NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenya’s winning athletes received a raucous welcome home on Tuesday after finishing second in the overall medal table at the world championships in Tokyo with a haul of seven golds.

The team from the east African country took 11 medals in total — in addition to the golds, they won two silver and two bronze — and were bested only by the United States on 26 medals.

Draped in tinsel, traditional wreaths on their foreheads, the athletes were carried through a chaotic crowd of fans, officials, and their families after emerging from Nairobi’s main airport.

“We knew that we had accomplished the impossible,” said three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, who won an unprecedented fourth women’s world 1,500m.

It was amazing seeing “Kenya dominating from the 800m to the marathon”, she said.

World champion in the 5,000m and 10,000m, Beatrice Chebet told reporters she already had her eyes on the next prize.

“Being a multiple world champion and multiple Olympic champion. That’s what I want now,” she said.

Chebet became only the third woman to compete in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at a world championship after Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot.

Also present were Lilian Odira and Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who won gold in the women’s and men’s 800m.

“It’s quite exciting that we are still the powerhouse of athletics in the whole of Africa — we are the best,” said Kenyan coach Alex Sang.

However, the country’s situation is gloomy behind the scenes, with the World Anti-Doping Agency threatening to sanction Kenya’s national body for “non-compliance”.

Some 140 Kenyan athletes, mainly long-distance runners, have been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit since 2017 — more than any other nation.