Multiple world cross country championships gold medallist, Beatrice Chebet, is out of the National Cross Country Championships scheduled for Saturday at the Eldoret Sports Club.
Kenya will use the one-day National Cross Country Championships to select a team that will compete in the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, which will be staged in Tallahassee, Florida on January 10, 2026.
Kenya Police Service head coach, Isaac Kirwa, has disclosed that the two-time World Athletics Cross Country Championships winner has requested to be exempted from the national championships as she is not yet ready to compete.
However, Kirwa is optimistic that Chebet, who won senior women’s 10 kilometres race in 2023 (Belgrade) and in 2024 (Bathurst, Australia) editions of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, will land a wild card to position her for her third consecutive crown in the US.
Gold medallist Beatrice Chebet on September 21, 2025 celebrates winning the Women's 5000m at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo.
Photo credit: Reuters
Chebet claimed her maiden world cross country title in 2023 Bathurst, Australia. The runner charged past Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who had tumbled on the home straight, to hand Kenya the title. She retained the title in the 2024 edition of the championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.
Chebet, who also got a wild card to Bathurst championships, guided Lilian Kasait, Margaret Chelimo and Agnes Ng’etich to a 1-4 sweep.
Chebet is the only woman in history to hold Olympic and world titles in the 5,000m and 10,000m, as well as world records over the two distances.
After claiming a brace of titles with victory in 10,000m and 5,000m at 2024 Paris Olympics, Chebet replicated the performance at the world championships in Tokyo, winning both events.
Chebet broke the 5,000m world record on July 5, 2025, clocking 13:58.06 in Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Meeting in Eugene, Oregon. Kenya used the event to select a team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships. She became the first woman to run the distance in under 14 minutes.
In 2024, Chebet also set a new world record in 10,000m of 28:54.14 at Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene. Kenya used the event to select a team for the Olympic Games. Chebet became the first woman to run the distance in under 29 minutes.
As the clock ticks closer to the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, coach Kirwa has expressed confidence that the National Cross Country Championships will be competitive, and Kenya will select a strong team to compete in Florida.
Maureen Chebor, Gladys Kwamboka, Nelly Cheptoo, Miriam Chebet and seasoned runner Mercy Cherono are expected to compete in Eldoret on Saturday.
Eldoret, christened “City of Champions”, prepares to host the championships for the fourth time. Excitement is already building as young talents prepare to take on seasoned athletes.
Athletics Kenya’s Senior Vice President in charge of competitions, Paul Mutwii, explained that the National Cross Country Championships have been brought forward given the short time left before the world event in January.
“We need to select a team early enough so as to have time to process the necessary travel documents at the US Embassy. Holding the national championships early will also give the selected athletes enough time to train,” Mutwii told Nation Sport on Tuesday.
Athletes from 19 Athletics Kenya regions, and institutional teams will compete in Eldoret on Saturday. Teams from AK branches (Nairobi, Coast, Nyanza South, Nyanza North, Western, North Eastern, North Rift, South Rift, Central Rift, Central and Southern regions) will compete, as will athletes drawn from universities, National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Defence Forces, National Youth Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Forest Service.
