Paris Olympics 200-metre champion Gabby Thomas of the United States of America (USA) sealed a double when she rallied to win the women’s 200m at the Absa Kip Keino Classic on Friday at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Moments after snatching the 100m in 11.01 seconds, Thomas, the Paris Olympics 4x100m champion, put away the field in a world lead time of 21.89.
She missed breaking her personal best in the 100m by just 0.01 seconds, while she has a career best of 21.60 in the 200m.
“It was great, and I am happy to win in both events, which was a replica of my performance in Addis Ababa,” said Thomas, who won the 100m (11.13) and 200m (21.89) at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix last Saturday.
Not only did Thomas cruise to a world lead but also he set a new championship record, erasing the previous time of 22.07 by fellow countrywoman Sha’Carri Richardson in 2023 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
“I didn’t expect to run that fast. Nairobi has been very nice to me. I will definitely come back next year,” said Thomas, who shifts focus to the Botswana Golden Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday this week in Gaborone.
“The goal is to keep winning. Focus on winning and the times will come,” added Thomas, who once again edged out Cambrea Sturgis to second place in a personal best of 21.93 as Kenya’s Millicent Ndoro dipped to a huge personal best of 23.21 for third place.
Triple South African 200m champion Sinesipho Dambile hauled a personal best of 19.77 to put away the men’s 200m title as Brian Levell from Jamaica cruised home second in 19.93.
“It feels great to run a sub-20 race. It’s been the longest time coming. But my consistency has been showing back in South Africa,” said Dambile, who was stunned to run a career best. “I was not chasing the time; I just wanted to win.”
Meanwhile, Canada’s Camryn Rogers staged a brilliant performance to defend her women’s hammer throw title with a meet record of 80.03 metres during the 2026 Kip Keino Classic at the Nyayo Stadium.
The Olympic and double world champion, who hurled 77.93 metres last year to win the title on her debut, said the Nairobi crowd pushed her to break the record.
Frenchwoman Rose Loga recorded her season’s best of 75.19 metres to finish second, while Gudrun Hallgrímsdóttir of Iceland settled for third place with another personal best mark of 73.88 metres
“It’s been amazing-a meet record. I’m satisfied. This is my second time here, and if you have me back, I’ll be excited. The atmosphere has been incredible for sure,” Rogers said.
“I’m focusing on the Commonwealth Games; that’s my main event of the year. I’m also excited about the Diamond League and other meets throughout the season,” the 27-year-old added.
In the men’s event, world and Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg of Canada made it three wins in a row with a world-leading mark of 82.43 m.
He won ahead of Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan, who recorded a season’s best of 81.26m, while Volodymyr Myslyvcusk of the Czech Republic placed third with 77.71m.
Kenyan Dominic Abunda threw a personal best of 62.70m to finish seventh, ahead of compatriot Adelbert Museveni, who managed 53.50m.
In the women’s Long Jump, Burundian Marte Koala was crowned the winner after attaining 6.77m, finishing ahead of American Tionna Tobias (6.49m) and Egyptian Esraa Owis (6.47m).
By Anita Omwenga
