Maurine Chebor/ HANDOUTThe 2025 Nijmegen 5km road race champion, Maurine Chebor, has shifted her focus to securing a Team Kenya ticket for the Commonwealth Games after successfully defending her Betika BingwaFest 10,000m crown at the Kinoru Stadium in Meru.
Chebor clocked 32:17.2 to fend off a late surge from Phanuel Yego, who settled for second in 32:20.7, while Miriam Chebet sealed the podium in 32:34.9.
The 21-year-old rising distance prodigy has now trained her sights on punching her ticket in the 25-lap race for the global showpiece set for Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2.
“I am happy to defend the title I won in Siaya during the first edition. Today’s race was good, and everything went on, according to plan. My focus now shifts to this year’s Commonwealth Games,” Chebor said.
In the men’s 10,000m, Robert Kiprop stole the spotlight in a fiercely contested duel, timing 29:06.2 to outkick world cross country bronze medallist Daniel Ebenyo (29:08.5) and Mathew Kipkoech (29:09.8).
Kiprop was riding on strong form, fresh from setting a new personal best of 59:51 in the Berlin Half-Marathon last month, where he finished seventh.
Speaking after the win, Kiprop admitted the odds were not entirely in his favour. “I am grateful for the win. I just came from Berlin, where I ran a personal best in the half-marathon, and I did not expect to win today as I still have some blisters from the race,” he revealed.
For their efforts, Chebor and Kiprop each pocketed Sh400,000, while second- and third-place finishers walked away with Sh350,000 and Sh300,000, respectively.
The men’s 5,000m produced another electrifying contest, with Mathew Kipsang unleashing a decisive finishing kick to clinch victory in 13:52.8, narrowly edging Amason Kireu (13:53.55) and Gilbert Kiprotich (13:54.03).
“I have been working on my finishing, and that worked very well for me in the race. It is something that I picked in Tokyo last year during the World Championships because everyone was so good with their kick,” Kipsang said. In the women’s 5,000m, Miriam Chebet doubled her day’s success, storming to victory in 15:41.4 ahead of Cynthia Chepngeno (15:42.1) and Joyline Chepkemoi (15:43.1).
Athletics Kenya (AK) Athletes' Representative, Milcah Chemos, hailed the competition as a vital platform for nurturing emerging talent, urging organisers to scale it up in future editions.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank BingwaFest for coming up with this event, which has really helped upcoming athletes, especially those who do not have sponsorship,” she said.
Chemos further underscored the significance of the meet in sharpening athletes ahead of a packed 2026 track calendar.
“This year, the event has been of great help to our athletes as they prepared for various competitions, including the relays in Botswana last week. We now have an idea of our athletes' shape as we head for the AK combined trials for the World Relays and African Senior Championships next week. I hope we will have more events next season. Having the 3,000m steeplechase could be beneficial, especially for the under-20 athletes,” Chemos added.
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