Perister Bosire won Kenya's first-ever gold medal at an international judo tournament on Sunday 14th November.
The 29-year old claimed top honours in the women's +78kg category after dominating Monic Guilavogui of Guinea on the last day of the Dakar African Judo Open. Bosire qualified for the final after bulldozing past Mauritania's Fatimetou Sy in the semifinals at the Marius Ndiaye Stadium in Senegal's capital.
In the men's +100kg category, Kalvin Afude entered the history books as the first-ever Kenyan male medalist at an international judo event. Afude will return home with a silver medal following a brave battle for gold against the towering Mbagnick Ndiaye of Senegal. Ndiaye is the reigning African champion in that category after winning gold during the 2019 African Games held in Rabat, Morocco.
Lydia Nyanchoka added to Kenya's medal haul with a silver medal in the women's -78kg category after a tough battle with Fofana Fatim of Ivory Coast. Kenya Judo Federation (KJF) Deputy President Duncan Chemiryo lauded the trio's historic performances as fruits of three years of hard work.
"This is our best performance at a major event since the registration of KJF in 1964. We attribute the performance to the resilience of our players, government support, and stable leadership under KJF president Shadrack Maluki since 2017," Chemiryo said. Chemiryo also pointed out that Maluki serving as the First Deputy President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and Chairman of the African Judo Union (AJU), has boosted the sport's profile in Kenya.
"We are no longer a little known sport in Kenya. Our performance in Senegal proves we have the potential to do better and we are determined to excel in upcoming qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics," he added.
According to Chemiryo, Kenya's only previous medalist at an international judo competition was Esther Akinyi in 2013 during the African Judo Championships held in Maputo, Mozambique. Akinyi won silver in the open class event at that tournament. Team captain Joseph Irungu had an opportunity of adding to the medals but, the bronze medal eluded him in his deciding contest with Djiby Ba of Senegal.
Irungu was competing in the men's -100kg category with Robinson Oirere. Oirere failed to qualify for the medal brackets after losing in his two round-robin contests against Koffi Kreme Kobena (Ivory Coast) and Djiby Ba (Senegal). Irungu failed to reach the final after losing to Ba's compatriot, Modou Fall, hence setting up the bronze medal contest with Ba. Ba finished second in the round-robin to qualify for that contest.
Peterson Mbugua almost lived up to expectations in the men's -81kg category after steamrolling past Abdoulaye Dieng Mboup (Senegal) and Calvin Marais (South Africa) to set up a semifinal tie with Ivorian Cheick Dabonne. He was not successful in that contest but, he still had a chance to fight for bronze by winning a repechage contest. However, Boubou Camara of Mauritania ended those hopes and progressed to the bronze medal contest.
Emma Gatwiri suffered the same fate as Mbugua in the women's -70kg category. Rachael Hawkes of Ireland marched to the semifinals at Gatwiri's expense after their Pool D contest. Gatwiri's stay in the tournament ended after she fell to Zita Ornella Biami of Cameroon in the qualifier for the bronze medal contest.
Chemiryo hopes the team's performance will convince the government to increase its budget. "Judo is a big sport in West Africa but we have the talent to bridge the gap if we get more support," he said. "Increased government support and sponsorships from corporate bodies will be a big boost to KJF's financial muscle. That will strengthen our preparations for every African Judo Union (AJU) and International Judo Federation (IJF) event," he added.
Chemiryo explained that the AJU and IJF competitions play a crucial role in qualification for Olympic games. AJU and IJF rank countries according to how their judokas perform in team and individual events. Countries ranked higher stand a better chance of qualifying for the Olympics than those ranked lower. At position 83 with 277 points on the AJU rankings, Irungu, who is also a KDF soldier, is Kenya's best-ranked judoka.
No other Kenyan judoka has more than 100 points. However, Chemiryo expressed confidence that with more funding, they can do better. "With more support, we can improve our training facilities, acquire better competition kits, and widen the talent pool for judo in the country," he said. Kenya sent 15 judokas to the two-day tournament in Senegal.