GLASGOW, Scotland
— The rain fell in sheets over Scotstoun Stadium, and for Kenya's distance runners, the cold seemed to seep into their bones. Just minutes after Ferdinand Omanyala's 100m heartbreak, the men's 10,000m team suffered a similar fate — finishing empty-handed in a race they were expected to dominate.
The timing was brutal. Omanyala's semi-final disaster at
9:10 PM
was followed almost immediately by the 10,000m final at
10:25 PM
. In just over an hour, two Kenyan hopes had crumbled on the same rain-soaked track.
For Edwin Kurgat, the pain was most acute. The American-based Kenyan crossed the line in
27:50.98
, a season's best that should have been cause for celebration. Instead, he watched helplessly as the Isle of Man's David Mullarkey overtook him in the final 50 metres to snatch bronze.
0.7 seconds.
That was all that separated Kurgat from a podium finish. The margin was agonising — the kind of defeat that plays on repeat in an athlete's mind long after the race ends.
Daniel Ebenyo Simiu, the immediate former Commonwealth Games silver medallist, could only manage sixth in a season's best of 27:56.35. Ishmael Kipkurui, the 2023 World Cross Country junior champion, finished 10th in 28:04.66.
A third of the field. A nation's hopes, slipping away on a rain-soaked track.
The Final Kick That Wasn't
The race pattern was familiar — too familiar for Kenyan fans. In the gruelling 25-lap event, the Kenyan trio positioned themselves well, sitting comfortably with the leaders for most of the race. But when the bell rang for the final lap, the script fell apart.
India's Gulveer Singh, running the race of his life, unleashed a devastating final kick that moved him from fourth to second. At the same moment, Mullarkey surged past Kurgat, leaving the Kenyan with nothing but regret.
Australian Ky Robinson took gold in 27:48.93, while Gulveer claimed silver in 27:49.78. For the first time in Commonwealth Games history, no African runner stood on the men's 10,000m podium. The African dominance that had defined the event for decades was broken — and Kenya was at the centre of the story for all the wrong reasons.
Are the athletes to blame?
It wasn't the athletes' fault that the medals slipped away. They gave everything on a night when the conditions were brutal — heavy rain, a waterlogged track, and a pace that swung unpredictably. Daniel Ebenyo, who has a personal best of 26:57.80 and was expected to challenge for the title, simply couldn't find his rhythm in the chaos.
Kurgat had to watch his season's best effort produce nothing but heartbreak. For an athlete based in the United States and training year-round for moments like this, to come so close and miss by 0.7 seconds is the kind of loss that leaves a mark.
A Nation Asks: What Happened?
The reaction from Kenyan fans was swift and emotional. Social media lit up with questions:
"How do we lose to Australia in a 10,000m?"
The sting was real — not because Robinson wasn't worthy, but because Kenyans have come to expect gold in distance events. It's what they do. It's who they are.
Gulveer's silver, meanwhile, was history-making for India. He had spent the year training in Colorado Springs and had carefully planned his race, staying patient and saving his final kick for when it mattered most.
"My only strategy was to win a medal," Gulveer said after the race. "My coach told me not to do anything special in the first part of the race. My coach believes my finishing speed is very good, so the plan was to stay with the pack and make my move at the end. That strategy worked."
For the Kenyan trio, the strategy didn't work. And in the cold Glasgow rain, the silence from the Kenyan camp told its own story.
The Road Ahead
There will be other races. Other championships. Other chances. The men's 10,000m is just one event in a long history of Kenyan distance running greatness. But this one will hurt — not because they were outclassed, but because they were so close.
Kurgat, Ebenyo, and Kipkurui will carry this disappointment with them. They will run more kilometres, push harder in training, and come back stronger. That's what Kenyan athletes do.