Gold Level XC Meet

Silver Level XC Meet

Bronze Level XC Meet

2022/23

2021/22

TCS Lidingöloppet

Cardiff Cross Challenge

67 Cross Internacional Zornoza

Cross Internacional de Soria

CrossCup de Mol

Cross Internacional de San Sebastián

XVII Cross de Atapuerca

XXXIX Cross of Italica

Cross Internacional de La Constitucion Alcobendas

International Warandecross Tilburg

Cross Champs at Mt.SAC

Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños

65° Campaccio-International Cross Country

Elgoibar Juan Muguerza Cross-Country

Northern Ireland International Cross Country

90th Cinque Mulini

44° Cross della Vallagarina

Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic

CrossCup de Hannut

45 Cross das Amendoeiras em Flor

Brussels CrossCup

LI Gran Premio Cáceres Campo a Través

World Athletics Cross Country Tour

Yasemin Can pips Eva Cherono at the World Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Serradilla

Thierry Ndikumwenayo wins the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Serradilla

Samuel Fitwi wins the CrossCup in Hannut

The Belgian city of Hannut is gearing up for its World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting on Sunday (20), with the women's race promising to bring fireworks. The top three in the current tour standings will toe the line, while Olympic steeplechase champion Peruth Chemutai is running her first race of 2022 in Belgian mud.
With only two races left in the tour after Hannut, the penultimate race of the 40th edition of the CrossCup could decide the overall victory in the World Athletics Cross Country Tour series.
Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia and&nbsp;Beatrice Chebet, plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Likina Amebaw, currently top the standings. Mawia won in Soria in October and then finished fourth at the Cinque Mulini and second in Rovereto a few weeks ago. Her compatriot Chebet, the world U20 cross-country champion, is among her competitors, while Amebaw hopes to challenge the Kenyan duo on what will most likely be an extremely muddy course following the storms that have raged across much of Europe in recent days.
In more than 40 years, no Olympic champion has ever competed in the CrossCup. That changes on Sunday as Chemutai will make her 2022 season debut. The 22-year-old, who won a surprise gold medal in the steeplechase at last year&rsquo;s Olympic Games, is therefore already writing history by just being in Hannut. Will she be able to add a victory to her honours list? 
The home crowd is looking forward to seeing national cross-country champion Mieke Gorissen. The 39-year-old, who competed in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, was ruled out of the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin due to coronavirus, so this weekend she hopes to prove herself in the strongest cross country field she has ever been a part of.
In the men&rsquo;s race, former winner Samuel Fitwi is among the pre-race favourites. The 26-year-old German athlete won a race on Belgian soil in November and is keen to grab another victory in his neighbouring country. 
Uganda&rsquo;s Rogers Kibet is likely to be one of his biggest competitors, as will Spain&rsquo;s Ibrahim Ezzaydouni, an 8:14 performer in the steeplechase.
Arnaud Dely hopes to be the first Belgian finisher. The duathlete has set his sights on a fast 10km in the coming weeks and looks to gain confidence on Sunday. 
European indoor&nbsp;1500m champion Elise Vanderelst is the favourite in the women&rsquo;s short cross race, despite her second place finish in Diest last weekend. It was her first defeat on home soil since 2018. The Belgian record-holder in the mile, Pieter-Jan Hannes, is back in business after a couple of tough years. Hannes will challenge Ruben Querinjean OF&nbsp;Luxembourg during the short cross race. Querinjean, who took bronze in the U23 men's race at the European Cross Country Championships in December, is in search of revenge after Hannes&rsquo; victory in Diest.
Quinten Lafort for World Athletics

The Belgian city of Hannut is gearing up for its World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting.

