Asaba 2018: Kenya emerges winner of African Senior Athletics Championships

Kenya has emerged the winner of the 2018 African Senior Athletics Championships hosted in the Delta State capital Asaba.

Punch reports that the Kenyans overtook South Africa and Nigeria to win the tournament on the final day, going home with 11 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals.

South Africa finished second with 9 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze medals while Nigeria followed closely with 9 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals.

Kenya had previously threatened to withdraw from the tournament after getting stuck in Lagos.

Speaking after the tournament, Kenya’s Elijah Manangoi said:

We didn’t set out to win the championships but I believe the fact that we faced some tough challenges before the competition started motivated us to give our best in all the events we participated in.

The atmosphere in Asaba was good for competition and the fans came out to cheer everyone on irrespective of the performances of the Nigerian athletes. That for me is a positive one for the competition.