Bathurst 2023: Beatrice Chebet an unstoppable force in women's senior race

The senior women's 10km race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 will be held on Saturday 18 in Australia and will see big names lock horns.

Kenyan ladies to fly high

Beatrice Chebet is proving to be a tough competitor. She has only raced in cross-country events twice since the end of the track season and she has won both of them. She won the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca by 13 seconds in November and the Cinque Mulini by 15 seconds in January.

In addition, she won silver at the 5000m World Championships last year and won the U20 women’s title at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus. She is also the champion of African, Commonwealth, and Diamond League 5000m.

Teenager Grace Loibach Nawowuna is also one to watch. She surprisingly beat Olympic semifinalist Edinah Jebitok by four seconds in the senior women’s race. Emily Chebet and Agnes Ngetich, both two-time world cross-country champions, are on the team.

Ethiopians are stars to watch

Letesenbet Gidey

In 2020 and 2021, the Ethiopian was in top form, setting world records of 14:06.62 for the 5000m and 29:01.03 for the 10,000m. She had to settle for bronze in the longer event at the Olympics, but in 2022, she was rewarded with her first world title on the track, winning the 10,000m in Oregon in a tough race.

She won back-to-back U20 titles in 2015 and 2017, joining an elite group of athletes that includes Faith Kipyegon and Genzebe Dibaba and is now aiming for her first individual senior world cross-country title.

Gete Alemayehu, who finished second in Ethiopia's World Cross trial race, just ahead of 10,000m performer Tsigie Gebreselama and won bronze in the U20 race in Aarhus in 2019 will be keen to better her performance.

Another Ethiopian, Fotyen Tesfaye narrowly missed out on the top-10 list in Aarhus and will be looking to improve this time around.

Bathurst 2023: Kamworor leads a strong Kenyan contigent

Eritrea counting on Rahel Daniel

Daniel is undefeated and currently leads the season standings after three victories last month. This will be her World Cross debut, and she will be hoping to make a good impression.

The 21-year-old won the prestigious Campaccio meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano, then won by eight seconds two days later in Elgoibar. She recently won in Hannut in heavy snow, demonstrating her ability to perform well in any condition. Daniel had a successful track season in 2022 and has been undefeated in international cross-country races for over a year.

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Burundi hopes to triumph

Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi missed the peak of the 2022 track season due to injury, but she still won three races on the Wanda Diamond League circuit before winning the Venta de Banos Cross Country in December.

In her most recent appearance, she finished fifth in Elgoibar, 47 seconds behind Daniel of Eritrea.

Kamworor looking to guide Kenya to World Cross Country team title

Uganda’s run

Stella Chesang, the 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion, won the Ugandan Cross-Country Championships with ease and is looking to improve on her 21st-place finish in the 2019 World Cross.

Prisca Chesang, a world U20 5000m bronze medalist, also joins her on the Ugandan team.