Kenya finished as the top-placed African country in the 33rd Olympiad, which concluded in Paris, France, on Sunday, even though it did not surpass its best-ever performance at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
Kenya finished 17th overall on the medal table and best in Africa with a total of 11 medals: 4 golds, 2 silvers, and 4 bronzes.
Algreia was 2nd in the continent and 39th overall with 2 golds and a bronze, while South Africa, Egypt, Uganda,Tunisia and Botswana each won a gold.
The USA once again reigned supreme, amassing 126 medals, 40 golds, 44 silvers, and 42 bronze medals, followed by China with 40 golds, 27 silvers, and 24 bronze medals, while Japan completed the top 3 with 45 medals, 20 golds, 12 silvers, and 3 bronzes.
In addition, Faith Kipyegon made history by being the first athlete to win an Olympic title three times in a row. She did this by winning the 1,500-meter gold medal in style and setting a new Olympic record.
Kipyegon also bagged silver in the 12.5-laps race behind Chebet.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi solidified Kenya’s supremacy in the 800-meter event by taking home the nation’s fifth consecutive gold medal, dating back to 2008.
Ronald Kwemoi settled for a silver in 5,000 m.
Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri won bronze in the men’s and women’s marathons, respectively, and Abraham Kibiwot and Faith Cherotich took home bronze in the 3,000 msc.
World champion Mary Moraa was content with a bronze in the 800 meters as Kenya carried on its protracted search for its second gold medal since Pamela Jelimo’s victory in 2008.
Kenya’s medal haul in the Quadrennial Games in Paris ranked fifth overall in the country’s history.
Kenya’s greatest performance at an Olympics came in Rio in 2016, where it collected 13 medals, including 6 golds, 6 silvers, and 1 bronze.
Beijing in 2008 yielded 6 golds, 4 silvers, and 6 bronzes being the 2nd best ever outing for Kenya.
The Seoul 1988 games remain the 3rd best Kenyan performance with 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals, followed by the Tokyo 2020 games with 4 golds, 4 silvers, and 2 bronze medals.
Kenya won all of its medals in athletics in Paris, where the country placed second in the medal standings behind the United States.
27 countries won athletic gold medals, two more than the previous record figure, with Dominica, Pakistan, and Saint Lucia winning medals for the first time.
Thea LaFond’s (women’s triple jump), Arshad Nadeem’s (men’s javelin), and Julien Alfred’s (women’s 100m) were historic gold for their nations.
Joining Dominica, Pakistan, and Saint Lucia, Botswana also got a maiden athletics title .
The number of nations competing in athletics in Paris equals Tokyo’s, with 43, marking the largest field in over 20 years.
26 competitors took home multiple medals in Paris, including the Kenyan pairs of Beatrice Chebet (gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters) and Faith Kipyegon (silver in the 5,000 meters and gold in the 1,500 meters).
Other athletes who won more than one medal are Femke Bol (mixed 4x400m gold, women’s 4x400m silver, women’s 400m hurdles bronze), her Dutch teammate Sifan Hassan (women’s marathon gold, 5000m and 10,000m bronze), and USA’s Gabby Thomas (women’s 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m gold).
Kenya participated in five sports: swimming, fencing, athletics, women’s volleyball, and rugby sevens men.
