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Beatrice Chebet wins World XC gold after Letesenbet Gidey collapses at finish

Kenya's Beatrice Chebet overhauled favorite Letesenbet Gidey with a stunning late burst over the last 100 metres to clinch the women's cross country world title on Saturday.

Jacob Kiplimo later won the men's title for Uganda but only the approach of a thunder storm about to sweep over the Mount Panorama race track was able to offer drama comparable to the women's race.

World 10,000m champion Gidey had broken for the front on the final climb out of the swampy "Billabong" section of the course and looked to be coasting to the line when Chebet put on a late burst and appeared on her shoulder.

Ethiopian Gidey tried to react but her legs gave way and she fell to the ground as world 5,000m silver medalist Chebet swept past her and crossed the line in 33 minutes 48 seconds.

"I did not expect to win but I hung in," said Chebet, who won the under-20 title at the last championships in Aarhus in 2019.

"I saw that towards the finish Gidey was a bit slower and I ran hard and I won. When we were running, I thought that she was not running fast anymore and I thought I have the potential to go and win."

Tsigie Gebreselama of Ethiopia took the silver in 33.56 and Agnes Jebet Ngetich took bronze for Kenya in 34 minutes dead. Gidey had to be helped over the line and was disqualified.

A late burst earned Ethiopian Senayet Getachew the women's under-20 crown in 20.53, while Ishmael Kipkurui gave Kenya more success with a run of 24.29 to win the men's age-group race.

Kenya earlier dominated the mixed team relay ahead of Ethiopia in 23.14 with Australia giving the locals something to cheer about with a bronze medal.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo wins World Cross Country title as Kenyans wilt

Kenya, for the first time in 14 years, failed to claim a medal in men’s 10 kilometres at the World Cross Country Championships as Uganda claimed back-to-back victories in Bathurst, Australia on Saturday.

Two times World Cross Country champion Geoffrey Kamworor was the best Kenyan finisher at fourth place in 29 minutes and 37 seconds as Commonwealth 10,000m champion Jacob Kiplimo won in 29:17.

Kiplimo, who claimed silver in 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark, was in splendid form, beating Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi to silver position in 29:25 as defending champion Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda settled for bronze in 29:37.

Kamworor, the 2015 and 2017 champion, who settled for bronze in Aarhus, ran out of gas to let Aregawi overtake him to fall out of the medal bracket.

The last two laps were simply the three East African countries’ affair with Kamworor, World Half Marathon silver medallist KIbiwott Kandie and Daniel Simiu taking on the Ugandan duo and Aregawi.

It’s Cheptegei who led Kamworor, Kiplimo and Aregawi into the last lap as the rest wilted in the hills challenge.

Kandie, Simiu and Sabastian Sawe finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Kiplimo succeeds compatriot Cheptegei as world cross-country champion in Bathurst

The senior men’s title at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 remained with Uganda, but this time a different athlete wore the crown as Jacob Kiplimo claimed gold.

The 22-year-old finished second in the senior men’s race in Aarhus four years ago, despite still only being 18 years old at the time. But he earned his first senior global title 18 months later when winning at the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia.

In the years that followed, though, he was beaten into bronze over 10,000m at the Olympic Games in 2021 and at the World Championships in 2022.

But today in Bathurst Kiplimo’s brilliance shone through, conquering an incredibly strong field and defying the stormy conditions that broke out just a few minutes into the race.Kiplimo and compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, the defending champion, held back on the first lap, while their Ugandan teammates Isaac Kibet, Samuel Kibet and Martin Kiprotich ran at the front of the pack. Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, two-time winner of the senior men’s title, was tucked behind the leading trio with the first lap covered in 6:09.

The pace increased slightly on the second lap, whittling the lead pack down to 15 men with most of the big contenders in it. Kiprotich still led with Kamworor close behind while Kiplimo and Cheptegei ran towards the back of the pack. Ethiopian cross-country champion Berihu Aregawi was just a stride ahead of Kiplimo, and Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera – current leader on the World Athletics Cross Country Tour – was right at the rear of the group.About half way into the race, Cheptegei took close order and moved to the front of the pack, running level with Kamworor. Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo was also close by, along with Kiplimo and Aregawi. Kwizera, meanwhile, was starting to lose contact with the lead group, and Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia was beginning to show signs of discomfort.

But as the temperatures started to drop, the race started to heat up. The two former winners, Kamworor and Cheptegei, still looked good out in front. They, along with Kiplimo and Aregawi, eventually formed a breakaway quartet. Former world half marathon record-holder Kbiwott Kandie led the chase pack, which was five seconds adrift of the leaders by the end of the fourth lap.

But Kiplimo, who has considerable mountain-running experience, was clearly still full of running, despite the challenging course and he made a break on the final lap. By the time he reached the ‘billabong’ – the muddy section of the course just before one of the most challenging climbs – he had a two-second lead over Cheptegei, with Aregawi and Kamworor just one second behind the Ugandan duo.Kiplimo maintained that lead as he emerged from the vineyard and had extended it to seven seconds by the time he reached the ‘mountain straight’ part of the course. By this time, Aregawi had moved past Cheptegei into second place, while Kamworor was five seconds adrift of the defending champion.

As he charged down the penultimate downhill stretch, double Commonwealth champion Kiplimo could sense that victory was his. He turned and ran through the tyre section still with a comfortable lead, then eased round the final bend, took one last glance behind him to ensure his lead was safe, and then started celebrating some 50 metres out from the finish.

