Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei took to the front in the second lap after a crowded first stanza, cruising at blistering speed to the delight of the home fans.
Kamworor and Leonard Barsoton aligned themselves as the chasing pack as their Ugandan counterpart added a second after another on the gap.
However, at the closure of the fourth lap, Cheptegei slowed considerably to the dismay of the support base. Kamworor closed the gap as Cheptegei started to stagger, leaving the crowd mouth agape.
With the Ugandan now struggling, Kamworor took to the steering wheel and with him he took Barsoton along. Kamworor clocked 28:24, Barsoton timed 28:36 as Ethiopia’s Abadi Hadis took bronze in 28:43. It was a sweet 1-2 victory that came as a surprise for the onlookers but not for the insiders in Team Kenya.
“While at Kigari, Kamworor and Barsoton were picked as the men to deliver the title and I am glad it worked exactly like we had planned,” said team captain Leonard Komon.”We had lost the junior men and women’s title and had to ensure our tactics work right to avoid further embarrassment.”
“We knew it would be tough but had a game plan. When Cheptegei took to the front, we decided to hold onto our plans since we knew the weather would work against us if we followed him,” said Kamworor.
“It is such a good feeling to see that all worked as planned. I never wanted to be called former champion. I want to keep my title and I have. The special thing about is that on a similar date last year, I won the World Half Championships.”
Kenya ruled the women’s race, taking an extended podium sweep of six. Irene Cheptai topped the billing after recording 31:57 as African Cross champion Alice Aprot timed 32:01 for second. World youth 2,000 steeplechase champion Lilian Kasait took the last podium finish in 32:11.
World 3,000m steeplechase champion Hyvin Kiyeng (32:32), defending champion Agnes Tirop (32:32) and Olympic 1500m champion (32:49) followed in that order.
-The Star