The Budapest Worlds end with a record of 26 African medals, three less than last year in Eugene and the 7th total since the first edition in 1983. The number of medals has never been less than twenty since 1999 (Seville) and twenty-six since 2011 (Daegu). A regularity that Africa owes to two nations that have become essential in this discipline, Kenya and Ethiopia.
In the duel between Kenya and Ethiopia, the former took the lead this year. On the front row, Faith Kipyegon’s historic 1,500/5,000m double, making the runner a potential athlete of the year. Following her bronze medal in Eugene, her youngest Mary Moraa, 23, captured her first world title in the 800m. Race on which the American of origin Athing Mu, defending champion, and the Briton Keely Hodgkinson, best performer of the year, started as favorites.
The women’s 3000m steeplechase won two medals; silver for defending champion Beatrice Chepkoech and bronze for 19-year-old runner Faith Cherotich, junior world champion in 2022. Both were beaten by Winfred Yavi, Kenyan naturalized Bahrain. Paradoxically, no gold medal to report for men.
The 3,000m steeplechase, which has brought gold 13 times in 19 editions in Kenya, is no longer dominated as before, Abraham Kibwot takes bronze while in the 800m the premature return from injury of Emmanuel Korir, champion of the world and outgoing Olympic, resulted in elimination in the semi-finals. However, 19-year-old junior world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi represented the flag well to earn a fine silver medal behind Sudanese-Canadian Marco Arop after finishing 4th last year. A young man with a bright future for sure.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, won the bulk of their gold medals in the women’s category. The most striking fact will remain the hat-trick achieved over 10,000m and the duel between Gudaf Tsegay and Letesenbet Gidey. On one side, Eugene’s 5000m world champion, on the other the world record holder. The first took the measure of the defending champion to offer her first coronation in the 10,000m while Ejgayehu Taye completed the podium.
However, no medal in the 5,000m, dominated by Faith Kipyegon, despite four runners in contention including Tsegay and Taye. Medina Elsa, 2022 junior world champion aged 18, placed 6th. Finally, a great performance, Diribe Welteji, junior world champion in the 800m, won her first medal in the big leagues, finishing behind the untouchable Kipyegon over 1,500m.
Three more medals were added to the marathon. In the ladies, 31-year-old runner Amane Beriso won her first title for her first appearance against defending champion Gotyom Gebreslase, 2nd. Among the men, Leul Gebresilase won bronze, also for his first World Cup. Finally, the promising Lamecha Girma, at only 22 years old, has a fourth silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase, bringing his total to three at the world championships and one at the Olympic Games.
World record holder in the 5,000m and 10,000m, Joshua Cheptegei won after an impressive final sprint to retain his title in the 10,000m, the third in a row. He is one victory away from joining the illustrious Ethiopians Haile Gebreselassie (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999) and Kenenisa Bekele (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009). Initially committed to the 5,000m, however, he had to give it up due to foot pain.
The second medal for Uganda is also golden, but more difficult to anticipate because of the specificity of the discipline. This is Viktor Kiplanagat, victorious in the marathon, a discipline where the grand prizes are much more lucrative, which tends to encourage many athletes to skip the Worlds. To illustrate this fact, he becomes world champion having only the 38th best performance of the year.
He was expected, he answered present. Olympic champion and world champion in title, Soufiane El Bakkali held his rank against Lamecha Girma, and achieves his personal record during a major international tournament. Only 27 years old, the Moroccan with an atypical profile from the top of his meter 91 still has good years ahead of him. The marathon runner Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi, at the age of 31, knows the consecration with a first distinction at this level of the competition, and wins the second medal of the Cherifian kingdom.
A sprint sensation, Africa holds the successor to Frankie Fredericks. Under 20 world champion in the 100m with the category record in 9’91, Letsile Tebogo was all the more expected in the 200m where he broke the African record bringing the time to 19’50 . Aged just 20, he faced adversity more than ever, finishing vice-world champion in the 100m in 9’88 (national record) and bronze medalist in the 200m (19’81). A performance that affirms the precocity of this talent which, at the same age, has more references than a certain Usain Bolt. A generational talent to materialize in the years to come.
Excellence, constancy, perseverance allowed Hugues Zango to win the first gold medal in the country of honest men. A logical continuation for the triple jumper who exploded in 2019, with bronze in Doha and the Tokyo Games, then silver in Eugene. Little thumb of fate, the injury of 18-year-old Jamaican prodigy Jaydon Hibbert. With a triple jump to 17.70m in qualifying, he achieved the best jump of the tournament, but a hamstring injury will deprive him of participation in the final. It will therefore be enough to jump to 17.64 m in Zango to win world gold, a deliverance for an entire people and for an athlete who continues to write his legend.