Discovery Kenya Cross Country: All you need to know about the 2023 edition

Discovery Kenya Cross Country, regarded as the best and most prestigious cross country competition, makes a bold comeback on Sunday, January 29 2023 at the Eldoret Sports Club. The competition will mark its 32nd year since its inception.

Just like other editions, the sole intention of this year’s event will be to identify and nurture athletic talents.

With the competition having nurtured some of the biggest names in athletics including Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Chepng’etich, Ezekiel Kemboi, and Isaiah Kosgei just to mention a few, the eyes of the athletic world will fall on the Eldoret Sports Club come Saturday.

In an exclusive with Mozzart Sport, David Letting, who has been organizing the competition for 32 years now, said that the preparations are still underway to ensure that they deliver a top-notch competition.

“The preparations of the Discovery Kenya Cross Country 2023 are still almost complete. The competition will take place on Sunday, 29 January from 9 am.” He said.

According to Letting, over 3,000 athletes are expected from both Kenya and internationally, and so far neighboring countries such as Uganda have confirmed participation.

Additionally, there is no registration fee, and he urged children from 7-12 years to register themselves for the competition. Registration will start on Sunday at 6 am.

“Registration will start at 6 am and it is free of charge so we urge kids who are aged 7-12 years to come register themselves, and we expect different athletes even from Uganda to come and compete,” he went on.

This competition always guarantees high-quality athletics and performance. In addition to expecting over 3,000 national and international athletes, Letting is pleased that this year’s edition will have 10 races unlike in the past when they only did four races due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Last edition we had more than 3,000 athletes and we are expecting an increase this edition because the pandemic is over and we will resume normalcy that is 10 races instead of the four races that we’ve been doing.”

There will be more than 10 categories in this year’s edition, with the main races including junior men, senior men, and senior women.

“We will have main races like junior men, senior men, and senior women and we will have 10 categories this year to accommodate the more than 3,000 athletes expected.”

When asked about the top athletes who have resulted from Discovery Kenya Cross Country, Letting laughed and said, “If we start naming the top athletes born from this competition, we may stay here till morning.”

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It is not false advertising, the competition has produced top athletes in Kenya including two-time world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, 1500m double Olympic and World Champion Faith Chepngetich, 3000m double Olympic champion, and three-time world Champion in steeplechase Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan middle-distance runner Daniel Komen, and two-time Olympian in the 10,000m Alice Timbilil among others.

Letting also disclosed that the winner will pocket a whooping Kshs 25,000 from the competition.

Where to watch

Fans who will not make it to the Eldoret Sports Club can follow the live coverage HERE. They should also expect a fun-filled and thrilling action.