Kenya has carved out a historic milestone in athletics after its women’s team achieved a never-before-seen sweep of every middle and long-distance event at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

The defining moment came on Sunday, September 21, when Lilian Odira blazed to gold in the 800m, setting a championship record of 1:54.62. Her win marked Kenya’s 11th medal and seventh gold of the meet.

Odira’s feat capped a gold medal tally that also featured Faith Kipyegon (1500m), Beatrice Chebet’s 5,000m–10,000m double, Faith Cherotich (steeplechase), and Peres Jepchirchir (marathon).

This marks the first time a single nation’s women have dominated every distance race at a global championship—an achievement that reinforces Kenya’s unrivalled dominance in endurance running and raises the bar for the sport.

“Our heroines have redefined excellence. This sweep is not just a victory for Kenya, it is history for the world,” President William Ruto remarked.

For Kenya, long hailed as the home of distance running, Tokyo 2025 will go down as the moment its women completely ruled both track and road.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s athletics team has pocketed millions in prize money after their stellar showing at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. With 11 medals, Kenya ranked second only to the United States in the overall standings, with the athletes not just earning global acclaim but also substantial financial rewards.

Kenya is the top-ranked nation in Africa, ahead of Botswana, having finished second overall in the 2025 World Athletics Championships with 11 medals; 7 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze.Botswana finished fifth overall with 3 medals; 2 gold and a bronze #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/X46sSPQ7Vq — Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) September 21, 2025

Under World Athletics’ prize scheme, gold medalists receive USD 70,000 (about Ksh 9 million), silver winners earn USD 35,000 (Ksh 4.5 million), and bronze finishers take home USD 22,000 (Ksh 2.8 million).

Other than the women’s gold winners, Emmanuel Wanyonyi added to Kenya’s tally with a triumph in the men’s 800m finals. On the silver front, Kipyegon clinched second place in the 5000m, while Dorcus Ewoi finished right behind her in the 1500m final.

Kenya’s bronze medals came from the men’s side, with Reynold Cheruiyot securing third in the 1500m and Edmund Serem doing the same in the 3000m steeplechase.

From the World Athletics prize pool, Kenya collected USD 490,000 (Ksh63.3 million) from gold medals, USD 70,000 (Ksh9 million) from silver, and USD 44,000 (Ksh5.6 million) from bronze. Altogether, Kenyan athletes earned Ksh78 million, with Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet topping the payout list.

On top of that, the Kenyan government will issue bonuses under a new structure unveiled by Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS) Salim Mvurya in August.

Gold winners will now earn Ksh3 million, up from Ksh750,000; silver medallists will pocket Ksh2 million, up from Ksh500,000; and bronze medallists will take home Ksh1 million, up from Ksh350,000.

By these calculations, the government will add Ksh27 million to the athletes’ rewards, bringing their total earnings from Tokyo 2025 to an impressive Ksh103 million.