Beatrice Chebet eyeing senior cross-country title

Commonwealth Games 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet carries the hopes of Kenyans to retain the women’s title at this year’s World Athletics Cross Country Championships set for 18 February in Bathurst, Australia.

Chebet is joined on the Kenyan line-up by two-time champion in the women’s 10km race Emily Chebet who was crowned in the 2010 edition held in Poland and the 2013 edition held in the same country, also guiding Kenya to the women’s team title.

Team Kenya leaves for Bathurst ahead of World Cross Country Championships

Emily was banned in 2015 as Athletics Kenya (AK) announced that she had used a WADA forbidden substance, the masking agent Furosemide, and she was sanctioned with a four-year competition ban, effective 15 July 2015.

The senior women’s quest to dominate will miss the experience of the 2017 champion Irene Cheptai who is said to have suffered an injury as the team prepared for action in Embu.

“We have had good training and I managed a few races in the Tour ahead of this competition. I feel ready,” Beatrice said ahead of the team’s departure for Australia on Sunday evening. “My target is to be on the podium. I know it will be a challenging race, given the course we have seen and the opponents expected but we will compete as a team and help each other accomplish the mission.”

In 2019, Hellen Obiri won the senior women’s race as Beatrice lifted her first global title in the junior (6km) women’s race for the only two titles the country managed to bad in in Denmark.

Kenya could not reclaim the team titles as the junior events were won by Ethiopia while Uganda won the senior men’s team title. Ethiopian women won the senior women’s team title.

“There is pressure to perform as I go into this race as the junior gold medalist. The expectation is on me to replicate the same in in the senior level. It will be a tough task but I am also counting on my teammates to work with me in trying to defend the title and bring the team title home too,” Beatrice added.

The men’s charge for the title is led by two-time champion and reigning bronze medalist Geoffrey Kamworor who goes head-to-head with Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, 2019 gold and silver medalists respectively.