Kenya’s world beaters set for heroic welcome as they return home from Tokyo on Tuesday
Kenya’s triumphant athletes that did duty for the country at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan are expected to jet back into the country on Tuesday.
The athletes will be arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport aboard different flights in the afternoon.
The track stars who will be led by double world champion Beatrice Chebet and fourth-time world champion Faith Kipyegon will be touch down aboard Qatar Airways and Emirates flights.
The Qatar Airways Flight will land at 1.35pm East African Time while the Emirates Flight is expected at 2.30pm.
Apart from Chebet and Kipyegon, another gold medallist who will be part of the 48 athletes who will be received at the airport by government and Athletics Kenya officials is 800m winner Lilian Odira.
The athletes not only made Kenya proud but also the whole of Africa as they finished second in the table standings behind the United States of America.
Kenyan women swept all the gold medals on offer from the 800m to the marathon.
Chebet opened the gold medal account for Kenya on Saturday, September 13 after winning the 10,000m final before Peres Jepchirchir added another gold medal with victory in the early hours of Sunday, September 14.
The other gold medals were won by Kipyegon in 1500m before Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich beat the Olympic and world champion Wlifred Yavi in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Chebet then added her second gold medal at the World Championships by winning the 5,000m before Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in 800m.
Odira then shocked many on the last day of competition on Sunday, September 21 after racing to glory in the 800m and in the process breaking the championship record that had stood since 1983.
Odira beat Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson after clocking 1:54.62 to erase the 42-year-old mark of 1:54.68 set by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.
Kenyan won a total of seven gold medals, two silver and two bronze.
The silver medals were won by Kipyegon (5,000m) and Dorcus Ewoi (1,500m) while Edmund Serem won bronze in 3,000m and Reynold Cheruiyot in 1,500m men.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya congratulated the team for the good work they did in Tokyo and promised a heroic welcome on their return.
“I wish to extend my warmest congratulations to all 59 galant athletes, 23 women and 36 men, who proudly donned the Kenyan colors at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. I particularly commend Athletics Kenya, under the able leadership of President Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei, together with the entire technical bench, coaches, government officials and support staff, whose collective stewardship and dedication have been instrumental in nurturing and guiding the athletes to global excellence,” Mvurya said in a statement on Monday.