Kenya made a strong start to the third leg of the four-part Rafting World Cup Series after clinching the overall African Championship title on the opening day of competition at Camp Rapids along the Sagana River in Murang'a County.
The national team, competing on home waters, fielded five teams and wrapped up Friday's action with a total of 12 medals in a championship that has attracted 61 teams from 18 countries.
The event is the first Rafting World Cup competition to be staged on African soil and also doubles up as the African Rafting Championships.
Kenya also delivered impressive performances in the World Cup standings, with both the men's and women's teams winning bronze medals in their respective overall categories.
The men's team posted a time of 1:35 to finish third behind the Czech Republic, who clocked 1:30, while Italy claimed gold after recording the fastest time of 1:28.
In the women's race, Kenya settled for bronze after stopping the clock at 1:52. Russia finished second with a time of 1:48, while Italy once again topped the standings after registering 1:39.
Italy dominated the World Cup competition, winning the men's, women's and para categories. Russia emerged victorious in the mixed category, where Kenya finished fourth.
The African Championships, however, belonged to the hosts as Kenya produced commanding displays across all categories to lift the overall continental title.
The Kenyan women's teams swept the top five positions, while the mixed teams secured both gold and silver medals. The men's teams also completed a podium sweep by winning gold, silver and bronze, with Kenya adding another gold medal in the para category as the only competing team.
The championship continues with the RX (Raft Cross) event, the second discipline of the competition.