Youth Commonwealth Games: Kenya bags three golds and silver to finish sixth in world rankings

Kenya’s team to the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and Tobago clinched three golds and one silver medal as the curtains to the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games came to a close on Thursday night in Trinidad and Tobago.

With the additional medals, Kenya saw their tally hit a total nine medals - five golds and four silvers - seeing the nation finish sixth in the medal standings of the competition that attracted a total 26 participating nations.

This performance by team Kenya was a huge improvement from the previous edition in Nassau, Bahamas, where Kenya won 4 medals; 3 golds, and 1 silver.

Australia topped the standings with 64 medals - 26 golds, 17 silvers and 21 bronze - with England and Scotland coming in second and third with 49 and 28 total medals respectively.

In Africa, Kenya was ranked third in the continent - coming in behind South Africa and Nigeria who came in fourth and fifth positions respectively.

On Thursday night however, Kenya extended its dominance on the track, with 17 year old Kelvin Kimutai obliterating the entire 800m final field to win gold in a time of 1:50.14.

The second gold medal for Kenya came in the women’s 3000m final, where 1500m record holder Nancy Cherop came out tops once again with a blistering win, dominating the field to finish over 18 seconds ahead of her closest competitor clocking 9:07.15.

Uganda’s Financia Chepkwemoi came in second in 9:25.67 with England’s Eliza Nicholson clocking 9:26.00.

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The men’s 3000m finals was no different, with recently crowned 1500m champion Josephat Sang leading his compatriot Andrew Kiptoo to a 1-2 finish in times of 8:03.65 and 8:04.35.

Kenya’s team in the 4x400m mixed relays was however unable to live to the billing, as they finished last in the final event of the day and competition, timing 3:39.71, with Guyana taking the overall win.