World Cross Country Tour Gold leaders set for Hannut

The inaugural Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour Gold event became a huge success as fans turned out in large numbers to witness the exciting action at the Lobo Village in Eldoret on Saturday (12).
Several of the world&rsquo;s best distance runners battled against each other in the Kenyan city on a warm, sunny and sometimes cloudy day. Combined with the tough course, the victories were earned the hard way by the runners.
The senior women&rsquo;s race was almost a repeat of the Kenyan Cross Country Championships, though this time Joyce Chepkemoi won the race with a bigger margin than the one-second gap from Margaret Chelimo last month.
With about two laps of the 2km course remaining, Chepkemoi had made a surge and continued to create a gap on Chelimo. She did a solo front run in the last lap, eventually crossing the finish line in a time of 34:02 with Chelimo coming seven seconds later in 34:09. Nespine Jepleting was a distant third in 34:22.
Samuel Chebolei also repeated what he achieved here three weeks ago on the same course in the senior men&rsquo;s 10km race. In an exciting last lap, Chebolei held off a determined chase from Nicholas Kimeli to emerge victorious in 29:46. Kimeli came in second at 30:00, while Michael Kibet completed the podium in 30:10.
After what looked like a wrong timing of breaking away too early in the race, disappointment followed for Pamela Kosgei, who had won both the Kenyan Championships and at the Discovery Kenya Cross Country events in the U18 women&rsquo;s 5km race. She would eventually finish here in third place after being passed by Joyline Jepkemoi who won it in 18:05 and Jepkoech Maurine who was second in 18:14.
As they approached the last 2km in the 6K U18 men&rsquo;s race, Ismael Kurui made a move and broke away from his two companions at the leading pack. He managed to hold off Vincent Maiyo in the last 200 metres as the latter was rapidly closing in on him. He edged him by a second as he crossed the finish line in 18:15 against Maiyo&rsquo;s 18:16. Charles Rotich was a distant third in 18:21.
The U20 women&rsquo;s was won by Purity Chepkirui in 20:49 improving her position at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships by one place. Lucy Nduta finished second in 21:09 while Faith Cherotich finished third in 21:18.
Shadrack Chirchir won the competitive U20 men&rsquo;s 8km race that saw the race favorite, Benson Kiplangat dropped out with one and half laps to go, in 23:55. Gideon Rono followed in 24:02 ahead of Dennis Kipkirui in 24:10.
Justin Lagat for World Athletics

Kenyan champions win in Eldoret again

Chepkemoi and Chebolei victorious at Agnes Tirop Memorial Cross Country

Fittingly, for an event named in memory of one of the world&rsquo;s best distance runners, the women&rsquo;s race at the Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic is expected to be the highlight of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Eldoret on Saturday (12).
Before Tirop&rsquo;s tragic death in October last year, Kenya was already preparing to host a World Athletics Cross Country Tour event in Eldoret. But during Tirop&rsquo;s funeral on 23 October &ndash; the day she would have turned 26 &ndash; Athletics Kenya announced that the cross-country event will be named after their star athlete.
Tirop will be remembered and celebrated this weekend for her great achievements in athletics. In 2015, aged just 19 at the time, she won the senior world cross-country title in Guiyang, then went on to earn bronze medals over 10,000m at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships. Just one month before her death, she set a women-only world 10km record of 30:01.
Many of Tirop&rsquo;s friends, rivals and former teammates will be in action in Eldoret this weekend.
Senbere Teferi, the silver medallist behind Tirop at the 2015 World Cross, is among the entries for the women's race. At the same event in Herzogenaurach where Tirop set a world 10km record last October, Teferi set a world 5km record of 14:29. Teferi has finished fourth in both of her recent cross-country outings, in Seville and Elgoibar, so will be keen to make it on to the podium in Eldoret.
"I was preparing for another event, but I came here when I heard it was for Agnes," said Teferi. "She was my close friend, I ran with her many times and I loved her. I came here for her."
The top-performing athletes from the recent Kenyan Cross Country Championships, held on this same course last month, will also be looking to produce another strong performance on home soil.
Joyce Jepkemoi, who emerged as the surprise winner in the senior women&rsquo;s race at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships, will be hoping to confirm that she is indeed the best cross country runner in Kenya at the moment. World 5000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi, who finished second behind Jepkemoi in Eldoret last month, is also entered.
Other leading Kenyan runners expected to compete include world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich, steeplechase specialist Celliphine Chespol, Lilian Kasait, Beatrice Chebet, Edinah Jebitok and Teresiah Muthoni. Bahraini steeplechaser Winfred Yavi, the two-time Asian champion and fourth-place finisher at the 2019 World Championships, is also entered.
National 5000m champion Nicholas Kimeli, who finished fourth over 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics at fourth at the recent Kenyan Cross Country Championships, is entered for the men's race, as is 2018 world U20 5000m champion Edward Zakayo, who finished just behind Kimeli in Eldoret last month.
Other entrants in the senior men&rsquo;s race include USA&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo, Eritrean steeplechase record-holder Yemane Haileselassie, and multiple NCAA champion Edward Cheserek.
Following feedback from competitors at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships, a number of adjustments have been made to the course. The muddy section that many runners had found tough &ndash; and lost their shoes in &ndash; has been compacted to create room for shallower mud.
Justin Lagat for World Athletics

