets for local organising committee of that event on home soil should be to make a profit. And, of course, excite the crowds!
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