Pressure on Kenyan athletes at CWG to best South Africa, Nigeria

Nairobi, April 4 (IANS) Kenya will be among the several African countries aiming to topple giants South Africa and Nigeria as the continental kings at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, starting here on Wednesday.

Kenya has since attended 15 editions of the Commonwealth Games, missing only the 1986 games, and won 220 medals, reports Xinhua news agency.

Gambia -- who rejoined the Commonwealth in February after withdrawing in 2013 -- have the smallest team at the Games, consisting of six athletes. Kenya on the other side have entered 125 athletes in 15 disciplines.

Kenya did not win any medals in their inaugural event in 1954. Nyandika Maiyoro came closest to winning a medal when he finished fourth in the 3 mile race, which today is the 5,000m race.

Four years later, Arere Anentia and Bartonjo Rotich announced Kenya's running prowess when they won Kenya's first ever medals in a global event. The rest has seen a steady flow of medals into the Kenyan basket.

The Commonwealth Games are usually held in August but were brought forward to April 4-15 in Gold Coast owing to the favourable weather early in the year in Australia.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)