Agnes Ngetich overjoyed after historic win
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 20.01.26. | 15:46
Reflecting on the journey and the weight of the moment, she shared her feelings with quiet intensity
Agnes Ngetich finally had the moment she had been chasing for years. The humid morning in Tallahassee clung to her skin as she rounded the final stretch of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships 26. Years of near misses flashed through her mind.
She remembered the bronze in Bathurst in 2023 and the fourth place in Belgrade in 2024. She had often been close, but never quite at the top. Crossing the finish line brought a rush of relief, joy, and pride. She had done it. She was a world champion.
Reflecting on the journey and the weight of the moment, Ngetich shared her feelings with quiet intensity.
“I’ve been fighting for an individual gold medal for a long time,” she said in an interview with World Athletics. “I was third in Australia, fourth in Belgrade. Most of the time I was there, but not at the very top. I didn’t give up, and today I’m so happy, so grateful.”
She described the victory as more than a medal. “This one is special,” she said softly. “Records are meant to be broken. Maybe tomorrow, maybe any time. But to be a world champion, that stays. It is always there.”
Looking back at the race itself, she recounted the moment she broke away from the pack. “I could feel it was a little slow,” she explained. “I thought, let me try to push, at least to see if the group can go. When no one followed, I just went for it.”
The responsibility on her shoulders had been immense. Kenya was chasing a tenth consecutive individual women’s title and two-time champion Beatrice Chebet was absent. “All the weight came to me,” Ngetich admitted. “I was like, if the title was in Kenya, it has to stay in Kenya. I didn’t want to lose because people were looking up to me.”
She also reflected on the support that helped her reach this moment. “My coach never gave up on me,” she said, eyes lighting up. “Even today, she was like, ‘Don’t panic. Just go. Be yourself.’ My family and teammates, they were all like, ‘Don’t fear anyone.’ That support made this possible.”
As she looked ahead to the rest of the season, Ngetich allowed herself a moment of celebration. “I didn’t go for Christmas,” she laughed. “I said if I get a medal, I will go for Christmas, so this is my Christmas present.”
