Fentaye Belayneh led an Ethiopian 1-2 in the women’s 5000m, upgrading her silver from Mauritius 2022 to take gold in 15:30.10, while her teammate Wubrist Aschal crossed the line in 15:30.25 as the 23rd CAA African Athletics Senior Championships ends in Douala, Cameroon on Wednesday.
Djibouti’s Samia Hassan Nour edged out Kenya’s Rebecca Mwangi to snatch the bronze medal in 15:42.63.
Kenya’s Gladys Kwamboka and Rebecca Mwangi secured gold and silver in the women’s 10,000m final, with Ethiopia’s Gela Hambese earning bronze in 37:09.20.
Kenyan champion Alex Kipngetich Ngeno won the men’s 800m in 1:45.02. Botswana’s duo of Kethobogile Haingura and Tumo Nkape were second and third respectively in 1:45.54 and 1:46.01.
In the men’s 200m dash, Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, making his first appearance at the championship, overtook Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu to win in 20.25, adding to his 100m gold on Saturday.
Makarawu takes the silver in 20.51 while Emmanuel Eseme, from the host nation, finished third in 20.66.
The women’s 200m final saw a duel between two Ivoirians, with Jessika Gbai winning in 22.84 seconds, ahead of Maboundou Kone‘s 22.99. Malawi’s Asimenye Simwaka, sixth in the 100m, secured bronze with a time of 23.05.
Yego, Elgamel and Zango impress
Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego outperformed reigning African Games champion Chinecherem Nnamdi in the men’s javelin throw, reversing his previous defeat by the Nigerian at the Accra 2023.
Nnamdi initially led with a throw of 75.47m compared to Yego’s 71.54m. However, the Kenyan stepped up his game in the third round with a throw of 80.24m, his third-best mark of the season, securing his fifth African Championships gold. Nnamdi took silver with 79.22m, while Egypt’s Moustafa Mahmoud earned bronze with 77.25m.
In the men’s hammer throw competition, Mostafa Elgamel, a four-time African Games winner, claimed his third title by producing a final throw of 72.88m, beating his compatriot Ahmed Tarek Ismael, who settled for silver with 70.71m. South Africa’s Alan Cumming edged out Tunisian Mohsen Anani in the fifth round to take bronze with 69.43m.
World triple jump champion Hugues Fabrice Zango from Burkina Faso took the lead with his opening jump of 17.18m, earning his third consecutive gold at the African Championships. Zimbabwe’s Chengetayi Mapaya claimed silver with 16.87m, while Senegal’s Amath Faye won bronze with 16.54m.
Ugandan Leonard Chemutai, a two-time world U20 finalist, made his African Championships debut by winning the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 8:21.30, ahead of Kenya’s Edmund Serem (8:21.94) and Mathew Kosgei (8:21.98).
Loice Chekwemoi of Uganda, inspired by Chemutai’s success, dominated the women’s 3000m steeplechase final, finishing in 9:24.47 ahead of Alemnat Wale (9:35.19) and Leah Jeruto (9:36.33).
