Chepsaita Cross Country champion Ndiema to test herself against elite field in Spain
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 19.12.25. | 19:47
The 19-year-old cruised to a senior women's title in Eldoret on Saturday, 6 December
2025 Great Chepsaita Cross Country Run champion Dorcus Chepkwemoi Ndiema will headline this weekend’s Cross Internacional de Venta de Banos, set for Sunday, 21 December.
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Chepkwemoi, 19, comes into the 10th leg World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold fresh off a dominant performance in Eldoret on Saturday, 6 December, when she went on to win the women’s senior title in a time of 35:44.
Still regarded as something of an unheralded performer due to her little experience, the Kenyan will enter the Spanish race as the favorite, hoping to prove that her 24-second win over fellow countrymate Brenda Jepchirchir was not a fluke.
Her quest will not be made easier, however, as she will come up against a well-established Spanish quartet, including the newly crowned European U23 cross-country champion Maria Forero.
The 22-year-old, on top of leading the Spanish U23 team to bronze, claimed the European U23 5000m title in Bergen in July, one month after setting a lifetime best of 15:03.88 in Vienna.
She will be joined by the trio of Angela Viciosa, Carla Gallardo and Isabel Barreiro, who will all make the 9.3km race worthwhile.
Forero and Viciosa were named earlier this week in the Spanish team for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on 10 January, while Gallardo and Barreiro will look to bounce back from finishing their winless runs last time out.
Also on the field will be Portugal’s Ana Marinho and Beatriz Rios, who will also be in contention.
Meanwhile in the men’s race, which will cover the same distance, Kenya’s Brian Kiptoo will lead the charge, which promises to be a closely contested fight between 25-year-old Spaniard Aaron Las Heras and Nassim Hassaous.
Las Heras will be seeking revenge after finishing runner-up to Hassaous last year.
Joining Kiptoo in the international field will be: Morocco’s Abderraahmane Aferdi, and Burundi’s Eric Nzambimana.
The champions will look to join a notable list of past winners of the event including: Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele, Letesenbet Gidey and Selemon Barega.
Weather forecasts point to a cold and rainy day, with temperatures expected to range between 2-4C at race time.
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