He crossed the line in 29:17 – a remarkably quick time for 10km given the difficulty of the course – with Aregawi, a World Cross debutant, taking silver in 29:26. Cheptegei just about held on for bronze ahead of a fast-finishing Kamworor, both men timed at 29:37. Kandie remained in fifth, some 20 seconds adrift of the leading quartet.

Despite missing out on an individual medal, Kamworor found some consolation in the fact he led Kenya to gold – his first senior men’s team title in five World Cross appearances. Ethiopia took silver and Uganda earned bronze.

The same three nations have now filled the podium in the senior men’s team competition for the three most recent editions of the World Cross, albeit in a different order each time.

“The course was really good,” said Kiplimo. “Even with lots of wind, it was really intense. I think for me it was really good because there are lots of hills where we train in Uganda. It was not easy but I did my best.”

Aregawi, meanwhile, was delighted to earn his first senior global medal. Back in 2018 he won the African U18 title over 3000m, and then earned two silver medals at the Youth Olympic Games later that year. In 2021 he won the Diamond League 5000m title and set a world 5km record on the roads, but missed out on a 10,000m at the Olympic Games.

He improved his PBs at 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m in 2022 but was once again shy of a medal at the World Championships in Oregon. But he will be leaving Bathurst with individual and team silver medals.

“The conditions were tough,” he said. “It was hot on the first lap, and then it changed to windy. This championship was very difficult and tough, but I am really pleased.”

Cheptegei was also pleased, given the circumstances.“I think it was a good race, especially coming back from injury,” said the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder. “I didn’t have the best preparation, but I’m grateful to come here and finish on the podium. Now I can be reassured I can go focus on the track soon, and especially the coming World Championships.”

Bathurst ready to welcome the world on ‘toughest ever’ championship course

Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. But in the case of World Athletics Cross Country Championships, it also seemingly makes the courses tougher.

Four years have passed since the memorable 2019 edition in the Danish city of Aarhus, where athletes had to run up a museum roof, trudge through a mud pit, and dash through a Viking zone. It was widely regarded as one of the most unique and challenging courses ever at a World Cross.

Now, on the eve of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23, many people are convinced that the course for this year’s edition is even tougher.

“In recent years we’ve talked about reinvigorating cross country, and we adjusted the course in Aarhus to create a more challenging one,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “I’m delighted that the team here in Bathurst have picked up that torch and done an outstanding job. I’d say this is certainly one of the toughest courses ever for a World Cross.

“We are really pleased to be here,” he added. “In the 50-year history of the World Cross, this is just the second time it has been held in Oceania, and it’s the first time it has been held in Australia.

“Bathurst has one of the most iconic motor racing tracks in the world, but now, in the same breath, people will think of Bathurst staging the World Cross Country Championships.”

Local Organizing Committee Co-Chair Matt Whitbread expressed his pleasure at welcoming the world to Australia for a global athletics event.

“We’re delighted to have everyone here in Bathurst,” he said. “After the last edition in Denmark, there was plenty of inspiration. We got the brief that the course needed to be hard, and hopefully we’ve achieved that.

“We were originally scheduled for 2021, then 2022, and we’re finally here now,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be here and we welcome you all.”

Coe also used the opportunity to underline the importance of cross country.

“World Athletics takes cross country very seriously, and the importance of cross country goes beyond a great World Championships like this,” he said.

Championships ambassador Paul Tergat is living proof of someone who benefitted from cross-country running. A five-time world champion at cross country, the Kenyan legend also set world records on the track and roads during his long career.

“Cross country is part of my DNA,” said Tergat. “This is where my career started. Being here, especially in Australia where I have such fond memories, makes it more special.

“With cross country, not only do you have to think about the athletes you’re racing against, you also have to think about the terrain and the course,” he added. “I believe that makes you tougher. Each course is different, which makes cross country unique.”

Cheptegei and Kamworor ready for rematch

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor – who, between them, have won the past three senior men’s titles – will once again go head to head on Saturday.

Cheptegei’s compatriot Jacob Kiplimo, who took silver in 2019, is also in Bathurst, meaning the full podium will be reunited.

“It’s exciting that the people who shared the podium in 2019 are all back here,” said Cheptegei, the 5000m and 10,000m world record-holder. “I know it’s going to be mind-blowing and will be something that will stay in our hearts and minds for a long time.”

Memories of the 2017 World Cross Country Championships have certainly stayed with Cheptegei over the past six years. On that occasion, with the World Cross taking place on home soil, Cheptegei had built up a huge lead but fatigue eventually got the better of him and he faded to 30th, as Kamworor successfully defended his title.

“Sometimes you have to accept what life throws at you and then learn from it,” said Cheptegei. “I can proudly say that I am a better athlete because of the incident in 2017. It taught me a lot of lessons about my life and my career. When you want something in life, it’s important to chase your goals, but you also have to be patient and make certain judgements.”

For Kamworor, it was the 2011 edition of the World Cross that holds most significance.

“The first major title I won was the U20 title at the 2011 World Cross Country Championships,” he said. “That motivated me so much, and ever since then I have loved cross country.”

Despite winning two individual senior titles and one U20 title, Kamworor is yet to win a senior team gold at the World Cross. He hopes that will change on Saturday, though.

“We had great training with the team and we hope to do our best tomorrow and hopefully win the team title,” he said.

