Team Kenya finished in a commendable top position in Africa and second globally with 11 medals; seven gold, two silver and two bronze, as the curtains fell on the 20th World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.

The United States, for the fifth straight time, topped the medal standings with 21; 16 gold, five silver and five bronze.

It was Kenya’s best performance in a decade as women, just like at last year’s Paris Olympic Games, carried the team, outshining their male counterparts with six gold and two silver.

The 2015 Beijing edition remains the country’s best, with 16 medals; seven gold, six silver and three bronze. In Tokyo, the women swept all middle and distance events, surpassing men’s 2015 tally of five gold medals in a single championship.

Olympic champions Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon extended their dominance, each winning two medals.

Chebet became the first woman to hold Olympic and world titles alongside world records in the 10,000m and 5,000m after replicating her Paris 2024 Olympic feats in Tokyo.

Kipyegon, the three-time Olympic 1,500m champion, became the first woman to secure four world 1,500m titles. Though she surrendered her 5,000m crown to Chebet, settling for silver, Kipyegon is now the most decorated Kenyan at the World Championships with five gold medals.

Peres Jepchirchir (marathon), Faith Cherotich (3,000m steeplechase) and Lilian Odira (800m) added golds, a triumph inspiring to young athletes, with Kipyegon, Odira and Jepchirchir all being mothers.

As women excel, the men’s decline demands soul searching. Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s exploits in Paris and Tokyo salvaged pride, but the absence of East African men in middle and long distances is telling.

Both Athletics Kenya and the government must urgently tackle doping, age cheating and poor facilities if progress is to be sustained.