Algiers, Algeria - Four gold medals in 55 minutes, including both 100m titles, put Nigeria centre stage on the second day of the 9th All Africa Games in the 5 July Olympic Stadium tonight (19). Olusoji Fasuba succeeded his countryman, Deji Aliu, to win the men’s 100m and Damola Osayemi became the latest in a long line of Nigerian women’s sprint champions at the Games.

Largely solo 27:00.30 run by Tadesse

But as much as Nigeria tried to steal the show - Doreen Amata scored an upset to win the women’s High Jump and Selim Nuradeen claimed gold in the men’s 110m Hurdles - nothing matched the commanding victory of Zersenay Tadesse in the men’s 10,000m. It was yet another landmark night for the pioneering Eritrean.

Tadesse became the first athlete from his country in the 42-year history of the Games to win a medal. Such accomplishments have become the Tadesse habit. He was the first Eritrean to win an Olympic medal, taking the 10,000m bronze in Athens, the first to win a World Cross Country Championships medal (2nd  long course, 2005) then took the long course World Cross Country title - the short course was discontinued - in Mombasa four months ago.

Having beaten the Kenyans in their home country, and put an Eritrean name where Kenenisa Bekele’s had been for the previous five years, Tadesse was faced with a less daunting task here. The best of the Ethiopians and Kenyans were saving themselves for the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka next month and, by 8000m, Tadesse had shaken off all challengers. 

Sileshi Sihine, an Olympic and World Championship medallist, was among those missing, declining to defend his title and losing his Games record in the process.  It was obliterated by Tadesse, who clocked 27:00.30. Front-running most of the way, the 25-year-old Tadesse took 42sec off the record, won by almost 200m from Tadesse Tola , from Ethiopia, and became the first athlete from outside Kenya or Ethiopia to win any colour medal in the men’s 10,000m in the history of the Games.

Fasuba, Osayemi mine Nigerian 100m gold

Fasuba, 23, was far outside the African record of 9.85 he set in Doha last year but almost as far clear of his nearest rival tonight. Recording 10.18, there was two metres between Fasuba and the runner-up, Eric Nkansah, from Ghana, at the line.

A back injury had threatened Fasuba’s participation. “Two weeks ago, it was terrible and I could not even walk properly,” Fasuba said. It was a similar story from Osayemi, who secured a sixth successive All Africa Games women’s 100m title for Nigeria. Mary Onyali  had won in 1991, 1995 and 2003, Tina Iheagwam in 1987, and Mercy Nku  in 1999.

“I was surprised to win,” the 21-year-old Osayemi said after winning in a personal best 11.20. “Two months ago I was suffering from an ankle injury.” Osayemi said that Onyali had been like a mother to her, giving her advice. “She supported me through the injury,” Osayemi added. After suffering it in May, it was not until the beginning of this month that she resumed full training.

Only three nations had won women’s 100m medals in Games history until tonight - Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon - but Constance Mkenku’s silver, in 11.27, added South Africa to the list. Beating Osayemi by five minutes to Nigeria’s first gold was Amata, who set a national High Jump record of 1.89m to beat Anika Smit, South Africa’s Commonwealth Games champion, on countback.

At 19, this was a considerable step up for Amata, whose previous biggest competition was the West Africa Championships. Smit admitted her disappointment because she had hoped to improve on her best of 1.93. “It just did not come together at all,” Smit said.

Nuradeen’s 13.59sec for the 110m Hurdles was a Games record while Mozambique celebrated its fourth women’s 800m title - but not courtesy of Maria Mutola, winner over two laps at these quadrennial Games in 1991, 1995 and 1999.  Leonor Piuza,  another Mozambican, aged 29,  produced a strong finish to deny Agnes Samaria, who had led for most of the way.

Piuza clocked 2:02.83 and Samaria, a friend of Dame Kelly Holmes, Britain’s Olympic 800 and 1500m champion, having helped her to run training camps in South Africa, at least had the consolation of an historic achievement for her country. Although Frank Fredericks recorded a 100/200m double for Namibia in 1991, no woman from the country had achieved better than bronze in any discipline at the All Africa Games. 

David Powell for the IAAF