Hull and Coburn take different routes to Bathurst relay

Dramatically contrasting paths have led accidental contender Emma Coburn and child prodigy Jessica Hull to the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst where they are both in contention for medals.

Colorado-based Coburn, 32, is looking forward to leading USA in the mixed relay, despite being an athlete who spurned cross country at school and college in favour of volleyball and track.

Coburn instead went on to become a steeplechase specialist, winning the 2017 world title at that discipline, as well as the 2019 world silver and 2016 Olympic bronze.

Coburn said the longer cross country courses were the reasons she never got into the discipline.

“I was never that mentally into it (cross country) because I played volleyball during the same season in high school,” Coburn said. “In college I tried it, but I wasn’t that great. I always loved the steeplechase and the track.”

Being able to compete in a mixed relay – the ninth time Coburn has represented the USA at a global championship – where each runner completes a 2km loop has changed her attitude about cross country.

“This 2km distance I think is really fun,” she said. “The muscular strength in my legs will be beneficial on some of the technically challenging parts of the race, like the mud pit.

“As a steeplechaser, I like the challenge of this course. We’ll be going for it, trying our hardest to conquer the course and come out with some hardware.

“This is a fun opportunity and something different for me. I’m eager to try new things and mix it up and this is an opportunity to challenge my mind and body.”

Coburn will be supported in the mixed relay by US teammates Heather MacLean, a 2021 Tokyo Olympic 1500m semi-finalist, steeplechase expert Alec Basten, and 2019 mixed relay runner Jordan Mann.

The USA will be vying for the medals alongside Australia, whose team boasts a cross country child enthusiast in Hull.

Twenty years ago Hull kicked off her athletics career doing 2km primary school cross country carnivals across the road from her home in New South Wales, Australia.

“It’s kind of scary,” Hull said. “It was part of my school sports days and it was 2km. Now I’ll do a 2km hot lap of the Bathurst course. So it’s kind of a full circle moment.

“If we were to get the win out there, it would be pretty special,” she added. “It is incredible that we can talk about the Aussie team even having a win. It would be quite a remarkable day if we got to hear the national anthem while we are out there.”

Athletics has taken Hull, 26, from school cross country carnivals to the world stage where she’s been a 1500m finalist at three majors – the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (11th), the 2022 World Championships in Oregon (7th) and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (8th).

Hull will be joined on the tough Bathurst course by three other Australian 1500m specialists: Commonwealth champion Oliver Hoare, Commonwealth bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell, and Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn.

The mixed relay is the first medal event on the championship programme on Saturday (18). 15 teams will compete for the medals, running in a 4x2km man-woman-man-woman format with each athlete having a wristband which they transfer to their teammate in the takeover zone.

“Cross country is an absolutely essential part of the development of young athletes. Any athlete who can master cross country and can do so from a young age is going to be well placed to pursue an endurance career on the track.”

WXC Bathurst 23 U20 men's preview: Cheruiyot looks to regain crown for Kenya

More than a decade has passed since a Kenyan athlete won the U20 men’s title, but there’s a good chance that drought could end at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23.

The 2019 edition was the first World Cross since 1984 in which a Kenyan athlete didn’t make it on to the U20 men’s podium, and Kenya didn’t achieve a top-two finish in the team standings, so this year’s squad – led by Ishmael Kirui and Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot – will want to ensure the same doesn’t happen again.

Kirui was a convincing winner of Kenya’s trial race in December last year. Although he turned 18 just earlier this month, he has already represented Kenya on the senior stage, placing sixth over 5000m at the African Championships last year. He set PBs of 7:52.74 for 3000m and 13:26.98 for 5000m last year, both at altitude in Nairobi.

This will be his first race outside of his home continent, and possibly his first cross-country race at sea level, but he will be somewhat accustomed to running in the kind of heat that is forecast for race day.

Cheruiyot, who finished four seconds behind Kirui in Kenya’s trial race, has already displayed remarkable range – a trait which often goes hand-in-hand with being a good cross-country runner. Last year he won the world U20 1500m title in Cali, having set a PB of 3:34.02 over the distance one month prior, the fastest time in the world last year by an U20 athlete. He also clocked PBs of 7:38.83 for 3000m and 28:36 for 10km on the roads, showing he has remarkable endurance as well as great foot speed.

The Kenyan team also includes Dennis Kipkirui and Daniel Kinyanjui, both of whom have international racing experience.

Ethiopia – winners of the past two team titles, and three of the past four U20 men’s titles – will be tough to beat.

Bereket Zeleke won the U20 men’s race at the prestigious Jan Meda Cross Country last month, which doubled as Ethiopia’s trial event for Bathurst. Boki Diriba finished a close second on that occasion, as Zeleke avenged his defeat from the Ethiopian U20 Championships on the track in 2022. Diribi has already produced some impressive performances at home and abroad; he clocked 28:32.8 for 10,000m at altitude in Hawassa, Ethiopia, and later in 2022 he finished third at the New Delhi Half Marathon in 1:00:34.

The unheralded Abel Bekele was only two seconds behind Diriba at the Jan Meda Cross Country. Bereket Nega was further back in sixth, but he has proven his form in a range of overseas races.

Uganda is the only nation to have consistently broken up the Kenya-Ethiopia hegemony in recent editions of the World Cross, and in Kenneth Kiprop they have a genuine medal contender.

