National athletics coach Julius Kirwa believes unleashing a youthful squad of promising athletes at next year’s World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, will be crucial to Kenya reclaiming its throne on the global stage.
Kenya has long been the powerhouse of World Cross Country, topping the all-time medal standings with 35 medals (25 gold, six silver and four bronze). Ethiopia follow closely with 31 medals, while England rounds off the top three with nine.
At last year’s championships, Kenya stamped its authority with a clean podium sweep in the senior women’s race and clinched the Under-20 men’s title.
Kenyan women have particularly dominated the senior race, winning every title since Florence Kiplagat’s triumph in 2009, a streak unmatched in the discipline.
The seasoned tactician, Kirwa, insists that injecting youthful energy into the team will be vital for sustaining dominance in Florida.
“Looking at the current squad we have, a lot of the athletes are young talents,” Kirwa said.
“The experienced athletes, those who have competed in major competitions, are like five.”
“Having a young crop of athletes is a good thing because we don’t want to over-rely on the same athletes we have been used to,” he added.
Leading Kenya’s charge is the world record holder over the 5,000m and 10,000m, Beatrice Chebet, who is also the defending champion in the senior women’s race.
The lineup also features rising stars Maurine Chebor, 21, and Rebecca Mwangi, 24, both looking to cement their places on the global circuit.
The men’s frontline will be spearheaded by 2023 world 10,000m silver medallist Daniel Simiu, a seasoned campaigner in cross country’s unforgiving terrain.
The team is already in camp at St Mark’s Kigari College in Embu, with Kirwa admitting that time is not on their side.
“We don’t have a lot of time in camp. We will only train for two weeks, then give the athletes a small break to celebrate their Christmas holidays with their families.”
He added that the cold Embu climate will help the athletes acclimatise to the chilly conditions expected in the US in January.
“We have factored in the weather conditions in America come January. Embu is cold, and America will also be cold in January, so training here is ideal to prepare the athletes,” he said.
Kirwa also underscored the pivotal role cross country plays in building athletes for the track season. “Cross country is the build-up for track. The way Beatrice Chebet has been performing is because of her discipline and cross country.”
In Belgrade, Chebet, 25, led a Kenyan podium sweep, clocking 31:05 ahead of Lilian Kasait (31:08) and Margaret Kipkemboi (31:09).
She captured her maiden world title in Bathurst, Australia, in 2023, stopping the clock at 33:48 ahead of Ethiopia’s Tsige Gebreselama (33:56) and compatriot Agnes Ng’etich (34:00).
Following her success on the cross-country terrain, Chebet has gone on to be an unstoppable force on the track for the last two seasons, winning double gold over 5,000m and 10,000m at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 and the Tokyo World Championships in September.
by TEDDY MULEI
