Kenyan youngsters steal show in Venta de Banos International Cross Country
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 21.12.25. | 20:15
The duo, aged 19 and 17, were all making their European debuts
Kenyan athletes dominated the 45th edition of the Venta de Banos International Cross Country race after scooping top honors on Sunday, 21 December.
This comes after 2025 Great Chepsaita Cross Country Run champion Dorcus Chepkwemoi Ndiema and youngster Brian Kiptoo won their respective races in the Gold tour event.
Chepkwemoi, only 19, was the biggest winner of the day, as she doubled down her win in Eldoret on 6 December with another dominant show in Palencia.
🥇Triunfo incontestable para la keniana Dorcus Kepwemoi en el Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños.
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) December 21, 2025
📺DIRECTO Prueba masculinahttps://t.co/b3KgpnWFAS pic.twitter.com/tF2vbwQ8WC
Running in her European debut against a strong field of Spaniards, Chepkwemoi stamped her authority from the start, settinng an early pace that left her virtually all alone to win in a time of 36:09.
So big was the Kenyan's advantage, that the second-placed runner Maria Ferero, finished 57 seconds later, with her Spanish teammate Claudia Corral closing out the podium places clocking 37:14.
The men's race, also over 9.3km, was a tighter affair, with 17-year-old Kiptoo needing a strong sprint at the finish line to win in a time of 31:41.
🏃 Brian Kiptoo, un nombre para el presente y futuro del cross.
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) December 21, 2025
¡Tiene solo 17 años y ha ganado de esta increíble forma el @ventadebanos! pic.twitter.com/r0RUKrr1FF
The Kenyan, also making his European debut, proved to be a hard nut to crack as he braved the event's challenging conditions, and refused to be dropped from the leading pack, to eventually claiming victory.
Kiptoo began the race in a group of three - together with defending champion Nassim Hassaous and Morocco's Abderrahmane Aferdi.
The trio was still intact going into the final laps, but later whittled down to a battle of two Africans, after the 2024 champion from Spain was unable to hang on.
Over the final metres, Aferdi thrice tried to shake off the dinunitive Kenyan, only for him to pay close attention, before unleashing a closing kick at the homestretch that gave him a memorable win.
Aferdi finished just a second behind Kiptoo in second place, with Hassaous coming third, clocking 32:09.
