Pamela Chelimo en route to her 800m breakthrough in Addis Ababa (© Jiro Mochizuki (Agence shot))
Loyal to the last, Ethiopia’s wildly enthusiastic fans of the sport sat for hours in torrential rain here today, most without cover, waiting for the start of the closing session of the 16th African Athletics Championships. With 13 finals on offer, and the prospect of three more gold medals for the home squad, and perhaps a sweep in the men’s 5000m, it was not to be missed under any circumstances.
The 25,000 lucky ones who got into the National Stadium – there were thousands left outside – were at least spared the rain once the competition began. And they saw Zemzem Ahmed take the women’s 3000m Steeplechase and Kenenisa Bekele win the 5000m to take Ethiopia’s final gold medal count to six. But, to the rare neutral in the crowd, the eye-catching performance of the day was the sight of a little-known Kenyan, Pamela Chelimo, derailing Maria Mutola, the Maputo Express.
In breakout performance, teenager Chelimo outkicks Mutola
The contrast in experience could not have been more marked. Mutola, 20 years after she competed in her first of five Olympics, and a multiple World and African champion, against the 19-year-old making her international debut for Kenya and never having broken two minutes. She has now.
For the first lap, Liberia’s Muhammed Fatimoh occupied the crowd’s attention as she opened a 15 metres lead. It was, inevitably, suicidal and, after being passed with 300m to go, she faded to finish seventh. It was Chelimo who hit front in succession to Fatimoh and Mutola immediately tucked in behind.
Coming off the final bend, Chelimo found a sudden change of gear that Mutola was unable to match. As the Kenyan kept her form to cross the line in 1:58.70, all strength seemed to leave the Mozambican and she almost lost the silver medal as Agnes Samaria, from Namibia, closed in. Mutola recorded 2:00.47, Samaria 2:00.62.
It may have been Mutola’s last chance of an international title because surely now, at 35 and in her final season of competition, she cannot go on to win at the Olympic Games in Beijing. At least her championship record of 1:56.36, set in 1993, survived.
In the history of these championships only Mutola, four times a winner, has run faster than Chelimo did today and, as an indication of the Kenyan’s promise, former African champions whose marks were slower in taking their gold medals include Hassiba Boulmerka, Algeria’s former Olympic and World 1500m champion, Olympic and World silver medallist Hasna Benhassi, from Morocco, and reigning World champion, Janeth Jepkosgei, from Kenya.
K. Bekele kicks to tactical 5000m victory
Bekele redeemed himself for his non appearance in the 10,000m, for which he had been named originally, winning a tactical 5000m in 13:49.67. To nobody’s surprise, when a bunch of five athletes got away early on, it comprised three Ethiopians, (Kenenisa, his brother, Tariku Bekele and Ali Abdosh) and two Kenyans (Isaac Songok and Josphat Kiprono Menjo)
At 3000m, Tariku took responsibility at the front and, from here until the bell, he took the lion’s share, often with his brother right beside him. Songok and Kiprono Menjo seemed content to sit back. An explosion of speed on the last lap saw Kenenisa triumph with a 54.40 last 400m while Songok denied Ethiopia their third medal sweep, following a 1-2-3 in the men’s and women’s 10,000m. Abdosh claimed the bronze medal while the younger Bekele got nothing for his earlier hard work.
"It was very, very tough today because of the altitude,” Kenenisa said. “Since the World Cross Country Championship I have had to take 10 days of training off and I have only been back in training for 20 days. This is why I was not sure I would run today and track is very different to cross country, but I had to do it in front of my own people, because they really wanted to see me. When me and Haile (Gebrselassie) hugged on his lap of honour he wished me luck.”
Two Ethiopian legends had appeared on the track at the same time. While Bekele was warming-up, Gebrselassie, although not competing here, took a lap of honour. It was strange to see the multiple world and Olympic champion jogging around the track wearing a maroon gown and black hat. But this was the mark of his honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, England, which he was presented with inside the stadium, for his outstanding contribution to the sport.
Women’s Steeplechase title for Ahmed
Ahmed’s Steeplechase victory had come in an earlier track event, with Mekdes Bekele (no relation to Kenenisa and Tariku) taking silver. On any other day, Bekele would probably have settled for the bronze medal, as Kenya’s Ruth Bosibori came past her down the home straight, but she could hardly ignore the screams from the grandstand and regained her position.
As the gold and silver medallist paraded the flag on their lap of honour, such was the decibel level that you could have been forgiven for thinking that Gebrselassie had arrived early for his presentation. However, a third gold medal for Ethiopia today was not to be as Deresse Mekonen, the World Indoor champion, was beaten into fourth place in the men’s 1500m
Haron Keitany, called into the Kenya team only two days before its departure for Addis, sprung a surprise with is victory in 3:43.47. Fifteen metres from the line it looked as though Juan van Deventer was going to deliver victory for South Africa but Keitany’s late burst for gold, and Gideon Gathimba’s for silver, relegated him to bronze.
With Triple Jump victory, Mbango returning to form
Francoise Mbango, from Cameroon, competing in her first international championship since the 2004 Athens Olympics, announced her return in style, winning with a world leading mark of 14.76m. Mbango, whose long absence has been due to a combination of giving birth and to a dispute with her national federation, won by 40cm from Sudan’s Yamile Aldama.
Despite local focus on distances, South Africa the dominant force
There was a double for South Africa in the 200m, Thuso Mpaung taking the men’s title in 20.53 and Isabel Le Roux the women’s in 22.69. Nigeria’s Damola Osayomi, seeking a sprint double, had to be content with third place. And how fitting it was that South Africa should win the last event on the five-day programme, the men’s 4x400m.
While the middle and long distance events captured the imagination of locals, South Africa dominated proceedings in almost every other department. Winning 12 golds, they topped the medals table, ahead of Nigeria (7), Ethiopia (6) and Kenya (5). A good last day for Nigeria came courtesy of their women, with victories for Ajoke Odumosu in the 400m Hurdles (55.92), Vivian Chukwuemeka in the Shot (17.50) and the 4x400m quartet.
The day had started with two championship records in the 20k Walk despite the athletes having to battle against torrential rain. Grace Wanjiru, from Kenya, beat her own four-year-old mark of 1:42.45 with 1:39.50 and Mohamed Ameur, from Algeria, with 1:22.55, erased the 1:23.58 set by Kenya’s David Kimutai at the 2006 championships.
David Powell for the IAAF