Entries include Senbere Teferi, Margaret Chelimo and Nicholas Kimeli

Distance-running stars set to clash in Eldoret in honour of Tirop

Nibret Melak from Ethiopia and Teresiah Muthoni Gateri from Kenya claimed wins at the 90th edition of the&nbsp;Cinque Mulini in San Vittore Olona &ndash;&nbsp;&nbsp;the 11th Gold level meeting of this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour &ndash; on Sunday (30).
The Italian race was held on a sunny and warm day, with a temperature of 15&deg;C. 
<h2>Melak retains</h2>
Melak won for the second consecutive year, becoming the second Ethiopian athlete in the history of the men's race to win at least two consecutive editions after Fita Bayisa, who triumphed four times in a row from 1992 to 1995. Muktar Edris is the only other Ethiopian athlete to have won twice, but not in consecutive years.
Samuel Kibet from Uganda took the early pace at the front of a 10-man group, which featured last year&rsquo;s world U20 3000m champion Tadese Worku, Tadese Takele and Melak from Ethiopia; Daniel Kinyanjui, Emmanuel Kiplagat and Levy Kibet from Kenya; Oscar Chelimo from Uganda; Habtom Samuel from Eritrea; and Jean Marie Bukuru from Burundi.
The lead pack was whittled down to six athletes during the second lap. Kinyanjui took the initiative, going through the second lap mark in 11:49, closely followed by Worku, Melak, Levy, Takele and Chelimo.
Worku stepped up the pace during the fourth lap and only Melak, Kibet and Takele were able to keep up with the 20-year-old. The leading quartet went through the bell&nbsp;in 23:06 and battled it out over the final lap.
Melak unleashed his kick in the final 150m to cross the finish line in 28:33, holding off Kibet by two seconds. Worku completed the podium, finishing third in 28:36 - the same time as fourth-place finisher Takele. Habtom rounded out the top five in 28:43.&nbsp;
Melak made his breakthrough last March when he finished second at the Campaccio race in San Giorgio su Legnano one week before claiming the win at the Cinque Mulini. During the summer season the 22-year-old Ethiopian runner improved his PB to 12:54.22 in the 5000m at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Hengelo, qualifying for the Olympic Games. In the current World Cross Country Tour Gold series, Melak finished third in Seville and second in Venta de Banos.
&ldquo;It was a good competition," he said. "I expected a close race. 
"I want to return next year to win the Cinque Mulini for the third consecutive year. It was perfect preparation for the track season. I am aiming to qualify for the World Championships in Eugene." 
<h2>Gateri wins women's race</h2>
Kenyan runners Zenah Jemutai Yego, Gateri and&nbsp;Lucy Mawia Muli;&nbsp;European U23 cross country champion Nadia Battocletti, Anna Arnaudo and Rebecca Lonedo from Italy; and Klara Lukan from Slovenia took the lead in the early stages of the women's race and covered the first lap in 7:13. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61f6e7a85e2a44f9d55ed758.jpeg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Battocletti dropped out of the race during the second lap, after the halfway mark, when she was running in the leading pack. The Kenyan trio of Gateri, Yego and Muli increased the pace, taking a two-second lead over Lukan, and went through the 4km mark in 13:35.&nbsp;
Gateri broke away from Yego during the final lap and held on to take a five-second win in 19:40. The Cinque Mulini women&rsquo;s race was a repeat of the 3000m final at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, where the now 20-year-old Gateri won the gold medal, beating 19-year-old Yego.
Lukan, who won European U23 silver medals in the 5000m and at cross country last year, finished third in 19:53 ahead of Muli (20:15), becoming the first European runner to reach the top three in the women&rsquo;s race since 2015. 
Last year&rsquo;s European U23 10,000m silver medallist Arnaudo was the first Italian athlete in fifth place in 20:20.
&ldquo;I am very happy," said&nbsp;Gateri. "I realised that I could win the race during the last lap, when I launched my kick.
"I was happy with my world U20 title last year in Nairobi, because it has motivated me to work harder in training."&nbsp;
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics 
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1&nbsp;Teresiah Muthoni Gateri (KEN) 19:40 2 Zenah Jemutai Yego (KEN) 19:45 3 Klara Lukan (SLO) 19:53 4 Lucy Mawia Muli (KEN) 20:15 5 Anna Arnaudo (ITA) 20:20 6 Martina Merlo (ITA) 20:31 7 Giovanna Selva (ITA) 20:39 8 Rebecca Lonedo (ITA) 20:39 9 Federica Zanne (ITA) 21:06 10 Michela Moretton (ITA)&nbsp;21:07
Men 1 Nibret Melak (ETH) 28:33 2 Levy Kibet (KEN) 28:35 3 Tadese Worku (ETH) 28:36 4 Tadese Takele (ETH) 28:36 5 Habtom&nbsp;Samuel (ERI) 28:43 6 Daniel Kinyanjui (KEN) 28:56 7 Oscar Chelimo (UGA) 29:05 8 Samuel Kibet (UGA) 29:05 9 Jean Marie Bukuru (BDI) 29:11 10 Emmanuel Kiplagat (KEN) 29:22

