The 44th edition of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships is set to start today at Bathurst in Australia.
A total of 453 elite runners from 48 nations are set to grace the event, which involves men’s and women’s races at senior and under-20 levels as well as a mixed relay.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo are already in Bathurst to defend their podium finishes. In the last edition in Aarhus in 2019, Cheptegei and Kiplimo scooped gold and silver, respectively, while Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor settled for bronze.
Cheptegei stands a chance to continue cementing his CV as one of the all-time greats by joining Kamworor, Kenya’s Paul Tergat, and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele as back-to-back winners of the event.
However, Kamworor will also be attempting to reclaim the gold from Cheptegei.
Kiplimo, who missed the 2019 senior title by four seconds in Aarhus, will also be aiming to outperform his countrymate Cheptegei. The 22-year-old won the world half marathon title in 2020 as well as Olympic and world bronze in the 10,000m, and last year he completed a 5000m and 10,000m double at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The marathon is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:30 am.
Meanwhile, besides Cheptegei and Kiplimo, Stella Chesang and Mercyline Chelangat will lead the senior women’s team.
How to watch
The event will be live on NBS Sport.