Gete Wami shines again in the
10,000m
Mark Ouma for the IAAF
18 September 1999 - Gete Wami (Ethiopia),Caroline Fournier (Mauritius) and Faye Ibou (Senegal) concluded their season with gold medals at the All Africa Games (AAG) in Johannesburg.
Running the 10,000m as a team, Ethiopians Merima, Hashim, Morima Denboda and Wami controlled the pace taking turn to lead the race for the first 6000m, as Kenya’s Leah Malot and Sharon Cherop tagged behind them as the pace picked up with 2000m, Cherop fell of the lead group left while Malot overtook Denboda to prevent an Ethiopian sweep of the medal. In the last 1000m of the race Wami stepped up the pace to win in 32:08.15. Merima was runner up in 32:16.24, ahead of Malot who clocked 32:36.02.
"I am glad it is all over. It was quite cold and windy. I desperately wanted to finish the race. It has been a long season and l want to rest, said Wami who was the world cross country champion last year.
Wami set an Africa record of 30.24.56 on her way to winning gold at the World Championships last month in Seville, Spain. Looking ahead the 1996 Olympic 10000m bronze medallist said her mind is focused on next year’s Olympics.
"I will not compete in the World Half Marathon Championships next month. Instead l want to rest and prepare for the Olympics. I believe l can win the gold medal in Sydney," said Wami.
Fournier breathed a sign of relief after winning the women’s hammer throw. She felt under tremendous pressure before the event as she is the African record holder and was her country’s last hope of a gold medal at the Games.
"All our athletes whom we had hoped would win gold medals did not succeed. This put a lot of pressure on me. It was do or die and it was gratifying to rise to the occasion, " said Fournier. Mauritius has won five silver medals and eight bronze medals.
The silver medal went to South Africa’s Elmarie Knoetzen who threw the hammer to a distance of 58.74m. She was over the moon after massively improving her national record from 54.91 to 58.74. Marwa Ahmed (Egypt ) was third in 55.25.
"I had hoped to win the event after leading for the first three throws. Anyway it great to improve the record by a wide margin. Without the strong competition l probably would not have throw so far " said Knoetzen.
Ibou proved to have the staying power to win the 400m hurdles after two of the world’s best competitors in the event, Llewellyn Herbert (South Africa) and Samuel Matete (Zambia) were unable to make it to the start of the competition. He won the event in a respectable time of 48.30. Kenneth Harden was runner up in 48.47, while Kenya’s Erick Keter was third in 49.17.
"It is great to step out of the shadows of great athletes like Matete and Herbert. I hope they all recover from their injuries and come back to compete next year. Today it was my day to win. I was confident of victory until the last hurdle when l could feel (Kenneth) Harden coming from my left.
South Africa raised it’s gold medal tally by two. Maralize Fouche won the heptathlon with 56.31 points . Nigerians Pat Itanyi (5565) and Oluvhi Elechi (5537) took the silver and bronze medals. Okkert Brits won the two-way contest in the pole vault with a height of 5.40m to the 4.80m effort of Tunisia’s Mohamed Bdioui.
