NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13, 2026 – Kenya started off their medal harvesting campaign at the Africa Championships in Accra in a disappointing note in the women’s 5000m on Tuesday night.
Cross country specialist Maurine Chebor was the country’s best performer in the race, finishing fourth in 23:31.84, despite leading for a majority part of the competition.
Chebor ran out of steam in the final lap – her cause worsened by a fall from one of her competitors – as Rwanda’s Emeline Imanizabayo cruised to a surprise gold medal.
Imanizabayo unleashed a powerful kick with less than 100m to the finish line, to grab first place in 23:25.92.
Another surprise medallist, Djibouti’s Samia Hassan, finished a close second in 23:26.34 to clinch silver as Ethiopian Zeyen Ayelegn had to be content with bronze after timing 23:30.55 to take third place.
Disappointment on the opening day notwithstanding, Team Kenya still have plenty of opportunities to reap bountifully, with the championships entering its second day on Wednesday.
Diana Wanza, Mercy Mageso and Phenah Yego will be flying the country’s flag in the women’s 10,000m final, which is scheduled for the University of Ghana Stadium on Wednesday night.
The trio have it all to do to match the performance of the peers, Gladys Kwamboka and Rebecca Mwangi, who won gold and silver respectively at the last edition of the competition in Douala, Cameroon in 2024.
Kwamboka clocked 36:53.59 to win the race, ahead of Mwangi, who took second place in 36:59.69.
Too-ing for success
At the same time, Kenya’s Edwin Too began his campaign on a bright note, finishing third in the decathlon on the opening day of the competition.
The African bronze medallist garnered 1762 points after clocking 11.12 to finish third in the men’s 100m before jumping 7.47m to claim second place in the long jump.
Algeria’s Dhia Cherif Boudoumi leads the standings with 1974 points as Tshwanelo Aabobe sits second with 1837 points.
