Yomi Omogbeja
Kenyan 4x400m men’s relay team brought proceedings to a close with a stunning championships record on the final day of Athletics action at the 11th African Games in Brazzaville, Congo on Thursday.
Anchored by individual 400m silver medallist, Boniface Mweresa, the Kenyans held off race favourites Botswana anchored by African Games champion Isaac Makwala to set a new games record of 3:00.34.
After a slow start, Botswana jumped into the lead after a fantastic run by Commonwealth Games 800m champion Nijel Amos on the second leg. But the lead soon disappeared as Kenya’s Kiprono Koskei chases down Leaname Maotoanong at the hands off.
Makwala sits on the shoulder of Mweresa until the last 150m but found the Kenyan too hot to handle in the home straight.
Botswana smashed their national record with 3:00.95 for the silver medal while Abdelmalik Lahoulou, who won the men's 400m hurdles gold on Wednesday, overtook a fading Orukpe Erayokan of Nigeria to snatch the bronze medal for Algeria in 3:03.07.
Nigeria clocked 3:03.52 for fourth ahead of Ghana, who finished fifth, in 3:05.15.
In the women’s 4x400m relays final, Nigerian quartet of Rita Ossai, Funke Oladoye, Tosin Adeloye and Patience Okon George blitzed the field to win gold in 3:27.12.
Botswana clocked 3:32.84 to take the silver while Kenya took the bronze medal in 3:35.91.
Egypt’s Ihab Abd El-Rahman El-Sayed smashed the games record to win the men’s Javelin Throw with a best throw of 85.37m ahead of Ghana’s John Ampomah, who took the silver with a personal best 82.94m. Philmar Van Rensburg of South Africa took the bronze medal with 76.85m.
Amaka Ogoegbunam won the women’s 400m hurdles gold in 55.56 ahead of her Nigerian team-mate and defending champion Muizat Ajoke Odumosu.
Odumosu, the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games champion, crossed the line in 57.63 to take the silver followed by Namibia’s Lilianne Klaasman, who took the bronze ahead of South Africa’s Annerie Ebersohn, both timed at 58.68.
#Brazzaville2015: #Nigeria women win GOLD in 4x400m Relay Final in 3:27.12 ahead of #Botswana & #Kenya #JeuxAfricains pic.twitter.com/ZEChwhRJ8U
— Athletics Africa (@athleticsafrica) September 17, 2015
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Final Athletics Results
