Sammy Kitula

30 August 2010

Nairobi — Kenya's dominance in sport remains largely unchallenged in eastern Africa. The country's secondary school students, competing in last week's Brookside East Africa Schools Games in Nakuru, proved just that.

Since Kenya first won the overall title in the first edition of the games in 2002, they have never let go the gas pedal. And after winning seven of the 12 gold medals, six silver and eight bronze in last year's edition held in Fort Portal, Uganda, the Kenyan schools were at it again, this time bagging 11 of the available 14 gold medals as hosts in Nakuru.

The Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association secretary general, David Ngugi, said this was the most successful performance by the Kenyan teams. "We started on humble ground, but eight years down the line, our teams have been improving with every edition," said Ngugi. "To me, this was our best year for many reasons."

Surely it was, as newcomers New Jogoo Road not only bagged their first national girls' football title, but also the east African gold medal after they edged out defending champions, GS Remera from Rwanda, 2-1 at the Afraha Stadium at the weekend.

New Jogoo's voyage to that unprecedented gold is a breathtaking story. "We only trained on dusty fields and sometimes with no shoes, but the determination in us was our driving force," said Macrina Achieng, the leading New Jogoo Road striker. "When we won our national trophy, we knew a shot at the regional title would be a tall order, but we are glad to have won and we dedicate our gold to Bilha Osong."

Osong fractured her leg in their semi-final clash with Archbishop Njenga. This year's edition, host to the largest contingent ever at 2,300 players, saw only St. Mary's Kitende of Uganda (boys' football) and Laiser Hill Academy (boys' basketball) successfully defend their titles.

Shimba Hills, last year's girls' basketball champions, were edged out 40-41 to the gold medal by Kenyan champions, Tigoi Girls High School. But Shimba sought solace with the handball gold, a first for the school. With the inclusion of athletics to this year's calendar, Kenya was expected to sweep the medals, and they never disappointed.

Of the five countries that presented teams for track and field competitions, the hosts collected 47 medals - 16 gold, 18 silver and 13 bronze. Uganda were second with 35 medals (13 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze) while Rwanda were third with one gold and four bronze.

Tanzania finished fourth with three bronze, while Southern Sudan and Zanzibar did not win any medal. The focus now shifts to next year's edition to be held in Arusha.