Beatrice Chebet, the reigning world cross-country champion, secured victory at the World Athletics Cross Country Tour during the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca in Spain, successfully defending her title. This event marked the second Gold standard meeting in this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour.
Chebet completed the race with an impressive time of 25:21, leading the pack. Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat closely followed at 25:36, securing second place, while Edinah Jebitok finished third with a time of 25:44. Right from the outset of the women’s 8km contest, Chebet took command alongside fellow Kenyan athletes Jebitok and Lucy Mawia.
During the race, Mawia lost ground and was overtaken by Uganda’s Chelangat by the end of the opening kilometre, ultimately sealing Chelangat’s second-place finish.
Chebet, at 23 years old, initially gained recognition during the 2017 World U-18 championships in Nairobi, where she placed fourth in the 3,000m race.
Her ascent continued with a victory in the 5,000m at the 2018 World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Further successes followed, including a gold win in the 2019 Africa U-20 Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
In subsequent years, Chebet claimed silver in the 5,000m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
She continued her winning streak by securing the African Championships 5,000m title in Saint Pierre, Mauritius, and recorded a season’s best of 14:38.21 in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
In 2023, she achieved third place in the 5,000m at the World Athletics championships held in Budapest, Hungary.
Expressing her contentment, Chebet highlighted her success in defending her title in Atapuerca and confirmed her upcoming appearance in Seville for the ‘Cross Internacional de Itálica’ on November 12.
In the men’s race, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo emerged victorious with a time of 26:00, followed by Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi (26:15) and Rodrigue Kwizera (26:16) of Burundi, securing the top three positions.
