Jackline Chepkoech Wins A Gold Medal And Shows A Rare Act Of Kindness

The adolescent who outperformed her competitors to win the 3000 m steeplechase was in a close contest with Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda, who had been strong from the start of the race.

They continued on to trade off the lead positions in the race, however Chepkoech gassed out in the second to last turn, leaving Chemutai in the lead. The latter crashed into the barrier and collapsed, leaving Chepkoech to sprint to victory in a new championship-record time of 9:15:68.

The new champion, however, refrained from immediately celebrating. Instead, she waited at the finish line to see how Uganda’s Chemutai was faring after colliding with a barrier and was in obvious pain.

Chepkoech only took the Kenyan flag in celebration after Chemutai received medical assistance.

“I did not know I could win; I knew Peruth is strong but I charged up and took the lead. When she fell I was not aware I only took note after finishing race,” Chepkoech said.
After Ferdinand Omanyala won the 100m finals, the 18-year-old from Kuresoi in Nakuru County awarded Kenya its second gold medal.

Mary Moraa won the 800 m women’s final in 1:57.07 to bring her total to three golds. The silver medalist and world champion grabbed control of the race early on before fading and eventually outpacing her rivals to cross the line first.

Abraham Kibiwott won the men’s 3000m steeplechase, bringing Kenya’s total number of gold medals in the competition to four. His rival won the race and took home silver.