Boniface Ng'etich leads Thomas Kiptoo (l) and Weldon Kiplagat in the men's 5, 000m/ANGWENYI GICHANAMary Ayuma of Eregi Teachers College completed a remarkable double at the ongoing annual Intercollegiate Athletics and Tug of War Championships after winning the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at Kisii University.
Ayuma clocked 11:52.07 to secure her second gold medal of the championships. Compatriot Priscilla Mito finished second in 12:58.08 while Egoji’s Winnie Chepkirui came third in 13:16.08.
The championships, which conclude on Friday, are organised by the Kenya Teachers Colleges Sports Association (KTCSA). Ayuma, who had earlier won the 1,500m title on Wednesday, expressed delight after completing the double.
“I’m happy I have won two gold medals. This is a great honour for me and my college. After failing to win a medal in my first and second years, I vowed to win in my final year and focused on training,” said Ayuma.
In the men’s 5,000m final, Boniface Ng’etich of Tambach Teachers College led a Rift Valley clean sweep after clocking 15:17.04 to take gold. Mosoriot’s Weldon Kiplagat finished second in 15:18.07 while compatriot Thomas Kiptoo completed the podium places in 15:24.07.
It was Kiptoo’s second medal of the championships after winning the men’s 3,000m steeplechase title for the third consecutive year. The trio exchanged leads throughout the race before Ng’etich broke away in the closing stages.
“I was confident of winning this race. I stayed with Kiplagat and Kiptoo throughout and weighed their strength. I decided to break away in the last 200m and won,” said Ng’etich.
Kiplagat later bounced back to dominate the men’s 10,000m race as the same trio once again occupied the podium positions. The experienced marathoner crossed the finish line in 31:40.05 to claim gold ahead of Kiptoo, who clocked 31:45.05, while Ng’etich settled for third in 31:44.03.
Speaking after the race, Kiplagat credited his endurance for the victory. “The 5,000m was a bit difficult for me. I won the 10,000m gold because I had the endurance,” said Kiplagat.
Kiptoo praised the dominance displayed by athletes from the Rift Valley region in the long-distance races. “I’m happy that Rift Valley dominated the long-distance races once more. I want to congratulate Ng’etich for winning the race,” he said.
In the women’s 4x100m relay, the Western region quartet of Ivon Nyalwal, Ann Ayuma, Nancy Monyangi and Lucy Nyongesa clinched gold after clocking 54.00 seconds.
They edged Nyanza’s team of Mayrona Jepkogei, Naom Adoyo, Judith Adongo and Sharon Awinja, who finished second in 54.70, while Eastern region settled for bronze.
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Nyanza’s Jan Omondi, Ali Musa, Rollins Otieno and Brian Ombati stormed to victory in 44.80 seconds, narrowly beating Western region, who finished second in 45.00, as Rift Valley claimed bronze.
