Kenya and Ethiopia have collected 19 athletics medals between them in middle and long distance running events at the beijing Olympics and could add to that haul in today's men's marathon.
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba has cruised to victory in both the women's 10,000 and 5,000 metres and her compatriot Kenenisa Bekele achieved the same feat to become the first man to complete the Olympic long-distance double since 1980.
Ethiopia and Kenya have outshone bigger teams from Nigeria and South Africa.
Nigerian team official Dony Nezianya says most of it is just better planning with Kenya and Ethiopia working very hard at developing their talent and raising the level of their performance.
South Africa, which has the most developed sporting facilities on the African continent, has collected one silver medal.
