GLASGOW — Uganda’s Esther Chebet produced a courageous performance in the women’s 5,000 metres final but narrowly missed out on a Commonwealth Games medal after finishing fourth in a new personal best time of 14:50.70.
Chebet stayed in contention throughout the race and fought hard in the closing laps but could not match the late acceleration of Australia’s Rose Davies and Jessica Hull. Davies claimed gold in 14:44.53, while Hull took silver in 14:45.01. Scotland’s Megan Keith delighted the home crowd by holding on for bronze in 14:49.10.
Although she missed the podium by just over a second, Chebet’s performance was one of the highlights for Team Uganda in athletics. Her time was a new personal best and placed her comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
Fellow Ugandan Joy Cheptoyek finished 10th, while Rebecca Chelangat crossed the line in 12th as Uganda had three athletes competing in the final.
Davies’ victory was historic, making her the first woman to complete the Commonwealth Games 10,000m and 5,000m double, while Australia’s one-two finish underlined the country’s dominance in the distance event.
Elsewhere, Uganda’s national netball team, the She Cranes, concluded their Commonwealth Games campaign with a sixth-place finish after losing 62-54 to South Africa in the fifth-place playoff.
The She Cranes battled throughout the contest but were unable to overturn South Africa’s advantage, bringing their tournament to a close just outside the top five.
Despite falling short of the medals in athletics and netball, Uganda’s athletes continued to produce competitive performances against some of the Commonwealth’s strongest sporting nations as the Games entered their final stages.