Former World U20 3000m Champion, Teresiah Muthoni Gateri stormed to victory in the women 1500m race at the BingwaFest Athletics Takes Coast Region at Shanzu Teachers Training College on Wednesday (19) in Shanzu, Mombasa County.
The 24 year-old took the honors in a time of 4:18.2 and was followed by Nancy Jepkemei and Alposina Manani.
Gateri took home Kshs 150,000, as Jepkemei Kshs 100,000 while Manani pocketed Kshs 60,000 as prize monies. The men’s race saw Larry Melvin, Festus Kiprop, and Victor Kipkirui take the podium in that order.
In the much anticipated lucrative 10,000m, Shadrack Ngumbau stole the show as he took the top honors in 29:34.5 ahead of Ezra Chelimo and Benson Moshon. In the women’s race, Diana Chepkorir clocked 35:03.6 to finish first as Debora Chemutai and Diana Wanza came home second and third respectively. Following their wins, the gold medalists over the 10,000m took home Kshs 300,000 as the first and second runners pocketed Kshs 250,000 and Kshs 200,000 respectively. The athletes who finished fourth and fifth rounded off the prize bracket and received Kshs 100,000 and Kshs 75,000 in that order.
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The women’s 100m saw Monicah Saphania edge out Amutavi Laveta and Ivon Mwangala after cutting the tape in 11.9 seconds as Robinson Motende ruled the men’s race ahead of Charles Nyamwea and Moses Wasike,
In the women’s 400m, Hellen Syombua won ahead of Brivian Nelima and African Championships bronze medalist in the 4x400m relay Joan Cherono who finished third. In the men’s race, 2024 4×400 Metres Relay African Champion David Sanyek finished first ahead of Prison’s teammate Nathaniel Kipngetich and Elijah Matayo.
In the 5,000m category, Diana Jepkorir finished first as Fridah Ndinda and Faith Cherono finished second and third in the women’s race as Festus Kiprop triumphed in the men’s with Victor Kipkirui and Bernard Kikumbi coming home second and third. Winners in this category were awarded Kshs 250,000, second-place finishers Kshs 150,000, third-place Kshs 100,000, fourth-place Kshs 50,000, and fifth-place Kshs 30,000.
Betika Brand Manager Erick Mwiti said: “We appreciate the enthusiasm and patience of the athletes and fans of athletics at the BingwaFest Coast Edition as this had to take place almost two weeks after the other events took place. While the delay was unexpected, we are committed to ensuring a seamless experience for all and we were happy to see the huge turnout today. We remain dedicated to supporting athletics and providing a platform for Kenyan talent to shine. Next on the calendar is the Nairobi edition and we hope to see a similar turnout.”
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Prizes for the top five in the 100m, 4000m, 800m, and 1,500m were the same, with gold medalists receiving KES 150,000, silver medalists Kshs 100,000, and bronze medalists Kshs 60,000. The fourth and fifth place finishers will pocket Kshs 30,000 and Kshs 20,000.
The 4×400 and 4×100 relays saw winning teams awarded Kshs 100,000, as position two and three receive Kshs 60,000 and Kshs 30,000 respectively.
The other disciplines took place just over a week ago, with winners in football and rugby pocketing KES 1 million each while the winning teams in the 3×3 basketball went home Kshs 500,000 richer. The first runners-up for football and rugby were awarded Kshs 500,000 while the second runners-up rounded off the prize category and received Kshs 250,000. In basketball, the teams that finished second and third took home Kshs 250,000 and Kshs 100,000 respectively.
