Ethiopian Athletes Should Jump Too

opinion

A few hours before midnight on August 13, 2017, London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park threw a farewell party for a record of more than 2,000 athletes. These athletes, who had camped in London to chase gold, silver and bronze medals, had come from about 200 countries across the world. The 16th edition of the World Championships in Athletics, hosted by Great Britain is the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) most important and biggest sporting event in its calendar. With a haul of five medals, Ethiopia trailed six countries, including the host, to stand at the 7th spot in the medal table.

Each time in the 34-year history of the world athletics championships, Ethiopia successfully participated in only one event. To date, the total number of medals collected by Ethiopia has reached 74, of which 27 are gold, according to sources endorsed by the IAAF, the athletics world governing body. In the London's championships alone, its rival Kenya has collected 11 medals, five out of which are gold. By spreading its participation across a variety of other non-traditional events, Kenya has been able to finish second in the medal table at the 16th edition.

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