ATHLETICS MEDALLIST AFTER DAY FOUR(17.09.1999)
Men
100m: 1Leonard Myles-Miles (Ghana) 9.99, 2 Francis Obikwelu (Nigerai) 10.01, 3 Frank
Fredricks (Namibia) 10.10
400m: 1 Kennedy Ochieng (Kenya ) 44.77, 2 Clement Chukwu (Nigeria) 45.31, 3 Phillip
Mokomana (Zimbabwe) 45.43
10000m: 1 Assefa Mezgebu (Ethiopia) 28:12.15, 2 David Chelule (Kenya) 28:13.71, 3 Habie
Jifar (Ethiopia) 28:15.11
110m hurdles: 1 William Erese (Nigeria) 13.73, 2 Randriamihaja Berloz (Madagascar) 13.85,
3 Kehinde Aladefe (Nigeria) 13.86
400m hurdles : 1 Ibou Faye (Senegal) 48.30, 2 Kenneth harden (Zimbabwe) 48.47, 3 Erick
Keter (Kenya) 49.17
800m:L 1 japhet Kimutai (Kenya) 1:44.91. 2 Aissa Dzabir Guerni (Algeria) 1:45.32, 3
Hezekiel Sepeng (South Africa) 1:45.58
3000m steeple chase: 1 Kipkurui Misoi (Kenya) 8:32.42, 2 Wilson Boit Kipketer (Kenya)
8:41.33, 3 Christopher Koskei (Kenya) 8:41.35
Long Jump: Hatem Mersal (Egypt) 8.09, 2 Teko Folligan (Togo) 8.00, 3 Mark Awere (Ghana)
7.96
Triple Jump: 1 Andrew Owusu (Ghana) 16.89, 2 Remmy Limo (Kenya) 16.84, 3 Rabemala
Toussiant (Madagascar) 16.60
Pole vault: 1 Okkert Brits (South Africa) 5.40, 2 Mohameed Bdioui (Tunisia) 4.80
Discus: 1 Frantz Kruger (South Africa) 61.02, 2 Frits Portgieter (South Africa) 60.59, 3
Glenn Conjungo (Central Africa Republic) 57 .09
Shot put: 1 Burger Lambrechts (South Africa) 19.50, 2 Janus Robberts (South Africa) 19.16,
3 Karel Potgieter (South Africa) 18.90
Hammer: 1 Chris Harmse (South Africa) 74.75, 2 Samir Haouam (Algeria) 65.80, 3 Yamen
Abdelmonem (Egypt) 65.25
Decathlon: 1 Christo Blignaut (South Africa) 7727, 2 Anis Riahi (Tunisia) 7497, 3 Redovane
Youcef (Algeria) 7401
4x100m relay: Nigeria 38.56, 2 South Africa 38.88, 3 Cote d’Ivoire 39.08
Women
100: 1 Mary Nku (Nigeria) 11.03, 2 Leanie Mani (Cameroon) 11.24, 3 Endurance Ojokolo
(Nigeria) 11.25
400m: 1 Faliliat Ogunkoya (Nigeria) 50.02, 2 Olabisi Afolabi (Nigeria) 50.34, 3 Ami Mbecke
Thiam (Senegal) 50.95
400m hurdles: 1 Tacko Diuof (Senegal) 55.69, 2 Surita Febbraio (South Africa)57.11, 3
Onanuga Saidat (Nigeria) 58.34
1500m: 1 Dulecha Kutre (Ethiopia) 4:18.33, 2 Nouria Benida Mernsa (Algeria) 4:18.69, 3
Jackline Maranga (Kenya) 4:19.31
5000m: Ayelech Worku (Ethiopia) 15:38.22, 2 Elana Meyer (South Africa) 15:42.76, 3 Vivian
Cheruiyot (Kenya) 15:42.79
10000m: 1 Gete Wami (Ethiopia) 32:08.15, 2 Mwerima Hashim (Ethiopia) 32:16.24, 3 Leah
Malot (Kenya) 32:36.02
Long Jump: 1 Grace Umelo (Nigeria) 6,60, 2 Francoise Mbang Etone (Cameroon) 6.55, 3
Charlene Lawrence (South Africa) 6.50
High Jump: 1 Hestrie Storbeck-Cloete (South Africa) 1.96, 2 Irene Tiendrebeogo (Burkina
Faso) 1.85, 3 Phillipa Erasmus (South Africa) 1.80
Pole Vault: 1 Rika Erasmus (South Africa) 3.60, 2 Elmarie Gerryts (South Africa) 3.60
Javelin: 1Liezel Roux (South Africa) 49.38, 2 Aida Sellam (Tunisia) 48.91, 3 Sorochukwa
Ihuafo (Nigeria) 48.24
Discus: 1 Monia Kari (Tunisia) 57.22, 2 Lezelle Duvenage (South Africa) 54.55, 3 Elizna
Naude (South Africa) 53.25
Hammer: 1 Caroline Fournier (Mauritius) 58.83, 2 Elmarie Knoetzen (South Africa) 58.74, 3
Marwa Ahmed (Egypt ) 55.25
Heptathlon: 1 Maralize Fouche (South Africa) 5631, 2 Pat Itanya (Nigeria) 5565, 3 Oluchi
Elechi (Nigeria) 5537
4x100m relay: 1 Nigeria 43.28, 2 Madagascar 43.98, 3 Ghana 44.21
