Africa sends strong team to Continental Cup
African athletes impressed the world as the Diamond League season came to an end last week in Brussels. Africa won an impressive eight out of eight track events of 800m or longer.
Kenyan women won the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and the 3000m steeplechase events. The Kenyan men took first in the 800m, 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase, losing only the 5000m to Ethiopia. To put Africa’s dominance into better perspective, they took 24 of the 50 top-five spots in those eight events, and an incredible 17 of the 30 top-three spots.
Now they head to Split, Croatia as a unified African team to take on three other continents, the Americas, Europe, and Asia/Oceania. Each team will send two athletes to each event except for the 1500m, 3000m, and the 5000m which allow for three athletes, although only the top two results per team will be counted. Another rule states that the athletes for each event must be drawn from different countries.
Leading the team will be David Rudisha of Kenya, who broke his own world record of 1:41.09 in the 800m with a time of 1:41.01 last week in Berlin. He’ll be looking to become the first man to break the 1:40 barrier.
The 1,500m team will include Diamond Trophy winner Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, Mekonnen Gebremedhin of Ethiopia, and Amine Laalou of Morocco, who came in second at the African Championships in Nairobi, which also served as a qualifier for Africa’s Continental Cup team.
Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia, who finished second in the 5000m Diamond League standings, and Vincent Yator of Kenya, will compete in the 3000m race. Their most significant competition is Kenyan-born American Bernand Lagat, another reminder of Kenya’s superiority in middle distance races.
The 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Richard Mateelong of Kenya, will be looking to add a continental title to his two African championships. With him will be Benjamin Kiplagat of Uganda and Roba Gari of Ethiopia.
Africa will send 2010 African Championships gold medallist Ben Youssef Meité of the Ivory Coast, and 2000 African Championships gold medallist Aziz Zakari of Ghana, to race in the 100m. While these sprinters have not yet won on a world stage, with the absence of so many prominent 100m sprinters like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Tyson g*y, they will be looking to win this weekend in Croatia.
L.J. van Zyl of South Africa will compete in the 400m hurdles after winning gold at the African Championships, and fellow South African Khotso Mokoena will look to repeat his 2008 Olympic silver medal performance.
While the men’s team looks strong, the women’s side is just as strong. The Continental Cup will combine points earned by both men and women to decide the ultimate winner. Africa will look to double up wins in many events.
In the 5000m, two-time Olympics gold medallist, Tirunest Dibaba of Ethiopia, will team up with African champion, Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya, to lead the women’s side.
Another Olympic champion, Nancy Jebet Langat of Ethiopia, and Gelete Burka, also of Ethiopia, will look to take first place in the 1500m.
Blessing Okabare will look to complete a unique double as she will compete in both the 100m and the long jump. Usain Bolt has recently claimed in the media that after a chance to defend his 100m gold at the 2012 Olympics in London he would like to try the long jump. While this event combination may look odd at first glance, it may very well turn into the story of the Continental Cup for Africa.
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