Kenya got more than they had hoped for from their women boxers at the World Boxing Africa Championship that ended on Thursday at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani Indoor Arena.
When the organisers declined Kenya’s request to field two teams, the national boxing team, Hit Squad, technical bench was left with a “good headache” of who to choose in the single team.
Head coach Benjamin Musa, his deputy David Munuhe and the rest of the technical bench that had experienced Julius Theuri and Olympia Elizabeth Andiego, settled on a squad of 17 pugilists, including seven women.
A total of 160 boxers from 14 countries entered the inaugural championships held under World Boxing, a body that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has mandated to organise events that are pathways to the 2028 Olympic Games.
The Kenyan girls won seven medals -- four gold, two silver and one bronze, edging out powerhouse Algeria.
The North Africans won five medals -- one gold, three silver and one bronze, followed by Uganda with five medals -- one gold and four bronze.
It was the first time Kenya claimed victories at the continental championships as the men’s team finished fourth in the medal standings with one gold, one silver and five bronze medals.
Kenya’s Rosemarion Otieno (left) swings a left punch at Algerian Ichrak Chaib in their light middleweight final bout of the World Boxing African Elite Championship at Moi International Sports Centre, Indoor Arena, in Nairobi on October 22, 2026
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Algeria topped the men’s standings with nine medals -- four gold, three silver and two bronze.
Kenya finished second in the overall medal standings with 14 -- five gold, three silver and six bronze, behind Algeria with 14 medals -- five gold, six silver and three bronze.
Two debutants claimed historic gold medals: light flyweight Grace Atieno, a product of Mukuru Kwa Reuben slums, and Siaya’s ferocious heavyweight, Juliet Opondo.
Germany-based lightweight Rosemarion Ateino and Kenya Defence Forces flyweight Kelvin Maina, who was Kenya’s only male gold medallist, were declared the tournament’s best boxers.
Kenya’s Grace Atieno (right) trades punches with Tanzania’s Veronica Mapunda during the finals of the World Boxing African Elite Championships at Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi on October 22, 2026.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Musa attributed the hefty gold harvest to the ‘Ndondi Mashinani’ programme across the country that has attracted more women to boxing.
“The women have performed well especially in the lower weights, because competition has grown locally,” said Musa.
“The few boxers we had before were complacent, but that changed with a gradual increase in the number of girls fighting. Competition has become fierce and selection tough,” said Musa.
More than 100 boxers have come through the Ndondi Mashinani, introduced in 2019, and Boxing Federation of Kenya County Associations programmes.
Musa also attributed the rise in women’s boxing to good role models. For instance, the history-making Andiego, who is the first Kenyan female boxing Olympian after debuting at the 2012 London Olympics.
Before Thursday, Andiego had been the best-performing Kenyan woman at the continental championships, having won silver medals at the Africa Boxing Confederation Championships in heavyweight in 2022 and light heavyweight in 2024.