Nibret Melak and Teresiah Muthoni Gateri claimed wins at the 90th edition of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour event.

Melak claims back-to-back wins at Cinque Mulini

Ethiopia&rsquo;s Nibret Melak will be looking to retain his title at the 90th milestone edition of the Cinque Mulini in San Vittore Olona &ndash;&nbsp;&nbsp;the 11th Gold level meeting of this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour &ndash; on Sunday (30).
Melak made a major breakthrough in March 2021 during the top two Italian cross country races when he finished second at the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano behind Jacob Kiplimo and went on to win the Cinque Mulini one week later, beating Leonard Bett. The 22-year-old Ethiopian runner enjoyed a successful track season, setting a 5000m PB of 12:54.22 at the Hengelo Continental Tour Gold meeting. Last autumn he achieved two top-three spots in the World Athletics Cross Country Tour, finishing third at the Cross de Italica in Santiponce near Seville and second in Venta de Banos.
Melak will take on his younger compatriot Tadese Worku, who won the gold medal in the 3000m and silver in the 5000m at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi last August. Two years ago Worku was outsprinted by Leonard Bett in the final lap of the Cinque Mulini and had to settle for second place. This season the 20-year-old finished second at the Cross de Italica in Seville last November and won the Boclassic 10km road race on 31 December. 
Worku, who came to the fore in the U20 race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Aarhus in 2019, clocked 26:56 in the 10km road race in Herzogenaurach last October.
Another Ethiopian rising star in the line-up is Bikila Tadese Takele, who won the silver medal in 3000m steeplechase at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi. Takele improved his PB to 8:09.37 in Hengelo and came close to that time a few days later, when he finished second in 8:10.56 in the Diamond League meeting in Florence.&nbsp;
The Ethiopian athletes will face stiff opposition from 20-year-old Ugandan runner Oscar Chelimo, who won the bronze medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018 and finished third in the individual race and second in the team competition at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships. 
Chelimo, who is the younger brother of Jacob Kiplimo, won the Boclassic race in Bolzano in 2020 and finished fourth in last year&rsquo;s edition of the Cinque Mulini. On the track, Chelimo took fifth place in the 5000m at the 2019 African Games in the 5000m in Rabat and crossed the finish line seventh over the same distance at the World U20 Championships in Tampere in 2018. Uganda will be also represented by Samuel Kibet, who won the silver medal at the African U20 Championships in Abidjan in 2019.
The Cinque Mulini has always lived up to its tradition of serving as a springboard for future athletics stars, who continued their careers by winning global medals at the World Championships and the Olympic Games. The rising stars to watch this year are Kenyan runners Levy Kibet, who won the bronze medal in the 5000m at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, and 17-year-old Daniel Kinyanjui, who finished second in the Kenyan World U20 Trials in Nairobi in the 3000m. Also Eritrean runner Habtom Samuel, who finished third in the 3000m at the 2021 World U20 Championships. Eritrea has not won the men&rsquo;s race at the Cinque Mulini since Zersenay Tadese&rsquo;s triumph in 2008.
The Italian challenge is led by Ahmed Abdelwahed, who clocked the fourth fastest national time in the 3000m steeplechase when clocking 8:12.04 at the Golden Gala in Florence last June, and twin brothers Ala Zoghlami (ninth in the Olympic final in the 3000m steeplechase in 8:18.50 after improving his PB to 8:14.06 in the heats) and Osama Zoghlami, who set his 3000m steeplechase PB by clocking 8:14.29 at the Golden Gala in Florence. 