Kiprop was an impressive winner of Uganda’s trial race, which was meant to have been held over 8km, but due to the athletes’ speed in the race, officials were confused over how much distance had been covered and so instructed the athletes to complete an extra lap. They ended up covering 10km and Kiprop won by almost a minute in 29:29 – faster than the winning time in the senior men’s race.

Silas Rotich finished one place short of the podium at last year’s World Mountain Running Championships, so he will be determined to return to Uganda with a medal of some form. Dan Kibet, a world U20 finalist over 3000m in 2021 and 2022, is another one to watch.

The US team is led by national U20 cross-country champion Emilio (aka ‘Leo’) Young, who in 2022 ran the fastest mile by an U18 athlete, 4:00.77. Sam Mills and Luke Birdseye, who finished fourth and fifth respectively at the European Cross and formed part of Britain’s gold-medal-winning team, are also in the field. Australia’s Logan Janetski and Archie Noakes, meanwhile, will be flying the flag for the host nation.

WXC Bathurst 23 senior men's preview: Cheptegei to defends in loaded field

The defending champion, a two-time winner, the world half marathon champion, Olympic and world gold medalists. The senior men’s 10km at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 on Saturday (18) looks set to offer a clash for the ages.

The top three from the last edition in Aarhus in 2019 all return as Joshua Cheptegei races to retain his crown against a field featuring his fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, runner-up four years ago, and Kenya’s two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor.

Kamworor will be joined on the Kenyan team by world half marathon silver medalist KibiwottKandie and Diamond League champion Nicholas Kipkorir, while Ethiopia’s greatest strength comes in the form of Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega and world 5km record-holder Berihu Aregawi.

Then there’s Burundi’s RodrigueKwizera – 11th at the 2019 World Cross but winner of last season’s World Cross Country Tour and joint leader on this season’s tour – along with many other athletes ready to make their mark.

For Cheptegei, Bathurst offers an opportunity for the 26-year-old to follow in the footsteps of stars such as Kamworor, Ethiopian great KenenisaBekele and official event ambassador Paul Tergat – the latter pair having achieved the feat multiple times – in becoming a back-to-back winner of the senior men’s title.

After disappointment at his home edition of the championships in Kampala in 2017, when he struggled while leading on the last lap and eventually finished 30th, Cheptegei was triumphant in Aarhus two years later as he won a first world cross country title to go with his world 10,000m silver from 2017 and two Commonwealth Games titles from 2018. Since then, he has become an Olympic and world champion, winning the 5000m in Tokyo and the 10,000m in Doha and Oregon, while he has also set world records in both disciplines.

Affected by injury in 2022, Cheptegei ended his year with a 10km win in Madrid in 27:09 and has been working towards the World Cross Country Championships since then.

In 2019 he led Uganda to the senior men’s team title and in 2017 his 30th-place finish clinched team bronze for the nation. Joined by Kiplimo, who has individual gold medal ambitions of his own, plus 2019 U20 ninth-place finisher Samuel Kibet and 19-year-old Rogers Kibet, who placed in the top three at four World Cross Country Tour Gold meetings last year, another team medal will be the aim.

Two years on from becoming Uganda’s first ever World Cross Country Championships gold medalist thanks to his U20 win on home soil, Kiplimo missed the senior title by just four seconds in Aarhus, but like Cheptegei, his star has continued to rise ever since. The 22-year-old won the world half marathon title in 2020 and then claimed Olympic and world bronze in the 10,000m, before completing a 5000m and 10,000m double at the Commonwealth Games. Now he targets another global gold.

But Kamworor has the same aim. With his own injury struggles behind him, the 30-year-old – winner of the U20 world cross country title in Punta Umbria in 2011 before his senior wins in Guiyang in 2015 and Kampala in 2017 – will look to regain the crown. In January the three-time world half marathon champion won at the National Police Service Cross Country Championships ahead of Commonwealth 10,000m silver medalist Daniel SimiuEbenyo, and he has proven time and time again that he thrives on the major stage.

With former world half marathon record-holder Kandie, SabastianKimaruSawe and Olympic and world 5000m finalist Kipkorir joining them in the Kenyan squad, the nation has a strong opportunity to claim the senior men’s team title for the first time since 2011.

But Ethiopia will also be looking to regain a team title claimed in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Leading the way is Barega, who made world finals in the 5000m and 10,000m in Oregon and then finished second in the Great North Run half marathon in September before starting his year with a win at the Elgoibar Juan Muguerza Cross Country. So far his World Cross career features two fifth-place finishes – one in the senior race in 2019 and another in the U20 event in 2017.

Aregawi is another athlete to watch. The 21-year-old, who finished fourth in the Olympic 10,000m final in Tokyo, won the Jan Meda Cross Country in Sululta – Ethiopia’s trial race for Bathurst – at the start of the year and makes his World Cross Country Championships debut.

GetanehMolla was third, MogosTuemay fourth and HailemariyamAmare sixth in that trial race and they all join Aregawi and Barega on the Ethiopian team.

So far, Thierry Ndikumwenayo’s ninth-place finish in the senior men’s race at the 2019 event is Burundi’s best men’s result at the World Cross Country Championships but given his pedigree in the discipline, Kwizera should be capable of building on that as he switches the Cross Country Tour for a global field. The Spain-based 23-year-old – winner in San Giorgio su Legnano and Venta de Banos recently – also finished fourth in the Valencia 10km in 27:04 last month and will hope to progress from 11th in 2019 and 39th in 2017.

