Kenyan sportsmen and women shone brightly on the global stage in 2024, dominating various competitions and raising the country's flag high.
From athletics to rugby, these sportsmen and women delivered remarkable performances that brought pride and joy to Kenyans.
Here are some of the memorable sporting events in 2024:
Dominating athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Kenyan athletes ruled the tracks during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, as they clinched medals in various races.
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Kenya won 11 medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics, i.e., four golds, two silvers, and five bronzes to clinch the 17th position in the world and first in Africa.
Faith Kipyegon produced a masterpiece in the 1,500m race to win gold in a record time of 3:51:29, her third straight gold in the 1,500m race in the prestigious tournament. She also scooped silver in the 5,000m women’s race.
Her counterpart Beatrice Chebet bagged double gold in the women's 5,000m and 10,000m races.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi won Kenyan hearts after bagging gold in the men’s 800m race.
President William Ruto awarded the Olympic medalists with cash prizes, granting Ksh3 million to each gold medalist, Ksh2 million to silver medalists, and Ksh1 million to bronze medalists.
Shujaa World Series qualification
The Kenya National Rugby Sevens team, Shujaa, returned to the HSBC World Rugby series on Sunday, June 2, after being relegated in 2023.
Shujaa returned to the series after thumping Germany 33-15 in a relegation-promotion playoff match held in Madrid, Spain.
Kenya Sevens has previously been a heavyweight in the challenger series and before relegation in 2023, the team had been in the series for a period of 19 years.
The remarkable comeback saw then Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba award the team Ksh5.7 million.
World Marathon records
In April 2024, Peres Jepchirchir set a women's-only marathon world record at the London Marathon after clocking 2:16:16.
Kenya’s Alexander Munyao also won gold in the men’s marathon in the same competition after clocking 2:04:01 although he did not break a world record.
During the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Saturday, May 25, 2024, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet became the first woman to run 10,000m in under 29 minutes.
Chebet clocked 28:54:14, a world record that was later officially ratified by the World Athletics.
In the Chicago Marathon held on Sunday, October 13, in the United States, Kenya’s Ruth Chepng'etich smashed the world marathon record, becoming the first woman to run under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Chepng'etich clocked 2:09:56 and her world record was officially ratified by the World Athletics.