The Italian contingent is rounded out by Sergiy Polikarpenko, who won the European U20 silver medal in the 10,000m in Grosseto in 2017, and Ahmed Ouhda, who recently set his PB on the road clocking 28:41 at the Valencia 10km Ibercaja race on 9 January. 
<h2>Gateri and&nbsp;Yego go head-to-head</h2>
The women&rsquo;s race will feature a re-match of the 3000m final at last August&rsquo;s World U20 Championships in Nairobi, where Teresiah Muthoni Gateri from Kenya won the gold medal ahead of her compatriot Zenah Jemutai Yego. Gateri and Yego will be aiming to score the first Kenyan women's race win in San Vittore Olona since 2016 when Faith Kipyegon triumphed a few months before winning the first of her two consecutive Olympic 1500m gold medals.
Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia Muli will be gunning for her third top-three spot in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour after finishing first in Soria and second in Alcobendas.&nbsp;
Nadia Battocletti leads a strong Italian contingent. The daughter of former distance runner Giuliano Battocletti won two European U23 gold medals in the 5000m in Tallin last July and in cross country in Fingal-Dublin last December. During a successful 2021 season the 21-year-old Italian star finished seventh in the 5000m at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 14:46.29, just two seconds shy of Roberta Brunet&rsquo;s national record. In her most recent races Battocletti finished third at the Boclassic 5km race in Bolzano on 31 December and sixth at the Campaccio Cross Country on 6 January.
Battocletti will renew her rivalry with Slovenia&rsquo;s Klara Lukan, who won the European U23 silver medals behind the Italian runner in Tallin and Dublin. Lukan won the Milano Cross Country Challenge last December and was beaten by Battocletti by a close margin at the Campaccio.&nbsp;
The Italian line-up also features 10,000m European U23 silver medallist Anna Arnaudo, Michela Moretton and Giovanna Selva, who won the European U23 team gold with Battocletti in Dublin, plus Rebecca Lonedo, Martina Merlo and twin sisters Federica and Giulia Zanne.
The field is rounded out by Ruanda&rsquo;s Clementine Mukandanga, who won the Reggio Emilia marathon in 2:30:16 last December.
The Cinque Mulini has been held every year since 1933, even during the Second World War. Back in the 1930s the course passed through five mills along the Olona river. The race has had to adapt over time and it is now held on a two-kilometre loop which passes through the Cozzi and Meraviglia mills.
A total of 38 Olympic champions have competed in the 90-year history of the Cinque Mulini, which was <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque" target="_blank" rel="noopener">honoured with a World Athletics Heritage Plaque</a> in 2019. The list of Olympic champions who have taken part in the popular Italian race includes Billy Mills, Kipchoge Keino, Lasse Viren, Frank Shorter, Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Miruts Yifter, Said Aouita, Alberto Cova (the last Italian winner in San Vittore Olona in 1986), Gelindo Bordin, Kenenisa Bekele, Stefano Baldini, Eliud Kipchoge, Selemon Barega, Soufiane El Bakkali, Lyudmila Bragina, Maricica Puica, Gabriella Dorio, Derartu Tulu and Faith Kipyegon. Late Norwegian legend Grete Waitz, who won six Cinque Mulini titles, called the Cinque Mulini the best cross country competition in the world.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Ethiopia’s Nibret Melak will be looking to retain his title at the 90th milestone edition of the Cinque Mulini.

