Chebet leads Kenyan field at Cross Intenacional de Italica race in Seville

World Cross country champion Beatrice Chebet will headline Kenya’s team gunning for the top prizes when she lines up for the Cross Internacional de Italica race in Santiponce, Seville on Sunday 12 November.

The over 9.9km race is the fourth Gold standard meeting in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour and will provide an opportunity for Chebet to do one better than her previous stops there.

Chebet in 2020 finished in the runner-up position before coming in third in 2021.

Having won in Atapuerca two weeks ago, Chebet will the big name facing opposition on the day from fellow Kenyan Edinah Jebitok, who was eighth in Bathurst earlier this year and came in third in Atapuerca.

Jebitok was also the winner of last week’s race in San Sebastian.

Also in the race will be World U20 cross-country champion Senayet Getachew and fellow Ethiopian Wede Kefale – who was 15th in the senior women’s race at this year’s World Cross.

Uganda's Anne Chelangat, 13th at the World Cross and third last week in San Sebastián, is another strong contender, as is World finalist Nadia Battocletti who will be racing in Santiponce for the first time.

The line-up also includes Spanish steeplechasers Irene Sánchez-Escribano and Carolina Robles plus European U20 cross-country champion María Forero and Britain's Amelia Quirk, who was 25th in Bathurst.

In the men’s category, Kenya will be represented by a strong trio of Ronald Kwemoi, Ishmael Kipkirui and Hillary Chepkwony.

The 28-year-old Kwemoi will compete for the third consecutive time on Spanish ground after his runner-up spot in Atapuerca two weeks ago, and a narrow win over Kipkurui last Sunday in San Sebastián.

Chepkwony, on the other hand, is fresh from a huge PB of 58:53 at the Valencia Half Marathon held three weeks ago.

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The strongest opposition in this race will come from Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera, coming off a victory last weekend in his Spanish base of Castellón at a low-key cross country race.

Eritrea’s Aron Kifle, the 2018 world half marathon bronze medalist, will be making his 2023 cross country debut on Sunday, where he’ll be joined by compatriot Merhawi Mebrahtu, the world U20 5000m silver medalist, who finished second in Amorebieta and ninth in Atapuerca the following week.

Uganda’s 2022 world 5000m bronze medallist Oscar Chelimo, who recently finished third in San Sebastian, will contend for a top-five finish on Sunday, and will be joined by his compatriot Martin Kiprotich, who finished 18th at the World Cross in Bathurst.

Mohamed Katir and Adrian Ben are expected to be in the men’s lineup too, with other noteworthy middle-distance specialists in the line-up including European U20 1500m and 5000m champion Niels Laros of the Netherlands, and Britain's newly-minted world mile silver medalist Callum Elson.

Additional reporting by World Athletics.