Kenyans cheer Kipruto's Olympic victory

Kenyans on Wednesday afternoon flocked joint eating and social places around the country to cheer the 3,000m steeplechase men's event at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Perhaps buoyed by the fact that Kenya has won an Olympic gold medal in every subsequent games since the country first fielded a runner in 1968 which was won by Amos Biwott, Kenyans left nothing to chance to watch a race they have since considered to be theirs.

On a bad Olympic year, Kenya has in the past relied on the 3,000m steeplechase to salvage its image, like during the 1984 Los Angeles Games when the East African nation won only one gold medal through Julius Korir.

Nairobi residents who had already signed off work for the day sipped tea in cafes to the eight-minute event.

The cheering hit a crescendo when Conseslus Kipruto breasted the tape in a time of 8:03.29 to break the Olympic record 8:05.51 which was set by Julius Kariuki in 1988 during the Seoul Games.

In Eldoret, the hometown of most of the athletes taking part in the quadrennial event, the county government erected giant screens where the residents watched the action from.

Residents filled the streets to watch the race and for about 10 minutes, the town came to a standstill as the people watched the action live.

In newsrooms, journalists took a break from the computers to catch a glimpse of the action of an event that got the better of the nation's psyche.

Ezekiel Kemboi's attempt to be the first man to win three Olympic titles in the event became a cropper when he settled for the bronze medals. He won the 2004 title in Athens in 2004 and the 2012 gold medal in 2012 in London.

"I think Kemboi's haircut signifying an old man was a symbol of his impending retirement. He has now passed the baton to Conseslus Kipruto, who is only 22," one man commented.

After the race, Kemboi officially announced his retirement from athletics following a career spanning 18 years. Endit