Melak takes on Worku at 90th Cinque Mulini

Kenya&rsquo;s Hellen Obiri started her year with a win at the Northern Ireland International Cross Country, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver event, in Dundonald on Saturday (22).
Untroubled throughout, the world cross country champion ran 26:44 to secure a 20-second triumph in the women&rsquo;s 8km race, with Northern Ireland&rsquo;s Hannah Irwin winning the domestic battle behind her to finish runner-up, three seconds ahead of Scotland&rsquo;s Mhairi Maclennan.
&ldquo;It is my first time running cross country here. The course was good, it was challenging, but I am used to doing a lot of cross country. It is a sign of my preparation towards my outdoor season,&rdquo; Obiri told BBC Sport NI.
Looking to the months ahead, the two-time world and Commonwealth 5000m champion added: &ldquo;In 2022 we have a lot of competitions. We have the Commonwealth Games, we have the World Championships and we have some Diamond Leagues and road races. I will talk with my manager and coach to see what is best for me in the 2022 season.&rdquo;
Obiri's win in&nbsp;Dundonald came on the same day that the&nbsp;Kenyan Cross Country Championships took place, with <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/report/kenyan-cross-country-championships-chepkemoi-chebolei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joyce Chepkemoi and Samuel Chebolei claiming the national titles in Eldoret</a>.
Finishing fourth in Dundonald, on the outskirts of Belfast, was England&rsquo;s Eleanor Bolton, while European U20 cross country champion Megan Keith finished fifth for Scotland.
In the men&rsquo;s 10km race it was England&rsquo;s Zak Mahamed who was victorious, as he ran 29:49 to claim a seven-second win ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Iliass Aouani.
Mahamed, Aouani and Scotland&rsquo;s Stuart McCallum had broken away midway through the race, but McCallum dropped back on the penultimate lap, leaving Mahamed and Aouani to battle for the win.
Behind McCallum, who ran 30:03, Hugo Milner finished fourth and Jack Millar fifth.
The 4km women&rsquo;s U20 race was won by Scotland&rsquo;s Hannah Ryding, while victory in the 6km men&rsquo;s U20 race was claimed by England&rsquo;s Sam Mills. 
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women's 8km 1 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 26:44 2&nbsp;Hannah Irwin (GBR) 27:04 3&nbsp;Mhairi Maclennan (GBR) 27:07 4&nbsp;Eleanor Bolton (GBR) 27:21 5 Megan Keith (GBR) 27:25
Men's 10km 1&nbsp;Zak Mahamed (GBR) 29:49 2&nbsp;Iliass Aouani (ITA) 29:56 3&nbsp;Stuart McCallum (GBR) 30:03 4&nbsp;Hugo Milner (GBR)&nbsp;30:14 5 Jack Millar (GBR) 30:26

Hellen Obiri started her year with a win at the Northern Ireland International Cross Country.

