Budapest Worlds: Uganda is Africa’s third best

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. It wasn’t the fitting end for Uganda as the World Athletics Championships wrapped up at the National Athletics Centre on Sunday evening in the Hungarian capital.

Some 150 minutes after Kiplangat received his marathon gold medal at the closing ceremony, Uganda’s final three competitors on track didn’t meet desired expectations.

But Kiplangat’s early morning heroics at the Heroes’ Square in the capital as well as Joshua Cheptegei’s successful 10000m world title defence meant Uganda departed Budapest with two medals.

The tally meant that the East African nation finished 11th on the medal table comprising 46 countries.

Last year at the Oregon World Championships in the USA, Uganda won a gold from Cheptegei and two bronze medals from step brothers Jacob Kiplimo and Oscar Chelimo but the country tied in 16th place with Sweden and Belgium.

Amongst African countries, Uganda had finished fourth in Oregon but in Budapest, they improved to finish third behind Kenya and Ethiopia.

Kenya was Africa’s best country with 10 medals including three golds from 800m runner Mary Moraa and the 1500m and 5000m double from Faith Kipyegon.

On the sorry Sunday evening for Uganda though, 2022 bronze medalist Chelimo touched the hind part of his left thigh as walked off the track in pain with 800m left to complete the men’s 5000m final.

Next came the women’s 800m final. The 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi felt disappointed after finishing eighth in a time of one minute and 59.18 seconds over the two-lap final won by Moraa.

“I just couldn’t feel the body,” with no worries at all, Nakaayi said. “I tried kicking, it just failed but those things happen. I now have to focus on finishing the season well,” she added.

The field had gone through the first 400m in a blistering 56.01 seconds before Moraa beat title holder American Athing Mu in the home stretch to the gold in a time of 1:56.03.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson won the silver in 1:56.34 while Mu collected bronze in 1:56.61. Now all attention went to the women’s 3000m steeplechase where Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai, who had been struggling all season with illness, came seventh.

BUDAPEST WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

TEAM UGANDA RESULTS

MEN’S 5000M FINAL

1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)              13:11.30

2 Mohamed Katir (ESP)                     13:11.44

3 Jacob Krop (KEN)                           13:12.28

DNF Oscar Chelimo (UGA)             DNF

WOMEN’S 800M FINAL

1 Mary Moraa (KEN)                         1:56.03

2 Keely Hodgkinson (GBR)               1:56.34

3 Athing Mu (USA)                            1:56.61

8 Halimah Nakaayi (UGA)               1:59.18

WOMEN’S 3000M STEEPLECHASE FINAL

1 Winfred Yavi (BRN)                       8:54.29

2 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)             8:58.98

3 Faith Cherotich (KEN)                    9:00.69

7 Peruth Chemutai (UGA)               9:10.26

FINAL MEDAL TABLE

COUNTRY               G         S          B         T

1 USA                         12        8          9          29

2 Canada                     4          2          0          6

3 Spain                        4          1          0          5

4 Jamaica                     3          5          4          12

5 Kenya                       3          3          4          10

6 Ethiopia                    2          4          3          9

7 Great Britain            2          3          5          10

8 Netherlands              2          1          2          5

9 Norway                    2          1          1          4

10 Sweden                  2          1          0          3

11 Uganda                  2          0          0          2