Neighbours’ feud dominates the track

Kenya had for a long time played second fiddle to Ethiopia in the women’s long distance races.

But just when all hope of turning the tables seemed to have dimmed, one break in stride from Linet Masai and Vivian Cheruiyot in the Berlin World Championship flipped Meseret Defer over the edge.

The scales tipped in Kenya’s favour mainly because double Olympic 5,000m/10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba did not take part in both the Berlin event and the World Cross Country Championship, leaving the competition open.

In the men’s field, Ethiopian giant Kenenisa Bekele remained the major obstacle in Kenya’s path but Ezekiel Kemboi epitomised the local athletes’ performance at the global stage all the same.

In the road races, Samuel Wanjiru, who won Kenya its first ever Olympic Marathon gold medal in Beijing, grabbed the World Marathon Majors to become the third Kenyan in as many years to wear the crown after Robert Cheruiyot and Martin Lel.

Globally though, it was Usain Bolt and Caster Semenya who swept the world off its feet in a year that has seen Jamaica dethrone the United States of America from the top perch in the sprints, Germany take on Russia in field events and Kenya win the battle over Ethiopia in long and middle distance races.

Every now and then the sports world witnesses extraordinary talent, and in the past year it was Olympic 800m champion Pamela Jelimo who shook the world stage, sweeping every available medal in each competition she took part in.

Besides the IAAF Golden League jackpot where she won all the six races in 2008 to land the Sh73 million top prize, she also won the Olympic gold in Beijing. Her time of 1:54.01, set in the penultimate leg of the Golden League in Zurich, Switerland, was the fastest of the decade.

In 5,000m, Kenya and Ethiopia commanded the top 11 slots in the 2009 world list as usual as the two neighbours also extended their strong dominance in the women’s long distance running.

Vivian Cheruiyot, silver medallist in Osaka, bettered her position with a gold in Berlin. She clocked 14:57.97, ahead of Sylvia Kibet (14:58.33), who took silver, while Meseret Defar (14:58.41) surrendered to a third-place finish as the first six positions went to Kenya and Ethiopia.

Over the 10,000m, Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia ran the world’s leading time of 29:53.80 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in June to pen an African record, but it was yet to engage in a fierce battle in Berlin where Linet Masai, just 19 years old, emerged the winner in 30:51.24.

Masai’s victory broke the 12-year jinx for Kenya to reclaim the title last won by Sally Barsosio in 1997. Melkamu (30:51.34) was second and Ayalew Wude Yimer (30:51.95) third. Masai has made a quick leap to the global elite following her 30:26.50 World Junior record which gave her the fourth place in the Beijing Games.

No other athletics event has been so monopolised in the modern era by a single nation as the steeplechase is by Kenya. Traditionally Kenya’s realm, it was surprisingly a top finish for 34-year-old Spaniard Marta Dominguez in Beijing as Kenya’s Milcah Chemos Cheywa was third in 9:08.57, a personal best, behind Russian Kyuliya Zarudneva (9:08.39).

In Berlin, Ezekiel Kemboi ran away with the gold ahead of Richard Mateelong to redeem his career, but it was Frenchman Mahiedine Mekhissi – the surprise Beijing silver medallist – who broke the clean sweep when he came in between to deny Paul Kipsiele Koech.

Juniors reigned supreme

At the junior level, Kenya reigned supreme in Mauritius. But it was in Bressanone, Italy, that Cherono Koech was revealed as the heir apparent to Jepkosgei and Jelimo in the 800m race. Koech won gold at the World Youth Championship in 2:01.67, a record at the level, as Kenya won 14 medals (six gold, seven silver and one bronze) ahead of USA and Britain.

The elementary race saw a record 46 countries win medals. The previous best had been set at the last edition of these championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, two years ago where 40 countries managed to place at least one athlete on the podium.

The 10,000m was Bekele’s priority in Berlin but, after he secured the gold, he decided to also contest for the 5,000m. He won in 13:17.09, denying former Kenyan Bernard Lagat of USA (13:17.33) to second place while another Kenyan export, James Kwalia C’Kurui of Qatar (13:17.78), was third. Eliud Kipchoge, silver winner in Osaka, was fifth, behind Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro.

There now exists proof that the 10,000m really doesn’t have to be run only once a year: Japan. A group of Kenyan runners residing in the Far Eastern country regularly runs three top four races every year.

A good illustration of this was provided by Josephat Muchiri, who ran 27:40, 26:57 and 26:58 in three races – including two very fast ones – within just three weeks. Unfortunately, the races so burned him out he could not join the national team.

The World Championship race followed a script we recognised from both Osaka 2007 and Beijing 2008, where Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese pushed the pace relentlessly on the second half in an attempt to shake off opponents. In 2007 he was fourth, in Beijing he ended up fifth, but in Berlin Tadese managed to get rid of everyone – except, of course, the invincible Bekele. He took silver ahead of Moses Masai, who finished third.

Also in 2009, Abel Kirui won the World Championship marathon, cementing Kenya’s grip of the 42km race as the top 68 athletes in the first 100 were all from the country.

The year however produced an enigma that will forever remain the talk of athletics and even redefine competition rules.

Semenya, the world 800m champion, first sprinted to international fame during the Africa Junior Championship in Mauritius where she clocked 1:56.72, a championship record and a world season’s best time over the distance then, to breast the tape. Kenya’s Winnie Chebet was helped by the South African’s fast pace to set a 2:01.36 personal best as she won a silver medal.

At the time no one doubted Semenya’s gender, but when she arrived in Berlin in August, too much had been said about it. She however tucked the suspicions away to stage yet another performance that won her gold in 1:55.45, again setting the fastest time of the year. It was then that hard questions began to be raised about her gender.

Electrified the track

Osaka 2007 champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya was second to Semenya in 1:57.90, a season best, and Jennifer Meadows (1:57.93) third. Sixth-placed Italian Elisa Cusma Piccione (1:58.81) complained that she had been “beaten by a man”.

Media reports later claimed that Semenya was a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries. Australia’s Sydney Daily Telegraph, quoting a source at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), reported claims that she also had internal testes. A hermaphrodite is someone who has some or all of the primary sex characteristics of both sexes.

Exit Semenya and in came “Lightning” Bolt, who electrified the global track as he broke the 100m and 200m records in winning in Berlin, a year after he had attained the same feat at the Olympics in Beijing. He and his archrival Tyson Gay (USA) put on a remarkable display of speed and power in the men’s 100m to make the race the most anticipated. Bolt led the pack from the blocks to lower his world record from 9.69 seconds to a wowing 9.58.