Betty Chelangat of Kenya won the women’s 3000m ahead of Ethiopia’s Tsiyon Abebe and Kenya’s Nancy Cherop on Tuesday, giving Kenya its first gold medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Colombia.
Chelangat fought with teammates Cherop and Abebe for most of the match before seizing possession of the tactical fight and winning the first gold medal at this year’s championships.
Betty finished strong, reaching the line in 9:01.03, ahead of Abebe (9:03.85) and Nancy Cherop, who won bronze in 9:05.98.
She sank to her knees after an army-style salute to the throng, lifted her arms in excitement, then clasped them in thankful prayer.
But she was just as quick to get to her feet and run off with her partner for a lap of honor that seemed almost as fast as her final 300m, indicating that the exertion was not taxing her.
“I train hard, and that’s why I win,” said Chelangat, who is based in Iten under the guidance of coach John Litei. “I waited until three laps remaining, then I see that I have enough left. I thank God and also my coach.”
“I want to represent my country and run in the Olympic Games,” she said.
Abebe was pleased with her silver, saying: “This is the first time I’ve gotten to represent my country. Of course, I wanted to get gold, which didn’t work out, but I am incredibly happy.”
Cherop paid tribute to her coach, Peter Bii, saying she was “expecting to win the race” but was content with bronze.
However, as expected, Kenya did not medal in the 5,000m, with Ethiopia dominating the event.
Kenya’s Samuel Kibathi tripped and fell in the final few meters of the race, finishing sixth, while fellow countryman Nelson Mandela finished eighth.
Follow us on our Twitter page at Switch TV
Addisu Yihune of Ethiopia won gold in the men’s 5,000m in 14:03.05, while Merhawi Menbrahtu of Eritrea took silver in 14:03.33. In 14:0367, another Eritrean, Samuel Habtom, claimed bronze.
Kenya also won two medals, gold, and silver, at the Nairobi edition last year.