Spain’s NassimHassaous and AbdessamadOukhelfen, who have also been busy on the World Cross Country Tour Gold circuit in their home country, compete at the World Cross Country Championships for the first time.

The US team is led by national cross country champion Emmanuel Bor, who has experience from competing at the 2019 edition in Aarhus, and he’s joined by 2017 11th-place finisher Sam Chelanga.

While the mixed team relay is considered the best medal chance of the host nation, Australia will be looking to make an impact on the team standings in the senior men’s race, too. The team's main contenders have the benefit of having checked out the venue early, and will have had more time to adjust to the conditions in Bathurst.

Oceanian 10,000m record-holder Jack Rayner won the trial race ahead of Matt Ramsden and Oceanian marathon record-holder Brett Robinson and the trio return to World Cross action after respective 62nd, 38th and 30th-place finishes in 2019. Robinson was 28th in 2015 and 29th a decade ago in Bydgoszcz, while Rayner was 40th in Kampala.

Prior to Bathurst, 50 World Athletics member federations have yet to compete at the World Cross Country Championships but in the senior men’s race on Saturday, six of those nations are set to field athletes – Cook Islands (Andrew John Logan), Marshall Islands (Bildad Bildad), Northern Mariana Islands (Sildrey Job Noceja Veloria), Pakistan (Sohail Amir), French Polynesia (Damien Troquenet) and Solomon Islands (Martin Faeni, Gregory Foasilafu, Rosefelo Siosi).

WXC Bathurst 23 senior women's preview: Gidey goes for gold against tough opposition

Had the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 gone ahead in 2021 as originally planned, there’s a strong chance that Letesenbet Gidey would already be a world champion at the discipline.

The Ethiopian was in sensational form in 2020 and 2021, setting world records of 14:06.62 for 5000m and 29:01.03 for 10,000m. She had to settle for bronze at the Olympic Games at the longer event, but she prioritized global honors over records in 2022 and was rewarded with her first world title on the track, winning the 10,000m in Oregon in a nail-biting race.

The 24-year-old is now focused on winning her first individual senior world cross-country title. She won back-to-back U20 crowns in 2015 and 2017, joining an elite club of athletes to achieve the feat, alongside Faith Kipyegon and Genzebe Dibaba.

Gidey finished third in the senior women’s race in 2019 and earned gold in the team competition, but this time she heads to Bathurst as one of the big favorites.

If her performance at the Jan Meda Cross Country – Ethiopia’s trial event for the World Cross – is anything to go by, Gidey is certainly in form to challenge for gold in Bathurst. In that race back on 1 January, she bided her time until the last kilometer of the race and then soon opened up a gap of about 20 seconds on a strong domestic field.

It looked as though she was running within herself, too.

As much as individual glory will be Gidey’s biggest goal on Saturday, she will also want to earn gold in the team standings, and Ethiopia will once again be in with a great shout of doing exactly that.

Gete Alemayehu, who has a 1:06:37 half marathon PB, was second in the trial race, just ahead of 30:06.01 10,000m performer Tsigie Gebreselama, bronze medalist in the U20 race in Aarhus in 2019. Fellow Ethiopian Fotyen Tesfaye just missed out on a top-10 placing in Aarhus, so will be keen to improve on that in Bathurst.

But Gidey and her Ethiopian compatriots won’t have an easy ride, as they’ll be up against someone who is undefeated in international cross-country races for more than a year.

Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel has dominated the World Athletics Cross Country Tour and currently tops the season standings thanks to her three victories last month. She won at the prestigious Campaccio meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano, then two days later triumphed in Elgoibar, winning by eight seconds. More recently she won in Hannut, racing in heavy snow, showing she can cope well in any conditions.

Daniel enjoyed a successful 2022 campaign on the track, setting national records for 5000m (14:36.66) and 10,000m (30:12.15), the latter when placing fifth at the World Championships in Oregon.

But the 21-year-old is clearly more at home on cross country, and despite this being her World Cross debut, Daniel will have high hopes for a podium finish.

Beatrice Chebet is just as formidable an opponent, though. The Kenyan took 5000m silver at the World Championships last year and won the U20 women’s title at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus. She is also the African, Commonwealth and Diamond League 5000m champion, and is a former world U20 champion on the track.

She has raced just twice in cross-country events since the end of the track season, but won both of her races. She won by 13 seconds in Atapuerca in November and by 15 seconds at the Cinque Mulini in January.

In the absence of Chebet at the Kenyan trials, teenager Grace Loibach Nawowuna was a surprising winner of the senior women’s race, beating Olympic semifinalist Edinah Jebitok by four seconds. The Kenyan team also includes two-time world cross-country champion Emily Chebet and Agnes Ngetich.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba missed the peak of the 2022 track season through injury, but still managed to win three races on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, and then triumphed at the Venta de Banos Cross Country in December. In her latest appearance, though, she was a distant fifth in Elgoibar, some 47 seconds behind Daniel.

Stella Chesang, the 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion, was a dominant winner of the recent Ugandan Cross Country Championships and is keen to improve on her 21st-place finish from the 2019 World Cross. She is joined on the Ugandan team by world U20 5000m bronze medallist Prisca Chesang.

