Obiri, Kigen deliver silver and bronze in Tokyo

Kigen clocked 8:11.45 in the men’s steeplechase final.

In Summary

•Morocco's Soufiane el Bakkani won the gold while Ethiopia came second with the silver.

•Kenya's dominance in the men's 3000m Steeplechase has been shattered.

The steeplechase.
The steeplechase.
Image: COURTESY

World champion Hellen Obiri and Benjamin Kigen delivered Kenya's first medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games, winning silver and bronze in the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase respectively.

Obiri's silver was the second successive after finishing second behind compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot at the 2016 Rion Olympics.

She clocked 14:38.36 to finish behind European record holder Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who timed 14:36.79. 

World bronze medalist Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia clinched bronze after clocking 14:38.87 as world 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Tirop of Kenya came fourth in 14:39.62. 

Kigen clocked 8:11.45 in the men’s steeplechase final as the country failed to win the title for the first time in 33 years.

Morocco's Soufiane el Bakkani won the gold while Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma finished second.

Kenya has lost the Olympics steeplechase title for the first time in 37 years.

Kenya has won every steeplechase title since the 1984 Games.

Kigen won steeplechase gold at the 2019 African Games and the 2018 Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting, where he beat Kipruto and Olympic silver medalist Evan Jager.