Obiri claims cross country win in Dundonald

Kenya's&nbsp;Nicholas Kimeli and&nbsp;Edinah Jebitok captured commanding wins at the 78th Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza &ndash; a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in the Spanish town of Elgoibar on Sunday (9).
Both races were held in&nbsp;non-stop heavy rain, with the&nbsp;women&rsquo;s event setting off at a moderate pace. The opening lap on the track was timed at 1:13, with Uganda&rsquo;s world U20 5000m bronze medallist Prisca Chesang making the most of the pacing duties, closely followed by the rest of the favourites. 
With the clock reading seven minutes, only four women remained in the leading group, with Chesang joined by the Kenyan pair of Beatrice Chebet and Jebitok, plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Senbere Teferi, but the latter fell at a muddy&nbsp;downhill section and lost contact with the leading trio.
Shortly afterwards, 1500m Olympian Jebitok stepped up the pace to build a two-second advantage ahead of Chebet and Chesang after a 7:13 2.1km loop. Surprisingly, Kenya&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech was never a factor and travelled way back off the leaders.
Some 13 minutes into the race, Jebitok put in a decisive surge with a 3:15 kilometre, which built a sizeable margin on her pursuers. Following a frantic 7:00 circuit, the 20-year-old Kenyan had gained a 10-second lead on Chebet, while Chesang was 21 seconds back.
Jebitok extended her advantage over the closing circuit to secure a clear win over Chebet, with 15 seconds separating the two at the finish line. The 18-year-old Chesang kept Teferi at bay to complete a quality top three, 15 seconds behind Chebet but 11 seconds clear of the Ethiopian. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61dafcb9b5071ae3d063626d.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Chepkoech finished a distant eighth, some 1:36 behind the victor, while Great Britain&rsquo;s Kate Holt was the first European athlete home in ninth, just ahead of her compatriot Alexandra Millard.
An ecstatic Jebitok said: "Conditions were tough, but I can't be more satisfied with my victory. I already won in Venta de Banos and ran 30:44 for second in Madrid, so I&rsquo;m extremely happy with my performances this season." 
<h2 align="left">Kimeli prevails over Yihune</h2>
The men&rsquo;s 10.8km contest kicked off with Spain&rsquo;s European indoor 3000m bronze medallist Adel Mechaal taking the early lead. He was closely followed by Ugandan teenager Rodgers Kibet and the rest of the favourites, including Ethiopia&rsquo;s Campaccio winner&nbsp;Addisu&nbsp;Yihune and Kenya&rsquo;s Tokyo 5000m fourth-place finisher Kimeli.
Kibet moved to the front after the second kilometre and began to push hard, his brisk pace followed only by Yihune, Kimeli, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale and Kenya&rsquo;s Amos Serem. Following successive laps of 6:40 and 6:39, first Serem and then Wale lost ground and the race became a three-athlete battle between the front-runner Kibet, Yihune and Kimeli, who had reportedly experienced slight back pain on the eve of the race.
Kibet&rsquo;s relentless pace led to a 6:35 penultimate circuit and the three African aces reached the bell virtually even, much to the delight of the knowledgeable crowd assembled. Some two minutes into the closing lap, the 16-year-old Kibet began to falter as Yihune had found another gear. The last kilometre was thrilling as the Ethiopian built a two-second gap on Kimeli over the toughest section of the course and he seemed a safe bet for the win, but a brave Kimeli finally managed to catch Yihune and released a lethal change of speed over the final 200m to stride home unopposed in 33:47 after a frantic 6:21 closing lap.
Yihune jogged over the final 100m to finish runner-up, six seconds behind Kimeli, while Kibet finished third, 12 seconds adrift of the Ethiopian. In the fight for fourth place, Mechaal pipped a fading Wale to receive a standing applause from the crowd.
The 23-year-old Kimeli, who was running on Spanish soil&nbsp;for the first time, said: &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s race has been one of my hardest ever races because of the mud and the high-calibre field.
"At the Tokyo Olympics I narrowly missed a medal but I&rsquo;m determined to win a medal at either the World Championships in Eugene or the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham."
The Eldoret-based rising 5000m star added: "I now go back to Kenya to continue my training for the Diamond League meetings this summer."
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics 
<h3 align="left">Leading results</h3>
Women (7.6km) 1 Edinah Jebitok&nbsp;(KEN) 26:03 2 Beatrice Chebet (KEN) 26:18 3 Prisca Chesang (UGA) 26:33 4 Senbere Teferi (ETH) 26:44 5 Fantaye Belayneh (ETH) 27:03 6 Tsige Haileslase (ETH) 27:10 7 Esther Chebet (UGA) 27:19 8 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) 27:39 9 Kate Holt (GBR) 28:16 10 Alexandra Millard (GBR) 28:28
Men (10.8km) 1 Nicholas Kimeli (KEN) 33:47 2 Addisu Yihune (ETH) 33:53 3 Rodgers Kibet (UGA) 34:05 4 Adel Mechaal (ESP) 34:49 5 Getnet Wale (ETH) 34:49 6 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 35:04 7 Amos Serem (KEN) 35:19 8 Iliass Aouani (ITA) 35:35 9 Hugo Milner (GBR) 35:42 10 Jose Espana (ESP) 35:49

Kenya's Nicholas Kimeli and Edinah Jebitok captured commanding wins at the 78th Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza.

