Isaac Makokha’s hunt for a historic gold medal in the Deaflympics will have to wait a little longer after he failed to achieve the feat at the ongoing Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Featuring in his third Deaflympics, the 33-year-old Makokha had targeted to upgrade to gold the bronze medal that he won in the men’s individual category at the previous edition in Caxias do Sul, Brazil in 2022.
But it was not to be as the father of one carded 24 over par 240 to finish a distant 14th in the individual category.
German John Allen successfully defended his title with an impressive 11 under par 205, securing his third consecutive Deaflympics gold medal.
United States’ Kevin Hall claimed the silver medal while German Nico Guldan scooped the bronze medal.
Reflecting on his performance in Tokyo, Makokha attributed his poor show to being informed late that they would use the Strokeplay format rather than match play.
Nevertheless, he vowed not to give up on his dream of winning a gold medal in golf at the Deaflympics.
“I thought that we would play the same format we did in Turkey and Brazil. I wanted to win the gold medal in this Tokyo Deaflympics; I was very ready and well prepared for this competition but things got twisted,” said a visibly disappointed Makokha.
“But I want to promise you that I must bring a Deaflympics gold medal to Kenya. I’m not discouraged, yes, I have lost today but I will continue and I want to make sure that I will get a gold medal,” he added.
Heading to Tokyo, Makokha carried confidence from his impressive form in several tournaments where he even outperformed abled-bodied golfers.
The team’s coach David Kihara said his players were affected by the tough weather conditions in Tokyo.
“The course was in very good condition and the weather was quite difficult. It was very cold in the morning and very windy also during the day which is not the condition that the players are necessarily used to but they were able to cope as best as they can,” said Kihara.
Meanwhile, Kenya will hope to bag more medals on Sunday when its athletes line up for various finals at the Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium.
Veteran Lucas Wandia will be out to secure an unprecedented third straight gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.
After winning silver medal over the distance in his Deaflympics debut in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2013, Wandia went on clinch a back-to-back gold medal in the same event in Samsun, Turkey in 2017, and Caxias do Sul in Brazil in 2022,
In Tokyo, he will line up against eight other athletes, including compatriots Jacob Kibet and Joseph Gitau. In the women’s 800m final, Kenya will be represented by reigning silver medallist Sharon Bitok while in the men’s javelin final, Hillary Kipkorir and Stephen Okoth will carry the country’s flag.
Kenya will also seek to qualify for the final of both men’s and women’s 4x100m relays. The men’s squad comprises Walter Malenje, David Nyamu, Simon Gona, Elijah Wekesa and Paul Wangala. Their female counterparts are Pamela Atieno, Linet Nanjala, Faith Mukami, Anzazi Chaka, Bery Atieno and Rael Achieng