No rest: On-form Chebet headlines weekend cross-country action

Fresh from a world record run on New Year’s Eve, Beatrice Chebet will be back on the road this Sunday 5 January as she headlines the women’s elite field at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza – the 13th World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting of the season – in the Spanish town of Elgoibar.

The men’s race has Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi leading the charge. 

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Both distance aces proved to be in stellar form on the roads last Tuesday as Chebet set an impressive world 5km record in Barcelona thanks to a 13:54 performance. At the same time, Aregawi took the top spot at the San Silvestre Vallecana, setting a course record of 26:32 over a slightly downhill 10km circuit.

The women's 7.62km contest in Elgoibar features an overwhelming favourite in two-time world cross-country champion Chebet.

The 24-year-old is the defending champion, and she’s set for her fourth appearance in Elgoibar, following her two runner-up spots in 2020 and 2022 and her win last year.

The Kenyan star enjoyed a stellar 2024 season topped by her 5000m and 10,000m Olympic titles in Paris and the feat of becoming the first woman in history to break the 29:00 barrier over 10,000m thanks to a 28:54.14 performance in Eugene and the 14:00 mark over any surface for 5km earlier this week.

Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu should lead the rest of the line-up. She boasts a 14:36.65 5000m career best and is fresh from fourth place in Barcelona with a 14:53 clocking.

Burundi’s Francine Niyomukunzi will also be aiming for a podium spot – something she has already managed in her three outings on Spanish soil this cross-country season having won in Amorebieta before taking third in Atapuerca and the runner-up place in Soria. The 25-year-old holds lifetime bests of 14:44.97 in the 5000m and 30:42 over 10km.

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Spain’s Carolina Robles, who is fresh from a fourth place in Madrid in 31:58, should be the leading European athlete ahead of France’s Marie Bouchard, 12th at the 2023 European Cross Country Championships.

Some fine U23 athletes will also be on show, including Spain’s Claudia Corral, who was 15th in the age-group race at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya in December, and the British duo of Kate Willis and Megan Gadsby, 18th and 23rd respectively on that occasion.

By World Athletics