There was intense pressure to defend the overall World Cross Country title, but the Kenyan cast overcame strong opposition to deliver in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday.
The athletics powerhouse once again topped the World Cross Country charts, kicking off 2026 on a flying start.
Kenya secured nine medals, including three gold, four silver, and two bronze, to defend its overall title from the 2024 event in Belgrade, Serbia. Neighbours Ethiopia and Uganda ranked second and third, respectively.
The nation’s gold medals came from the men’s Under-20 race and the Under-20 team’s win, as well as the women’s senior contest, while the men’s Under-20 individual won the silver, the second team position in the women’s senior race, and the junior show.
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Kenya also bagged bronze in the senior men’s race and the men’s Under-20 run.
Frankline Kibet delivered a resounding gold medal in the men’s Under-20 contest, leading the squad to a clean podium sweep in a 1-2-3-4 finish.
Kibet was followed in second and third places respectively by Emmanuel Kiprono and World Under-20 5000m champion Andrew Alamisi. Andrew Kiptoo was fourth in a contest where the country opened its medal account.
“I am very happy with my victory and the team gold. We trained together, so it is good to celebrate as a team. The course was tough, but I was determined and trained well, primarily focused on speed,” said Kibet.
10km world record holder Agnes Ngetich was in her own class in Tallahassee as she charged to a convincing victory in the senior women’s race.
Ngetich dictated the proceedings as she maintained a comfortable lead throughout the Apalachee regional park course, clearing the obstacles, including mud, hurdles, and water.
She secured her victory in 31:28, crossing the finishing line 42 seconds ahead of silver winner, Joy Cheptoyek of Uganda, and in the process, achieved the second-biggest winning margin in any race in World Cross Country Championships history.
Ngetich also recorded her first global title in a senior women’s race, which saw Ethiopia’s Senayet Getachew bag bronze.
“I am so happy with this title. I now have an individual title, and I am proud to become the 10th woman to win world cross country gold for Kenya. Beatrice (Chebet) told me to bring the (gold) medal back home. This title is special,” Ngetich said after the historic win.
Despite finishing third, Getachew led Ethiopia to the team title.
World 10,000m silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo claimed an individual bronze medal in the senior men’s 10km race after finishing behind gold medallist Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda and silver winner Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia.
History repeated itself in the men’s senior race as Kiplimo and Aregawi took the same positions as in 2024, but Ebenyo took Benson Kiplangat’s place.
For the third edition in a row, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo won the senior men’s title, confirming his status as one of the greatest cross-country racers and the long-distance star to watch this year.
Kenya was, however, not as dominant as it was in the last two editions
The mixed relay team spearheaded by former World Under-20 1500m champion Reynold Cheruiyot will have to interrogate their strategy after losing the fight to defend the title. The team was relegated to fourth place.
Kenya had held the mixed relay race title in the previous two editions, but Cheruiyot, Winfred Mbithe, Kyumbe Munguti, and Purity Chepkirui lost to reigning champions Australia, France, and third-placed Ethiopia.
When the time comes to do a postmortem of the Tallahassee26 performance, Kenya will further interrogate the decrease in the number of overall medals from 11 in the 2024 edition in Belgrade to nine this year.
Kenya also dominated the 2023 event in Bathurst, Australia, the 2017 show in Kampala, and Guiyang15.