Marrakech 2014: Nguse Amlosom gives Eritrea first African gold
Nguse Amlosom of Eritrea made history by winning his country’s medal at the African Senior Athletics Championships after taking the men’s 10,000m gold medal on the first day of competition in Marrakech, Morocco.
Amlosom, who finished eighth in the 25-lap event at the 2013 World Championships and 15th at the 2012 Olympics, won the race in 28:11.07 ahead of Moroccan champion Mustapha El Aziz (28:11.36) and 2008 world junior champion and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist from Kenya, Josphat Bett, who came third in 28:11.61.
However it was bad news for Uganda, as the favourite and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion, Moses Kipsiro, did not start the race and reigning world junior champion Joshua Cheptegei did not finish.
After taking bronze in 2010 and silver in 2012, Orazio Cremona led a South African 1-2 in the men’s shot put taking the gold medal this time with a throw of 19.84m ahead of teammate Jaco Engelbrecht with 18.87m. Congo’s Franck Owaka threw 18.74m to take the bronze medal.
Elsewhere, the African record holder and two-time continental champion Amy Sène of Senegal suffered an upset in the women’s Hammer throw Final.
Sène, who set her African record of 69.70m record set in May this year, could only manage 64.66m behind gold medallist Laetitia Bambara of Burkina Faso, who achieved 65.44m, while Sarah Ben Saad of Tunisia came third with 60.97m.