19 April 1998 - Manaus - With the sun relenting for a while and light rain cooling the athletes, Kenya dominated the men’s race in this 4^th edition of the IAAF World Road Relay Championships. The race was impressive for the ease with which the Kenyans won and their margin of victory over a strong Ethiopian squad. An enthusiastic local crowd gave third-placed Brazil a reception worthy of a gold medal for their hard earned bronze. Ronaldo da Silva - known locally as Ronaldino the runner - made his break in the third leg, putting a handful of seconds between himself and Japan’s Masatoshi Ibata. But the Japanese are strong and great marathon runners: Manai Akira was closing the gap in the subsequent 10km leg, until Daniel Lopes broke away again towards the hand-over zone. From then on, Brazil’s medal seemed to be assured.

Kenya’s medal, on the other hand, looked a dead certainty from the moment Paul Koech ran his devastating first 10km leg (the second leg of the race). Koech is a phenomenal runner and the only person who seems able to better him, at the moment, is his compatriot Paul Tergat. Here in Manaus, he was running against Ayele Mezegebu (ETH), elder brother of the better-known Assefa. No match: Koech left him standing and covered his 10km in an easy 28:40.

"It was no problem, the race was easy and fun for me and the rest of our team" he told us after the race, as he munched on an apple. "No problem, just the pleasure of running the way I like. And now, a nice prize too", he added with his eyes shining at the thought of the $120,000 he and his team-mates would be sharing.

The squad members who followed his leg - Benjamin Limo, Thomas Nyariki, John Kosgei and Paul Kosgei - were able to run free, taking it as easily as though they were on a training run: Ethiopia was already flying the white flag, after an initial attempt to resist.

Million Wolde (ETH), the world junior cross country champion, had run an excellent first leg of five kilometres. He was running against no less an adversary than John Kibowen (KEN), the world champion in the short cross, who beat Daniel Komen (KEN) in Marrakech. But the young Wolde has no complexes: he stayed on the Kenyan’s heels and even managed to gain a few metres in the final sprint: with 13:44, he ran the fastest 5km leg of the whole race.

"But we knew we would win, anyway", said Thomas Nyariki after the race. "Today it was not too hot and the humidity was bearable. Yesterday’s episode, when Jane Omoro in our women’s team was suffocating, couldn’t happen again. Today, we have nothing to complain about." Indeed, the Nyariki family have little reason to complain: Thomas and his wife, Jackline Maranga, will be taking a nice little nest-egg back to Kenya: $20,000 for the husband and $10,000 for his wife.

There’s really no grounds for complaints for anyone in this world championships. Ethiopia won the women’s race and came second in the men’s; Kenya did the reverse and Brazil - in front of its home crowd - has shown that it can race with the best in the world (backed up by its second place two years ago and the bronze today). Furthermore, Kenya - just like the Ethiopian women’s team yesterday - has repeated its victory in Copenhagen here in Manaus. The time may have been nothing spectacular - 2:01:13 - and they all ended the day breathing without the aid of oxygen, unlike yesterday, but it was still 28°C and 85% humidity. The time will at least stand as a record, an Equatorial record, of course.

Today’s fastest athletes, in order of appearance: Million Wolde (ETH) 5km in 13:44; Paul Koech (KEN), 10km in 28:40; Benjamin Limo (KEN), 5km in 14:04; Thomas Nyariki (KEN), 10km in 29:33; Fita Bayissa (ETH), 5km in 14:16; Paul Kosgei (KEN), 7.195km in 20:44.

A final point of interest: the fourth place of Zimbabwe who, with four athletes running barefoot on the asphalt, and thanks to a magnificent performance in the last 7.195km leg by the powerful young Abel Chimukoko - wearing shoes - beat Japan to the line.

The photographs are by Clóvis Miranda /Divulgaçao