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≡ WORLD CROSS CHAMPS ≡
The 46th World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida started with a bright sky and 67 F temperatures, but with 90% humidity at Apalachee Regional Park, and a nice crowd of more than 5,000 on hand on the custom-built course.
The setting was fun, the racing was great, the meet looked to be very well organized and two great champions destroyed good fields for the men’s and women’s senior titles. Race-by-race:
Mixed Relay (4 x 2 km):
Ethan Strand of the U.S. (5:12) and Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot passed first, but Australia’s Linden Hall – who attended Florida State in Tallahassee ran away in the final third of the second leg to take a six-second lead (11:11) on France and South Africa.
France’s Antoine Senard (16:31) overtook Jack Anstey (AUS) over the log section and passed first, but Australia had world 2,000 m record holder Jess Hull on anchor. Wes Porter of the U.S. passed third (+0:09).
Hull, who has been training in the U.S., ran to the front right away over Agathe Guillemot and stayed on the gas to win easily in 22:23 to 22:26 over France. Ethiopian star Hirut Meshesha – the 2024 All-African Games 1,500 m winner – ran Ethiopia into third (22:34), ahead of defending champ Kenya (22:42) and Gracie Morris and the U.S. in fifth (22:43).
It’s the first time that anyone other than Kenya (3 golds) and Ethiopia (1 gold) has won this event and the first time that African nations did not finish 1-2. But given the visa issues that plagued Ethiopia, the bronze was impressive.
Women (10 km):
Temperatures were up to 73 F and 73% humidity when 101 women started at 8:35 a.m. Favored Agnes Ngetich (KEN) – the road 10 km world-record holder at 28:46 from 2024 – led a group of four who had a four-second lead on the pack by 2 km. It was six seconds at 3 km over Joy Cheptoyek (UGA), Senayet Getachew (ETH) and Asayech Ayichew (ETH), with another nine seconds back to the next group.
The television shot from a drone couldn’t put Ngetich and the chase pack in the same shot (!) by 4 km, with Ngetich taking a 17-second lead. She won the bronze in 2023 and was on the way to Kenya’s 10th straight women’s title. Ngetich passed 5 km in 15:19 and was up by 25 seconds, with Cheptoyek and Getachew 2-3 and Ayichew falling back.
Ngetich was lapping runners as she took the bell at 8 km, 40 seconds up on the field and rolled to the win in a masterpiece run in 31:28, with a huge smile on the run-in to the tape.
Cheptoyek pulled away in the final kilometer to take silver in 32:10 with Getachew in 32:13.
Ethiopia took the team title easily with 19 points, ahead of Kenya (36) and Uganda (37). Ednah Kurgat of the U.S. was 10th (33:28), followed by Karissa Schweizer (17: 33:58), Katie Izzo (25: 34:25) and Grace Hartman (32: 34:47) for 83 points and fourth place. Emily Venters was 33rd (34:48) and Weini Kelati was 40th (35:25), falling well back on the final lap and a half.
It’s Ethiopia’s first women’s gold since 2019, and their 13th all-time.
Men (10 km):
Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo was looking for a third straight win in the men’s race, started at 75 F and 67% humidity. Wesley Kiptoo of the U.S. had the lead at the 2 km mark at 5:39, with Kiplimo in 32nd.
Tadese Worku (ETH) took over at the end of the second lap (11:34), with 16 within two seconds and Kiplimo up to fourth. And Kiplimo was in the lead heading to the start of the fourth lap, in 17:14, with six in the lead pack and Daniel Ebenyo (KEN) closest.
Kiplimo, Ebenyo and Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi – second to Kiplimo the last two times – crossed in front at the bell at 22:56, five seconds up on the field. Kiplimo surged ahead through the sandy beach section and Aregawi gave chase, breaking away from Ebenyo. Kiplimo was up by 0:08 with a km left and ran alone to the finish in 28:18. He’s the first to win three in a row since Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele took five in a row from 2002-06 (and also won in 2008).
Aregawi got his third straight silver in 28:36 and Ebenyo took bronze in 28:45 and Worku was fourth (28:39). You have to go back to the first three editions of the event to find Spain’s Mariano Haro finishing second three consecutive times in 1973-74-75.
Ethiopia (2-4-6-18) won the team title at 30, a satisfying result considering their visa issues, followed by Kenya (34) and Uganda (39). The U.S. leader was American Cross champ Parker Wolfe in 12th (29:28), then Kiptoo in 14th (29:34), Graham Blanks in 19th (29:41) and Nico Young in 36th (30:19). Their 81 points placed them in fourth; France was fifth at 92.
Ethiopia won its first title since 2017 and 11th all-time.
In the U-20 races, defending women’s champion Marta Alemayo steadily built a lead and entered the final 2 km lap with a seven-second lead. She won the 6 km race easily in 18:52 and became the fifth to win two consecutive titles; countrywoman Letesenbet Gidey was the last to do it in 2015-17.
Teammate Wosane Asefa was second (19:18), then Charity Cherop (UGA: 19:19); Ethiopian Yenenesh Shimket was fifth (19:35) and but for their entry visa problems, the Ethiopians would have won their sixth team title in a row. As it was, Uganda and Kenya each scored 29 points, with the fourth-place finisher the tie-breaker and Peace Chebet was 10th to 11th for Miriam Kibet for Kenya. It was the first win for Uganda in the event.
Japan was third (87) – for the 17th time in this event – and the U.S. was fourth at 108, with Blair Bartlett the top finisher in 16th (20:36).
The men’s 8 km U-20 race had Kenyans Emmanuel Kiprono, Frankline Kibet and Andrew Alamisi in front entering the final lap, and Kibet sprinted to the line first, with Kiprono, Alamisi and Andrew Kiptoo going 1-2-3-4 (23:18-23:20-23:28-23:42) to complete a team sweep (10 points).
Uganda was a clear second in the team race (31) and then the U.S. won the bronze (75) with Tyler Daillak in 16th (24:46), then Jackson Spencer (18: 25:00), Daniel Skandera (19: 25:02) and Aidan Torres (22: 25:20).
The bronze is the first for the U.S. since 2023 (which was the first since 1982!).
This was the first Worlds Cross in the U.S. since 1992, but based on how well this one went, it won’t be the last.
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