Africa silver medalist champion Stephen Ndangiri produced a tactical masterclass to win the national 10,000m race walk title and return the crown to Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) from long-time holders Kenya Prisons, ending veteran race walker Samuel Gathimba’s dominance on June 19, 2026, at Nyayo National Stadium.
During the Athletics Kenya/Commonwealth Games trials in Nairobi, Ndangiri delivered a commanding performance, clocking 39:14.0 to secure the national title, as Gathimba was forced to settle for second place in 39:45.4.
At the same time, Heristone Wanyonyi completed the podium in 40:59.7.
“Since 2014, the national title has been going to Kenya Prisons and, as KDF, we knew we had to make sure we captured that title,” Ndangiri said after the race.
Last year, Gathimba successfully defended his national 20km crown in 1:25:37 ahead of Ndangiri, who clocked 1:27:33, while Dominic Mwende finished third in 1:29:58.
However, Ndangiri arrived at Nyayo Stadium determined to rewrite the script and finally break Prisons’ stranglehold on the discipline.
Ndangiri revealed that the blueprint for victory had already been tested at last month’s African Championships in Accra, Ghana, where he successfully employed an aggressive front-running strategy that won him a silver in the 20km race walk after clocking 1:20:01 behind Ethiopia’s Misgana Wakuma, who won gold in 1:18:47.
In contrast, Gathimba crossed the line seventh in 1:24:51.
Having ended Gathimba’s reign and restored KDF to the summit of Kenyan race walking, Ndangiri is now setting his sights on bigger targets at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The KDF star is also eyeing Gathimba’s national 20km race walk record of 1:18:23, believing such a performance could propel him onto the podium in Glasgow.