 | |
| Sport | Athletics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1955 |
| Ceased | 1990 |
| Continent | East andCentral Africa |
TheEast and Central African Championships was an annual internationalathletics competition between nations inEast andCentral Africa.
The event was established as theEast African Championships in 1955, building upon of international athletics matches betweenKenya andUganda (first held in 1934), which had themselves expanded to includeTanganyika in 1952. The competition remained between these countries (withTanzania replacing Tanganyika after it merged withZanzibar) until 1969, at which point Tanzania's southern neighbourZambia was invited. Zambia became the first host outside of the founding three nations shortly after, with the 1971 championships being held in its capitalLusaka. More countries joined in the 1970s, includingEthiopia,Somalia, and this was expanded again in the 1980s (includingDjibouti,Egypt,Zimbabwe,Mozambique). Somalia hosted the 1977 edition and the Egyptian capitalCairo was the venue in 1982 and 1985.[1]
The championships had its final edition in 1990, with the absence of founding nation Kenya indicating the lack of support for its continuation. It had lasted for 32 editions from its inception, having been missed in the years 1962, 1966, 1978 and 1980.[1]
| Edition | Year | Venue | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1955 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 2nd | 1956 | Moshi | Tanganyika | |
| 3rd | 1957 | Kampala | Uganda | |
| 4th | 1958 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 5th | 1959 | Arusha | Tanganyika | |
| 6th | 1960 | Kampala | Uganda | |
| 7th | 1961 | Nakuru | Kenya | |
| — | 1962 | |||
| 8th | 1963 | Kampala | Uganda | |
| 9th | 1964 | Kisumu | Kenya | |
| 10th | 1965 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | |
| — | 1966 | |||
| 11th | 1967 | Kisumu | Kenya | |
| 12th | 1968 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | |
| 13th | 1969 | Kampala | Uganda | |
| 14th | 1970 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 15th | 1971 | Lusaka | Zambia | |
| 16th | 1972 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | |
| 17th | 1973 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 18th | 1974 | Bugembe | Uganda | |
| 19th | 1975 | Mombasa | Kenya | |
| 20th | 1976 | Zanzibar City | Tanzania | |
| 21st | 1977 | Mogadishu | Somalia | |
| — | 1978 | |||
| 22nd | 1979 | Mombasa | Kenya | |
| — | 1980 | |||
| 23rd | 1981 | Mombasa | Kenya | |
| 24th | 1982 | Cairo | Egypt | |
| 25th | 1983 | Jinja | Uganda | |
| 26th | 1984 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 27th | 1985 | Cairo | Egypt | |
| 28th | 1986 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 29th | 1987 | Nairobi | Kenya | |
| 30th | 1988 | Moi International Sports Centre | Nairobi | Kenya |
| 31st | 1989 | Arusha | Tanzania | |
| 32nd | 1990 | Jinja | Uganda |
By the latter years of the championships, a total of 35athletics events had been regularly contested, 20 by men and 15 by women.
Events were contested over imperial distances up to 1968.
A men'smarathon was contested between 1968 and 1981, with the first race being held separately from the main championships. Combined events featured at the 1972 edition, with Uganda'sAlex Ochen taking the honours in the men'sdecathlon and his compatriotBudesia Nyakecho doing so in thewomen's pentathlon. Men's20 kilometres race walks were held between 1975 and 1981, with EthiopiansHunde Ture (1975, 1979) andShemsu Hassan (1981) winning these events.
Women were present at the championships at least as early as 1967, with eleven women's events being contested that year. In 1970, a women's 1500 m and 4 × 400 m relay was added and the80 metres hurdles was replaced by the international standard 100 m distance. A 3000 m for women was first held in 1976 and a women's 400 m hurdles in 1979. A women's 5000 m was first held in 1986 (won by Kenya'sSusan Sirma), though it is not known if this was contested in any of the other later editions.[1]
| Year | 4 × 100 metres relay | 4 × 400 metres relay |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  Uganda (UGA) |  Kenya (KEN) |
| 1964 | ? | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1967 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1968 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1969 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1970 |  Tanzania (TAN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1971 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1972 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1975 | ? | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1976 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1977 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1979 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1981 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1982 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1983 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1984 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1985 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1986 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1988 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1989 | Uganda (UGA) | — |
| 1990 | ? | ? |
James Wahome (KEN) (2:23:39†) Stephen Akhwari (TAN) (2:33:06A)
Yetneberk Belte (ETH) (2:18:49A) Gebru Merawi (ETH) (2:21:22A)
John Kambole (ZAM) (2:39:23) Guebre Gurmu (ETH) (2:13:25) Emanuel Namando (TAN) (2:18:55) Dereje Nedi (ETH) (2:22:13) Getachew Kebede (ETH) (2:17:35)| Year | 4 × 100 metres relay | 4 × 400 metres relay |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Uganda (UGA) | — |
| 1968 | Kenya (KEN) | — |
| 1969 | Uganda (UGA) | — |
| 1970 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1971 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1972 | Uganda (UGA) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1975 | ? | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1976 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1977 | Uganda (UGA) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1979 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1981 | Kenya (KEN) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1982 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1983 | Kenya (KEN) | Uganda (UGA) |
| 1985 | Kenya (KEN) | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1986 | — | Kenya (KEN) |
| 1989 | Uganda (UGA) | Tanzania (TAN) |
| 1990 | Uganda (UGA) | Uganda (UGA) |
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