Abera of Ethiopia, the world's leading marathoner this season won the Hamburg Marathon on Sunday by covering the distance in two hours, six minutes, 59 seconds while two Kenyans, Philemon Rono was second in 2:07:20 and Josphat Kiprono third in 2:10:44.

Wind was a strong factor as shown by the race splits and the way the men’s race developed. In the early stages a tail wind gave the leading group an extra boost between 7 and 15 kilometres, giving them a split time for the latter of 44:17 and on course for a finishing time of 2:04:30. The course record of 2:05:30, set by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge three years ago, appeared to be in danger.

They couldn’t maintain this kind of pace consistently as headwinds began to blow strongly. The leading group comprising ten men reached halfway in 62:49 but by 30km the numbers were cut in half. This quintet consisted of four runners plus the Kenyan pacemaker Albert Kangogo and reached 30km in 1:29:29. The pacemaker then dropped out, leaving the outcome to be decided between Tesfaye Abera and Philemon Ron along with the Ethiopian Abayneh Ayele and Eritrea’s Yekeber Bayabel. It came down to a duel between the lanky Abera, 1.92m tall, and the diminutive Rono. After 35km the Ethiopian made a break but the Kenyan was back with him two kilometres later. The decisive attack came shortly before 40km when Abera attacked and Rono had no response..

Football Kenya Federation has announced that Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nation qualifier pitting Kenya women’s national team and their Algerian opponents will not attract any gate charges.

The match scheduled for April 12 is poised to kick-off from 4pm and will be played at the 60, 000 capacity Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani.

The return leg match offers Kenya’s national women’s team - commonly referred to as the starlets - with a realistic chance to qualify for the continent’s premier tourney for the first time.

The team held Algeria to a 2-2 draw during the first leg match played in Algiers. The starlets require a win or either a 0-0, 1-1 draws to join seven other teams that will grace the 12th edition that will be held in Cameroon from November 19 to December 3.

Federation of Kenya Football Secretary CEO, Robert Muthomi said the decision was made to give the team much needed support and the women’s game. “We are on the brink of great result that will propel our women’s team to make a debut at the continent’s top tournament.

“A positive result will spur the development of the game in the country hence the need for our fans to turn out in large numbers and offer much needed support.”

The Algerian women’s team arrived on Sunday.

Harambee Starlets made history on Tuesday when they qualified for their first ever Africa Women’s Championships after holding Algeria to a 1-1 draw in the return leg of their second round clash in Nairobi.

The result saw the Starlets go through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate and make the continental showpiece event set for Cameroon in November.

It will be the first appearance by any Kenyan team at the Afcon finals since the men’s side competed in the Tunisia 2004 edition.
Substitute Cheris Avilia Salono was the heroine as her second-half goal pulled Starlets level after the visitors had taken a first-half lead through Bouheni Naima.

With most of the hard work done last Friday when the Kenyans held Algeria to a 2-2 draw in Algiers, the hosts went into the game aware that a 0-0 or 1-1 draw or a win of any kind would see them through to the finals.
“Congratulations to the Harambee Starlets for making history by qualifying for African Cup of Nations. This is a big win and a massive boost for the women’s game in Kenya. Your success is an inspiration for young girls across Kenya and affirmation that they too can make it in the game,” Ruto said in a statement shortly after the match.

“We are behind you and we will support you all the way at the Cup of Nations as you make Kenya even prouder and lift our name higher,” added the DP.

           b                                Above: Esse Akida fights for the balls against Algerian's Defender Fatima Bara

Kenya Sevens team picked 10 points from Hong Kong leg after going down 33-0 to England in the plate semi-finals. Kenya remain placed eighth in the IRB rankings with 60 points after seven legs.

Earlier on, Kenya lost 12-10 to Fiji in the Main Cup quarter finals. Both sides had settled for a barren draw in the first half before Fiji made a breakthrough in the second half through Kitione Taliga. Kenya responded through the ever green Collins Injera after kicking the ball and making a successful chase to give Kenya a 7-5 lead following Samuel Oliech’s successful conversion. Kenya were momentarily in control of the match and Injera gave them a 10-5 lead after they were awarded penalty in front of posts.

However, the troublesome Savenaca Rawaca made no mistake as he raced past debutant Alvin Otieno to touch down at stoppage time. Osea Kolinisau made a successful conversion to give Fiji 12-10 win. It was third successive defeat for the national side, who dropped to plate semis and were paired against England. The Britons equally proved too smart for Kenya, catching them unaware 54 seconds after kick off to take a 7-point lead.

Despite pushing England to their territory, Tom Mitchell kicked the ball and Dan Norton sprinted past Nelson Oyoo to score England’s second try and his 200th in the IRB series as they took a 12-0 lead at breather.

The second half was a one-side affair as England scored three more tries to send Kenya packing. Focus now shifts to the inaugural Singapore Sevens set for this weekend. The team departs for Singapore today. Injera, who scored his 223rd try in the series says they will seek to rectify some of the mistakes they made in Hong Kong. However, he says he was impressed with the team’s defence especially against New Zealand and Fiji.

“We really need to focus and correct on the mistakes we made. We will also look at the positives we picked from the circuit. One positive thing from this tournament is our defence, where we displayed a lot of improvement. We can make it even better in Singapore,” he said.

Kenya face South Africa, Scotland and Russia in Singapore.

Meanwhile Biko Adema has been ruled for the rest of the season with an injury. Adema picked a knock on his thumb last week on Wednesday and will be replaced by Samuel Motari