World Athletics Championships 2025: Painful Lessons for Kenya’s Javelin Prospect Irene Jepkemboi as She Crashes Out

Kenya’s Irene Jepkemboi saw her hopes of making it to the final of the women’s javelin final dashed at the 2024 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Friday.

After watching the country’s main hope Julius Yego exit the final in painful fashion after suffering an injury in his second throw on Thursday, Jepkemboi carried Kenya’s hopes in javelin but she could not manage to go past the qualification round.

The two-time national champion finished a disappointing 13th after a throw of 56.55m in what was her best attempt in the first qualification round as she found the going tough against more experienced javelin throwers.

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Jepkemboi’s round was won by Serbian Adriana Vilagos, who managed a throw of 66.06m, ahead of McKenzie Little of Australia, who had a season’s best 65.54m, as Ecuadorian Juleisy Angulo completed the podium after a throw of 63.25m.

The Africa U20 silver medalist fell below her season’s best of 60.31m throw that she managed at the Prefontaine Classic, the Eugene Diamond League in July, which was also a national record.

However, it was a great learning curve for the 21-year-old, who was making her first appearance at the World Championships, and she had already broken the glass ceiling being the first Kenyan woman to ever represent the country in javelin at the global event.