Michael Githae won Kenya’s first medal after picking up bronze in the men’s marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom, while Vincent Kiplangat became the first Ugandan marathon gold medalist after clocking 2:10:55.
Alphonse Simbu of Tanzania finished second, completing an East African podium sweep in Birmingham.
Githae finished in 2:13:16, trailing Simbu in 2:12:29, while the other Kenyan in the race, Jonathan Korir, ended fifth, trailing Australian Liam Adams, the early pacesetter, who finished fourth, his late effort at the podium falling flat.
Adams grabbed command of the race after establishing a massive lead over the rest of the pack. Kenyans Korir and Githae after briefly splitting up, rejoined the front pack as they neared the 28km mark.
While Adams had earlier remained the pacesetter for most of the race, Kiplangat grabbed command around the 30km mark, beginning to assert his influence with solid steps and a determined pace.
Simbu of Tanzania followed him out, with Githae at third.
The Ugandan crossed the 35km mark at 1:47:09 and looked powerful as he began to pull away from Simbu. Despite briefly driving the wrong way and having to reroute, he did not blink an eyelid and maintained a big lead.
He had already established a one-minute and 25-second advantage over the Tanzanian, who now appeared pleased with battling for second place, but also with a comfortable lead above Githae.
Meanwhile, Margaret Wangari Muriuki won Kenya’s second medal after scooping silver in the women’s marathon against Australia’s Jessica Stenson.
Stenson pulled away from Wangari in the final four kilometres of the race, maintaining a consistent lead to finish at 2:27:31.
Wangari, Kenya’s lone competitor in the event, ran a new personal best time of 2:28:00 to earn second, with reigning champion Helalias Johannes of Namibia finishing third for bronze 39 seconds later in 2:28:39.
After riding in the front group for the majority of the race, the Kenyan maintained a steady pace throughout the final five kilometres to secure a medal.
Stenson and Johansson, both from Australia, had led for the majority of the race until they all decided to flee.
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At the 32km point, Johannes began to fatigue and slipped off the pace, with the Australian and Kenyan now in command. But, gradually, Stenson injected some speed and began to drop the Kenyan.
She held a 19-second lead at the 40-kilometre mark and mounted the final uphill section of the race to win, with Wangari holding steady for a second.
