Ethiopians lead stellar cast for Eldoret’s Sirikwa cross country meet

Over 25 elite athletes from 10 countries have enlisted for next weekend’s Sirikwa Classic World Cross Country Gold Tour meeting at the Lobo Village, Eldoret.

Distance running powerhouse Ethiopia leads the vanguard with eight entries, mostly featuring stars who competed at last year’s World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, while Germany has five entries.

Meet director Barnaba Korir disclosed that the third edition of the Gold Tour Sirikwa Classic has drawn contestants from Great Britain, South Africa, Ukraine, Tanzania, Norway, Tanzania, Morocco, Romania and Bahrain.

“More confirmations are expected in the course of this week and we should anticipate a huge turnout compared to the two previous editions,” said Korir ahead of the event’s official launch in Eldoret on Thursday. 

Lemlem Nibret and Meseret Yeshaneh, who finished fifth and seventh to guide Ethiopia to a women’s Under-20 team title at the World Cross Country Championships last year, highlights the Ethiopian entries in the women’s 10-kilometre race.

Yeshaneh is also the 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist from Colombia.

Tinebeb Asres, who also made Ethiopia women’s Under-20 team to the World Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth, is also coming to Lobo.

Wubrist Aschal,  who claimed the 5,000 and 1,500 metres gold medals at the Africa Athletics Under-20 Championships last year in Zambia where Asmarech Anley claimed gold in the 3,000m and bronze in the 5,000m, are also in the Ethiopian mix.

Walle Fenta, the 2023 Africa Under-18 Championships' 2,000m steeplechase gold medallist, also makes the Ethiopia field that is saturated with juniors graduating to senior ranks.

The 2022 Great North 10km champion Kate Maltby from Great Britain and South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba, who finished 12th in half marathon during the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, last year have joined the women’s 10km fray.

Xaba represented South Africa in the 10,000m at the 2022 Africa Athletics Championships, finishing sixth.  

Also heading to Lobo from Europe are the Norwegian 10,000m champion Hanne Maridal who settled 36th in the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia, and Ukraine national marathon champion Maryna Nemchenko.

Last year, Nemchenko won the Jerusalem Half Marathon and went on to finish third at the Warsaw Marathon.

The foreigners have a mountain to climb against the Kenyans led by world five-kilometre silver medallist Lilian Kasait and World Cross Country Championships’ under-20 bronze medallist Pamela Kosgei, among others.

Kasait, also the 2017 World Cross Country Championships’ silver medallist, is fresh from winning her maiden Kenya Prions cross country titles on Saturday.

Germany national marathon champion Hendrik Pfeiffer, who is fresh from claiming bronze at Houston Half Marathon on Sunday last week, will be making a return after finishing 44th in 2022 in the men’s 10km.  

Pfeiffer competed in World Marathon Majors in the Boston Marathon (16th), Berlin (20th), and New York City (12th) last year and also won the Hannover Half Marathon.

Pfeiffer has company in fellow countryman Filimon Abraham.

Former Asian 10,000m champion Alemu Bekele from Bahrain, Tanzania’s John Nahhay Wele, Nabil Rbaki from Morocco and Romanian Ștefan Iulius Gavril will field in the men's 10km battle.

World half marathon champion Sebastian Sawe, World Cross Country Championships’ under-20 champion Ishmael Kipkurui and the 2022 world 10,000m silver medallist Stanley Waithaka are among the Kenyans set for the men’s 10km clash.

[email protected]