Olympic finalist Nozomi Tanaka, who holds national records for 1000m, 1500m and 3000m, leads the Japanese team. The 2018 world U20 3000m champion placed 39th at the last World Cross when she was still just 19 years of age, so she’ll be hoping for a higher position this time. Ririka Hironaka, who earned U20 team bronze in 2019, will also be flying the Japanese flag in Bathurst.

Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati feature on the US team, while Australia’s Rose Davies and Leanne Pompeani will aim to give the home crowd something to cheer for. Other contenders include Canada’s Regan Yee, Mexico’s Laura Galvan, and Britain’s Abbie Donnelly.

Paul Tergat named ambassador for World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23

Paul Tergat has been announced as ambassador of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23, with one month to go until the 44th edition of the global showpiece in Australia.

Kenya’s multiple world cross country gold medallist will be in Bathurst for the competition on 18 February, when some of the world’s current best athletes will descend on Mount Panorama looking to emulate him as a world cross country champion.

Tergat is one of the greats of long-distance running and it was in cross country that his success story really began. The first of his five individual world cross country crowns was claimed in Durham in 1995 and he would go on to gain gold at the next four editions – in Stellenbosch in 1996, Turin in 1997, Marrakech in 1998 and Belfast in 1999.

Cross country running paved the way for his achievements on the road and track, which included multiple world records, two world half marathon titles, two Olympic 10,000m silver medals, and three 10,000m medals – two silvers and a bronze – at the World Championships.

The singlet he wore when winning in Turin in 1997 is on display in the Museum of World Athletics.

“Cross country will always be a special event in my athletics career,” said Tergat. “It evokes very nostalgic and fond memories, because this is really where my long athletics career was birthed, developed and blossomed, with the crowning of five straight World Cross Country Championships titles between 1995 and 1999."

“In cross country running, I picked up lifelong lessons after conquering diverse conditions, twists and turns, terrains, wetlands and barriers that define the athletics event.”

Tergat has experience of racing in Australia; the 10,000m final at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games – where he pushed Haile Gebrselassie all the way before ultimately ending up with silver – was perhaps the most iconic race of Tergat's career.

As current world-class and mass runners prepare to take on the challenging Bathurst course, Tergat – who won individual and team titles for Kenya at each of those five editions of the World Cross Country Championships – reflected on the event in 1999 as his own competitive standout.

“Belfast remains an iconic race for its challenging, muddy course,” he explained, “but, most importantly, as the race in which I attained my historic fifth consecutive senior men’s title and a 14th successive team title for my country. This is the reason I have declared that race as ‘the toughest yet, but the best’.

“For these and many other reasons, I never hesitate to make any contribution towards raising the profile of cross country as a central event for every athlete, from track to road running.”

World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 has partnered with ASICS to launch a global running initiative designed to allow runners to participate and interact with each other

Due to the global pandemic, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, have been postponed until 19 February 2022, but the local organisers have launched a Global Challenge event that is open to all runners and will coincide with the original dates in 2021.

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 Global Challenge is open for entries for individuals and teams now. The global virtual event starts on 1 February and runs until 21 March 2021, which will celebrate 1 year to go to the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, in Bathurst on 19 Feb 2022.

The Global Challenge is a public event open to all age groups regardless of ability. It is about celebrating taking part, with categories from 7 to 70+ and rankings that will give participants the chance to see how they compare in their country and internationally.  A World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 Global Challenge medal will also be available to competitors. 

Following completion of the Global Challenge, the top ten participants in their category, across the world, will receive an invitation to compete in the exclusive Global Challenge Final event in April 2021.

This major cross-country event focuses on delivering age-appropriate distances, category champions and provides opportunities for athletes of all fitness levels to compete against each other, on a global scale, using developments in technology to enhance the user experience. 

Participants will ultimately compete to win a VIP trip of a lifetime to Australia, to experience the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, live in 2022 and to receive worldwide recognition of their achievements.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe believes this initiative will grow the sport and inspire people across the world.

‘With a little more than one year to go to the main event in Bathurst, the local organising committee has created an interactive virtual experience for the global running community to celebrate the first World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in Australia,’’ World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.

“I invite everyone to join our running community and experience the power of our sport to unite people around the world.”  

This event encourages runners to complete their individual challenge anywhere at any time with distances for individuals aged 7 to 70+. 

Runners are encouraged to upload their race performance to the results hub, with participants from around the world able to see how they measure up to their peers and other countries.

Less than 300 days to go for Bathurst 2021 Cross Country Athletics World Championships

In less than 300 days’ time, the world’s best distance athletes will descend on New South Wales in Australia for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 on 20 March.

The weekend will include mass participation races, highlighted by a golden ticket event where amateur athletes will race for the chance to compete against the world’s best in the senior championship races. The event will also include the Australian cross country club challenge, which will pit athletics clubs from across the country against one another, racing for bragging rights as the best cross country club in the nation.

Brenda LaPorte, Chair of the Local Organising Committee, said organisers are working hard to fulfil the vision for the event with an outstanding athletic experience, a true celebration of the sport and Australian culture.

“The 2019 championships in Denmark certainly raised the bar and in 2021 we’re looking to take the World Athletics Cross Country Championships to an even higher level,” said LaPorte.

“We’re planning that everyone who visits Bathurst for the championships leaves with the memory of a truly unique, and warmly welcome, regional Australian experience.

“I’m also pleased to say that we will host an invitational para cross country race, which is the first time that para cross country has featured in a World Athletics Cross Country Championships.”

