Kenya had for a long time played second fiddle to Ethiopia in the women’s long distance races.

The scales tipped in Kenya’s favour mainly because double Olympic 5,000m/10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba did not take part in both the Berlin event and the World Cross Country Championship, leaving the competition open.But just when all hope of turning the tables seemed to have dimmed, one break in stride from Linet Masai and Vivian Cheruiyot in the Berlin World Championship flipped Meseret Defer over the edge.

In the men’s field, Ethiopian giant Kenenisa Bekele remained the major obstacle in Kenya’s path but Ezekiel Kemboi epitomised the local athletes’ performance at the global stage all the same.

In the road races, Samuel Wanjiru, who won Kenya its first ever Olympic Marathon gold medal in Beijing, grabbed the World Marathon Majors to become the third Kenyan in as many years to wear the crown after Robert Cheruiyot and Martin Lel.

Globally though, it was Usain Bolt and Caster Semenya who swept the world off its feet in a year that has seen Jamaica dethrone the United States of America from the top perch in the sprints, Germany take on Russia in field events and Kenya win the battle over Ethiopia in long and middle distance races.