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S. GitahiJebitok leads Kenyan duo in hunt for CrossCup crown on Sunday
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 20.01.24. | 12:58
Joining her in the 9km field will be other Kenyans including: Faith Chepkoech and 19 year old Pamela Kosgei, who was also a medalist in the U20 women’s race winning bronze
Kenya’s Edinah Jebitok will on Sunday 21 January be among the pre-race favorites as she targets another World Athletics Cross Country Tour - Gold meeting triumph at CrossCup in Hannut, Belgium.
The 22-year-old has had impressive results this season on the road, those that have seen her earn victories in Seville (November) and Venta de Banos in December last year.
Earlier this year - on 7 January - the eighth-placed finisher in Bathurst - raced at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza in Elgoibar, where she finished second to winner Beatrice Chebet in a time of 26:10.
Joining her in the 9km field will be other Kenyans including Faith Chepkoech and 19-year-old Pamela Kosgei, who was also a medalist in the U20 women’s race winning bronze.
The trio will be joined on the start line by Britain’s Megan Keith, who finished third in Hannut last year and went on to win European U23 titles in the 5000m in July and cross country in December.
Others to feature will be Italy’s Giovanna Selva and Hungary’s Lili Anna Vindics-Toth, who placed third and fourth respectively at Campaccio.
In the men’s category, Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli will look to go one better than his runner-up finish last year when he goes up against a field including Uganda’s Rogers Kibet, Rwanda’s Yves Nimubona and Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana.
Kimeli finished second behind Yann Schrub of France when they raced in the snow-covered Belgian city in 2023.
Kimeli’s compatriot Guillaume Grimard was third on that occasion and the pair clashed again over 9km in Hannut.
Nimubona and Ntakarutimana opened their 2024 cross-country campaigns at the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy, on 6 January, respectively finishing third and fourth.
Nimubona then raced over 10km on the roads in Valencia a week later, clocking a PB of 27:49.
Kibet was also in PB form in Valencia, finishing six spots ahead of Nimubona in eighth place, clocking 27:07.
The 20-year-old finished 15th at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst last February.
Grimard is back in action after finishing sixth in San Giorgio su Legnano behind Nimubona and Ntakarutimana, while Kimeli will also be seeking a strong performance on home soil when he makes his season debut.
After finishing second in Hannut last year, he went on to finish 13th in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Budapest and then 11th at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels towards the end of the year.
Like Kibet and Nimubona, 21-year-old Keith raced on the roads in Valencia and ran a PB of 31:22.
Additional reporting by World Athletics.
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