ADDIS ABABA (Ethiopia), May 3: Kenyan men swept the steeplechase on Friday at the African Athletics Championships.

Richard Nateelong won the 3,000-metre race in eight minutes, 31 seconds. Michael Kipyego was second and Willy Komen took third, 10 seconds behind the winner.

The sweep prompted some dancing and singing from the Kenyan fans in Addis Ababa after two days of Ethiopian domination in the distance events.

Three Ethiopians finished behind the three medallists in the steeplechase.

Another Kenyan, David Rushida, won the men’s 800 metres in 1:44, but Ethiopia continued to show its strength in the longer distances by taking the top two spots in the women’s 1,500 metres. Gelete Burka won that race in four minutes eight seconds, followed by Meskerem Assefa.

Ali Nagmeldin of Sudan won the men’s 400 metres, and Amantle Montsho of Botswana won the women’s race at the same distance.

Anika Smit of South Africa won the women’s jump by clearing 1.88 metres.

The championships feature more than 800 competitors from 41 African nations.

Ethiopia, with 140 athletes, has the most participants, but both Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie withdrew from the event.

Bekele, whose withdrawal is not expected to affect his chances of running at this year’s Beijing Olympics, said he pulled out of Wednesday’s 10,000 metres because he didn’t have enough time to rest after winning his record sixth world cross-country title in Scotland in March.

Leading results:

Men’s:

400 metres: 1. Ali Nagmeldin (Sudan) 45.64 seconds; 2. Isaac Makwala (Botswana) 45.64; 3. James Godday (Nigeria) 45.77.

800 metres: 1. David Rudisha (Kenya) one minute 44.20 seconds; 2. Ahmed Ismail (Sudan) 1:45.41; 3. Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 1:46.02.

400-metre hurdles: 1. L.J Van Zyl (South Africa) 48.91 seconds; 2. Abderahmane Hamadi (Algeria) 49.84; 3. Ibrahim Abdoulaye Maiga (Mali) 49.84.

3000-metre steeplechase: 1. Richard Matelong (Kenya) eight minutes 31.68 seconds; 2. Michael Kipyego (Kenya) 8:32.94; 3. Willy Komen (Kenya) 8:41.98.

4x100-metre relay: 1. South Africa 38.75 seconds; 2. Ghana 40.30; 3. Cameroon 40.60.

Women’s:

400 metres: 1. Amantle Montsho (Botswana) 49.83 seconds; 2. Abugan Folashade (Nigeria) 50.89; 3. Racheal Nachula (Zambia) 51.39.

1500 metres: 1. Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) four minutes 08.25 seconds; 2. Meskerem Assefa (Ethiopia) 4:10.40; 3. Agnes Samaria (Namibia) 4:13.91.

High jump: 1. Anika Smit (South Africa) 1.88 metres; 2. Marcoleen Pretorius (South Africa) 1.84; 3. Marizca Gertenbach (South Africa) 1.84.

Discus: 1. Elizna Naude (South Africa) 55.34 metres: 2. Suzanne Kragbe (Ivory Coast) 49.52; 3. Simone Du Toit (South Africa) 47.10.

Long jump: 1. Janice Josephs (South Africa) 6.64 metres; 2. Chinazom Amadi (Nigeria) 6.31; 3. Patricia Soman (Ivory Coast) 6.13.

4x100-metre relay: 1. Nigeria 43.79 seconds; 2. Ghana 44.12; 3. South Africa 44.28.—Agencies