A technical and challenging championship course awaits participants with constant changes in terrain, elevation and direction breaking up a runner’s rhythm. The course has an uphill start and incorporates unique features such as the billabong and a run through a vineyard and its stunning autumn foliage. The senior races will comprise five loops of the two-kilometre course.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe is looking forward to attending the event.

“I want to express my thanks to Athletics Australia, the NSW Government through Destination NSW, and the team at World Athletics for their efforts in producing what will be an extraordinary championship,” Coe said.

“This has been an exceptionally challenging year for the community and for sport globally, so I’m very excited about the prospect of a return to world championship competition next year. Bathurst promises to be a great celebration of sport, from elite to community level. I really love cross country. These championships will not only feature the best distance runners of their generation, but possibly of all time. I encourage anyone with young people in their family to attend as this is a truly inspiring event.”

Spectators at the event can expect action-packed racing on a looped course with easy access to all areas, along with a range of off-track entertainment and activities to keep the whole family engaged. For fans unable to get to Bathurst, the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2021 will feature a live international television broadcast and live stream with more than 60 countries expected to broadcast the event.

“This will be the first World Athletics event to be held in Australia for 25 years, so it will be fantastic to welcome 550 elite runners from more than 60 countries to the famed Bathurst racetrack to compete,” said Stuart Ayres, New South Wales’ Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney.

Legendary Australian runner Rob de Castella is Head of Delegation for the Australian Team and said the host nation’s athletes have plenty of motivation to perform.

“Having only ever had one winner of the event, when Benita Willis blitzed the world back in 2004, the Australian team will need to overcome history,” he said. “But I know they are excited to race in front of a large, parochial home crowd who will spur them on. The team will also be inspired to etch their names into the sporting folklore of Bathurst’s Mount Panorama alongside other Australian sporting greats.”

World half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor is hopeful of making one more attempt to win the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia in 2021

Kamworor lost his title last year in Denmark, representing his first defeat in cross country in four attempts as he finished third.

Now, the 27-year-old believes he will overcome the health and safety challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to return to action and dominate cross country once more to win his third title as a senior.

"We shall bounce back stronger," Kamworor said on Monday. "However, what is important now is to stay safe, remain focused and stay positive. It is temporary what we are witnessing. Together we shall overcome."

Mount Panorama in Bathurst is better known as the home of Australia's premier endurance motor race, but next March 20 it will welcome the world's best endurance runners for what will be Australia's first World Athletics Series event in 25 years.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he is looking forward to attending the event.

"I want to express my thanks to the efforts made in producing what will be an extraordinary championship," Coe said.

"This has been an exceptionally challenging year for the community and for sport globally, so I'm very excited about the prospect of a return to world championship competition next year."

Coe also noted that cross country is important to World Athletics, adding that there are no plans to remove it from the calendar.

"Bathurst promises to be a great celebration of sport, from elite to community level. I really love cross country. These championships will not only feature the best distance runners of their generation, but possibly of all time. I encourage anyone with young people in their family to attend as this is a truly inspiring event," he said.

Of the World Athletics Series events that were scheduled for 2020, only the World Half Marathon Championships will go ahead this year, on 17 October in Gdynia, Poland.

The World Indoor Championships will be held in Nanjing in March 2021, but the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, and the World Race Walking Team Championships in Minsk, Belarus have yet to be rescheduled.

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei named Sportsman of the year

Joshua Cheptegei surprised the world at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.

Friday night, Joshua Cheptegei was crowned 2018 Nile Special –Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) Sportsman of the year a befitting honor at Imperial Royale Hotel.

Cheptegei was voted the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) Moment of the Month for his outstanding performance in Aarhus, where he led a Ugandan 1-2 finish with Compatriot Jacob Kiplimo taking silver.  

“My big motivation was Kololo 2017 when I got a muscle pull before the home crowd but I have moved on. The Kenyans and Ethiopians should know we are coming , the end of a race in athletics is the beginning of a new one”.

Hellen Obiri wins at the IAAF/Mikkeller World Cross Country Championships Aarhus

The world 5000m champion, Hellen Obiri became the first woman in history to win senior world titles indoors, outdoors and at cross country. The only man to achieve such a feat is Kenenisa Bekele.

“It is really special,” smiled Obiri after completing the 10.24km course in 36:14. “It was my debut IAAF World Cross Country Championships and my only chance to do it. I now don't need to do any more cross country.”

Obiri arrived in Aarhus in good form, having clocked 29:59 for 10km at the end of December and winning at the IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting in Elgoibar in January and at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships last month.

The 29-year-old had clearly also thought about her tactics ahead of this weekend. She led the race from the early stages and could be seen visibly leaning into the hill as she tackled the climb up the Moesgaard Museum roof on each lap.

“I thought you must look down, as you don't want to look up to see where you are going and at how difficult the hill is,” she revealed of her technique. “I knew it wasn't going to be a test of speed, as it was a tough hill. It was all about mind games.”

At the end of the second of five laps, a group of five had already broken away, led by Obiri in 14:16, with sub-2:22 marathon runner Dera Dida, world U20 steeplechase silver medallist Peruth Chemutai, steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech and two-time world U20 cross-country champion Letesenbet Gidey in close procession.

Joshua Cheptegei takes the title by 25 meters at the senior men’s race at the World Cross-Country Championships

Two years ago, at his home championship in Kampala, Cheptegei looked all over the winner when he had dashed to a 60-metre lead at the start of the final lap. But his apparently decisive move came too soon. Half-way around the final lap he was in trouble. Soon after that he literally did not know where he was.

