NEW DELHI, October 9 – Milcah Chemos led a Kenyan clean sweep of the women's 3,000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday as the African nation kept adding to its gold medal haul.Cheywa crossed the line in 9:40.96, well outside the Games record, with Mercy Njoroge taking the silver less than a second further back, while Gladys Kipkemoi won bronze.
With defending champion Dorcus Inzikuru of Uganda missing from Delhi, the race was always going to be between the Kenyans, whose women recorded a 1-2-3 for the first time in any discipline ever at a Commonwealths.
"We were expecting to win all three because we trained very hard," said Cheywa.
"Of course I knew I would win because I had strong competitors this year in the Diamond League. The race was not tough but the weather was hot."
With the Commonwealth gold safely tucked away in her bag, she now wants to taste world championship glory.
"It is not over because next year I have to work even harder so I can win the world championship," she said.
England’s Tina Brown set the pace, leading them through the first two laps before dropping off, leaving the Kenyan trio to race against themselves.
They were shoulder to shoulder coming into the last lap when Kipkemoi landed badly coming over a hurdle and she slipped out of contention.
Njoroge met a similar fate on the last hurdle on the final lap, and although she recovered to mount a late charge down the finishing straight Cheywa held on.
Kenya has now won the women’s steeplechase, 1,500m and 10,000m titles in New Delhi.
