Kenya's triumphant athletes return to a hero welcome

 　　NAIROBI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Song and dance rent the air as soon as the triumphant¹ Africa Cross Country team touched down at the airport from Cape² Town, South Africa, on Tuesday.

　　Relatives, friends and Athletics³ Kenya (AK) officials who were present extended a warm welcome to the tired squad⁴ with world cross junior titleholder, Faith Chepng'etich who added the African crown being hoisted⁵ shoulder high.

　　"We were well prepared and I was sure we would bring back gold and it happened. South Africa was so hard but we struggled until the last minute," Chepng'etich told journalists upon arrival in Nairobi.

　　"I'm so happy and now, I'm going back home to prepare well and I'm sure I will make the squad for the Barcelona world juniors," said Chepng'etich, who clocked 19:32 to beat compatriots Agnes Jebet (19:34) and school mate, Nancy Chepkwemoi (19:37) to the podium on Sunday.

　　The 2010 world cross junior silver winner, Clement⁶ Langat, who graduated to senior gold in Cape Town by out-kicking experienced Eritrea's Teklemariam Medhin (35:50) in 35:43, said the victory was the launch pad to his London Olympics dream.

　　"It gives me hope that I can medal at the Olympics where I'm planning to race the 5000m. I hope to win something for Kenya, preferably the gold," Langat said.

　　"Before I was called to the squad, I was busy preparing for the Olympics and the Africa cross came as a welcome intervention⁷. I was not expecting top win but on the way, I felt very strong and went for it," Langat, who placed sixth at the Cross Country Trials in February before he was drafted into the team late offered.

　　He added his triumphant moment in South Africa was the perfect cure for sitting out of action for ten months with a broken leg.

　　"After winning silver in 2010, I broke my leg in training and it was terrible just sitting there without competing or training. I returned to my base in Japan where I sought medical help and once I recovered, I stepped up my training for the Olympics," Langat recalled.

　　"In South Africa, I felt that I needed to run from the front and it worked out the way I had planned since I felt comfortable through out."

　　Having floored a quality field at the National Trials, the progression of Joyce Chepkirui sustained momentum⁸ in Cape Town with a 27:04 run for the top medal as team mates Emily Chebet (27: 06) the 2010 world cross winner and Esther Chemtai (27:07) trailed her for silver and bronze.

　　"It was tough since the Ethiopians were six and we were only four. We decided⁹ to work as a team to get into the top four places and then go for the medals in the last lap," Chepkirui said.

　　"Being my first time out in the Kenyan team, returning with the gold medal fills me with so much happiness and it has motivated me to go to the AK training camp in Eldoret and prepare for the 10000m race for the Olympics. I now believe anything can happen," the freshly coined gold winner beamed.

　　Budgetary constraints¹⁰ on the part of AK saw Kenya send a squad of 16, four scoring runners in each of the four races that nonetheless, beat the odds¹¹ to win six out of the eight titles in contention¹².

　　"Having only four runners made planning for the race difficult since our rivals had six but we trained to run together and in the end, it was not as easy as it looks. It is my hope that the performance of this team will inspire those preparing for the Olympics to train hard and work together," Samson Katam, the Team Kenya head coach for Cape Town noted¹³.

　　The team was later treated to a reception by sponsors Kenya Commercial Bank where cash prizes for the medallists were handed out. Enditem

1 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

2 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

3 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

4 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

5 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

6 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

12 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。