Coaches attribute strong perfomances by Kenyan female athletes to hard work, discipline

Athletics coaches have attributed the towering performance by Kenya female athletes at the concluded World Athletics Championships in Tokyo Japan to good mental and physical preparations.

Kenyan girls – Faith Kipgeon, Beatrice Chebet, Peris Jepchirchir, Faith Cherotich and Lilian Odora- all bagged gold in their respective discipline as Team Kenya put a strong performance to bag 11 medals in total and top Africa, coming second overall behind the USA, and veteran coach David Letting, says good preparations were key, even as they shift their focus to training more women in athletics, and nurturing upcoming talents.

“The coaches have concentrated on training women, and they are rising, that to me, is a plus,” he remarked.

Letting added that the promise given to the athletes by the President was a motivating factor that pushed them to perform well in the tracks.

“I would also like to thank the government for promising a reward to the athletes, because this brought out results.”

At the same time, Bernard Rono Kalyet, coach to steeplechase runner Faith Cherotich, also commented on the performance, attributing the women's victory to their discipline, stating their hard efforts and focus during training pushed them to outperform the men in the championships.

“The women were more disciplined; they gave all their energy and focus in training,” coach Rono remarked.

He also noted that this year's training camps were better, as they had some similarities with the Olympics training camps.

The notable performance tally were from Beatrice Chebet  who had a standout tournament, winning two golds in the women's 10,000m and 5,000m Faith Kipyegon extending her dominance in the 1,500m, winning her fourth title on that discipline. Faith Cherotich on the other hand set a championship record after claiming the 3,000m steeplechase; Lilian Odira added gold, producing a dramatic victory in championship record time of 1:54.62 in the 800m while Peres Jepchichir claimed gold in the women's marathon with a strong finish.

These collective efforts ensured Kenya finished as one of the top nations in Tokyo, continuing the country’s proud tradition of producing excellent female athletes and inspiring the next generation of runners.