Kenyan, English runners win more golds
Kenya and England dominated the last day of track and field competition in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The two countries won two gold medals each to end the day on a high note.
World champion Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's 5,000m, while Silas Kiplagat ruled the men's 1,500m event as Kenya showcased their brilliance in the middle-distance events.
Cheruiyot clocked 15 minutes, 55.12 seconds to lead a Kenyan sweep of the event.
"We are dominant because we train very hard, we train all year long," the former world junior cross-country champion said.
Syliva Kibet (15:55.61) won the silver medal while Ines Chenonge (16:02.47) took bronze.
Kiplagat made up for the absence of Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop to win his pet event in 03:41.78.
"The pace was slow, so I wanted to push the pace. I started sprinting at 200m. Usually I sprint at the 50m but they went slow. The time was only 3:41 but I'm very pleased," said Kiplagat, who only competed outside of Kenya in recent months.
Another Kenyan James Magut finished second with a time of 03:42.27 while New Zealand's Nick Willis placed third in 03:42.38.
England shared the spotlight with Kenya as they topped the men's and women's 4x100m relay events.
Thanks to a strong final leg from Mark Lewis-Francis, the English quartet edged Jamaica for the gold medal. Lewis-Francis was trailing Remaldo Rose heading into the final 100m before the English runner surpassed him to cross the finish line in 38.74 seconds.
"For me this is amazing. This performance brings back memories of 2004 (Britain winning gold in the 4x100m at the Athens Olympics). I couldn't have asked for more today," said Lewis-Francis, who teamed up with Ryan Scott, Leon Baptiste and Marlon Devonish.
Jamaica, which also included Lerone Clarke, Lansford Spence and Rasheed Dwyer, finished second with a time of 38.79. The Indian quartet of Rahamatulla Molla, Suresh Sathya, Shameer Naseema Manzile and Abdul Najeeb Qureshi took bronze in 38.89.
The English women matched their male counterparts' feat by winning their event in 44:19. Katherine Endacott, Montell Douglas, Laura Turner and Abiodun Oyepitan powered England to victory.
Ghana's Rosina Amenebede, Elizabeth Amolofo, Beatrice Gyaman and Janet Amponsah finished second in 45.24, while India's Geetha Saati, Srabani Nanda, PK Priya and Jyothi Hiriyur Manjunath placed third in 45.25.
There was also a celebration for the home team as India won the women's 4x400m relay. Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur combined for a winning time of 03:27.77 to finish ahead of Nigeria (03:28.72) and England (03:29.51).
The Australian quartet of Joel Milburn, Kevin Moore, Brendan Cole and Sean Wroe won the men's 4x400m relay in 03:03.30. Kenya (03:03.84) finished second followed by England (03:03.97).
Nigerian Tosin Oke won the men's triple jump with a best leap of 17.16m. Cameroon's Hugo Mamba (17.14) and India's Renjith Maheswary (17.04) took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
The Australians won two gold medals in the field events. Jarrod Bannister won the men's javelin in 81.71m while Alana Boyd ruled the women's pole vault in 4.40.
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