Today in Aarhus was atonement day, as Cheptegei dashed clear of precocious teammate Jacob Kiplimo and defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor to take the world title by 25 meters in 31:40 over the 10,240m course. Again he did not know where he was, because he has never been a senior world champion before. Now, he had arrived at a long-held goal.

It got better and better for Cheptegei. With Kiplimo second, Thomas Ayeko seventh and Joseph Ayeko tenth, Uganda wrapped up the teams race as well. That was another first, the first time Uganda has taken either a senior or junior gold medal. At senior level, the previous best was bronze medals in Mombasa in 2007 and Kampala last time.

Despite his burn-out, it was Cheptegei’s 30th place finish which clinched the team bronze medal. He contributed, even while out on his feet. Some of that grit no doubt helped over the twisting, turning, climbing and swooping Aarhus course.

As with all races on the day, the steep climb and headlong descent of the roof of the Moesgaard Museum played a major role in dictating the manner in which the senior men’s race was run and in determining how it finished. Cheptegei did not always look the strongest on the roof, but he was when it counted most on the final lap.

The steep, uphill start turned normal world cross-country protocol on its head. The charge off the line in the men’s race looked familiar, but the first lap was by some way the slowest 2km split of the race, which then got quicker and quicker by the lap.

Ugandan vests were always prominent in the lead pack, even when it numbered up to 30 in the early stages. Uganda started with four in the top 10 and finished the same way.

Almost from the outset, however, it was Kiplimo who was the aggressor. He pushed the pace up the roof in the second lap and soon after they entered the third lap he had pulled Cheptegei, Kamworor and Eritrea’s Aron Kifle clear.

While Rhonex Kipruto and Selemon Barega had tried to bridge that gap, by the half-way mark of the race it was clear there were only four who could win. Into the fourth lap, that was down to three as Kifle dropped off, but the Eritrean athlete was still well clear of the chasers and held that place all the way to the line, improving one position on his Kampala race.

Kamworor had raced conservatively, always shadowing every move but rarely leading himself. As the leaders entered the fourth lap, however, he appeared to be trying to assert his authority.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is aiming to make history in Aarhus Denmark

It has been 25 years since a European athlete last finished in the top 10 in the U20 men’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The last individual medallist – a gold one at that – from Europe came 10 years before that.

But Jakob Ingebrigtsen could be capable of rewriting both of those statistics when he lines up for the U20 men’s race in Aarhus, Denmark.

The 18-year-old Norwegian caused a stir last year when he won the 1500m and 5000m at the senior European Championships in Berlin, setting a continental U20 record of 13:17.06 in the latter. One month prior he had set a European U20 1500m record of 3:31.18 in Monaco.

After winning his third consecutive European U20 cross-country title in December, he beat world indoor record-holder Samuel Tefera over 1500m in Dusseldorf in February and went on to win 3000m gold and 1500m silver at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Ingebrigtsen boasts the fastest track PBs of the field and has considerably more international racing experience. But he has never raced farther than 6.3km and could become something of a target if some of the stronger nations utilise team tactics.

All 39 individual medals on offer in the U20 men's race from the past 13 editions have been shared between Kenya (23), Ethiopia (10) and Uganda (6). The same three nations once again look poised to battle it out for individual and team medals.

Unsurprisingly, the Kenyan team appears to be the strongest. Led by national U20 cross-country champion Samuel Chebolei, the team also includes Commonwealth Youth Games 3000m champion Edwin Kiplangat Bett, who finished eighth in the U20 men’s race two years ago in Kampala, and Leonard Bett, the world U18 steeplechase champion.

World Cross Country defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor is ready to defend his title this weekend

World Cross Country defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor has sent a warning to his opponents ahead of the world championships in Denmark that he is not ready to relinquish his title.

Kamworor will lead team Kenya for the championships to be held on the 30th of March seeking to make it a third in a row.

As defending champion, let’s take Kamworor first. Not only will he be going for his third straight senior title at cross-country in Aarhus, but also for a sixth straight world title in six years, his two previous cross-country victories in Guiyang (2015) and Kampala (2017), augmented by World Half Marathon championships in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Kamworor has already joined the group of men to have won at least two world cross-country titles. A further triumph this weekend would put him in the select company of those to have won three or more – Kenenisa Bekele (six), John Ngugi and Paul Tergat (five) and Carlos Lopes (three).

He finished only fifth in the Kenyan championship, won by Amos Kirui, but neither the Kenyan, nor Ethiopian, trial has proven a reliable guide to relative finishing order at recent world championships.

Expect Kamworor to present on the start line at Aarhus in excellent shape. He deserves the status of the "man to beat."

There will be $310,000 of prize money on the line, certainly the most of any cross-country races.

The Crown Prince of Denmark is so excited about the upcoming world cross-country championships that he decided to run it

This Saturday is the World Cross-Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Many of the world’s best athletes will be competing, including world half-marathon champion and world 10,000m gold medallist Geoffrey Kamworor in the senior men’s race.

Also running is distance stud Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the U20 men’s race, 5,000m world champion Hellen Obiri in the senior women’s race and world juinor 5,000m champion Beatrice Chebet in the U20 women’s event.

The IAAF president and former Olympic medallist Seb Coe and Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, are taking part in the 8K event.

The Crown Prince is an avid runner.