Kimeli and Jebitok succeed in Elgoibar

Despite struggling with the pandemic's impact, as many events are, the fields for the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza &ndash; a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting &ndash;&nbsp;in the Spanish town of Elgoibar on Sunday (9) are of the usual high calibre.
At a press conference on Wednesday, organiser Zigor Diez announced the names of the athletes in contention at the 78th edition of the event, including Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech,&nbsp;Beatrice Chebet&nbsp;and Nicholas Kimeli. 
<h2>Don&rsquo;t bet against the Beatrices</h2>
One of the standout athletes on show in the women&rsquo;s 7.7km race will be world 3000m steeplechase champion Chepkoech, the world record-holder for the event who finished seventh at the Tokyo Olympics. 
The Kenyan star placed third in&nbsp;Elgoibar three years ago and should make the podium again on Sunday, although the seventh-place finisher at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships has not competed since the Olympic final and there is a question mark over her current form.
Her stiffest opponent might be her compatriot Beatrice Chebet, the world U20 cross country champion. The 21-year-old was the runner-up in 2020 in Elgoibar and has shown great consistency this season, with a second place finish in Atapuerca and respective third spots in Italica last November and Campaccio yesterday. Chebet lowered her lifetime bests to 8:27.49 for 3000m and 14:34.55 for 5000m on the track last season, while Edinah Jebitok, fresh from a fine runner-up finish in Madrid last week timed at 30:44, could complete a Kenyan clean sweep of medals.
Trying to avoid the Kenyan dominance will be the Ethiopian pair of Fantaye Belayneh and Senbere Teferi. The 21-year-old Belayneh is a 14:44.51 5000m performer who placed fourth just behind Chebet at the Campaccio event yesterday, while Teferi is a renowned 5000m specialist who ran 14:15.24 last summer. More recently, she finished fourth at the Italica cross country event. 
Meanwhile, the Ugandan duo of Prisca Chesang and Esther Chebet should also be in the fight for top-five places. Chesang landed 5000m bronze at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi and Chebet finished sixth in Atapuerca and seventh at the Italica meeting last November. 
<h2>Kimeli-Yihune showdown</h2>
The 10.8km men&rsquo;s race is headed by Kenya&rsquo;s Kimeli. The 23-year-old narrowly missed the Olympic 5000m bronze medal in Tokyo and should be the man to beat. The emerging Kimeli, who finished eighth at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, boasts lifetime bests of 12:51.78 for 5000m and 26:58.97 for 10,000m on the track. His last apperance came at a 10km road race in Herzogenaurach where he finished fourth in a PB of 27:22.
Another Tokyo fourth-place finisher in contention will be Ethiopia&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechaser Getnet Wale. The 21-year-old was also fourth at the Doha World Championships and holds an impressive 7:24.98 performance over the 3000m indoors.
Loyal to its custom of signing up promising athletes who later become outstanding distance runners, as was the case for Kenya's&nbsp;respective 2008 and 2019 winners Leonard Komon and Rhonex Kipruto, organisers have also announced two rising stars in Ethiopia&rsquo;s Addisu Yihune and Kenya&rsquo;s Amos Serem. The former was the world&rsquo;s quickest U20 athlete last year thanks to a 12:58.99 clocking, although he had to settle for fourth at the Nairobi World U20 Championships.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Serem grabbed the gold medal in Nairobi in the 3000m steeplechase. The 19-year-old holds a 8:20.26 career best over the distance but he managed that performance at the 1795m altitude of Nairobi. The pair are in top form as they proved at the Campaccio permit yesterday, when Yihune took top spot and Serem finished third. Uganda&rsquo;s 16-year-old Rodgers Kibet, seventh at the Nairobi World U20 Championships over 5000m, completes the African squad.
Some of the finest Spanish cross country specialists will also be on show, led by Nassim Hassaous who was seventh at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin. The 27-year-old is fresh from a third place timed at 28:05 in the San Silvestre Vallecana one week ago. 
He will be joined by Adel Mechaal, Raul Celada and Yago Rojo. Mechaal finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics over 1500m, while Celada came 15th in Dublin last month. More recently, he clocked 28:34 in the aforementioned Madrid New Year&rsquo;s Eve race, where Rojo defeated him in 28:27.
In addition to the elite events, there will be a strong U20 race with representatives from England, Belgium and Portugal in the fight for the Mamo Wolde prize, an award created in 2003 in memory of Ethiopia&rsquo;s legendary two-time Olympic marathon champion. He is fondly remembered in Elgoibar after winning in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968.
In total, 25 world cross country champions and 14 Olympic gold medallists have taken part in the contest over the years. Such is the quality of the event that even greats such as Haile Gebrselassie, Selemon Barega and Linet Masai did not manage to win when they competed here.
On Saturday morning, the World Athletics Heritage Plaque will be displayed. It was <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/list/juan-muguerza-international-cross-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awarded to the event in late 2019</a> in recognition of its historic status and contribution to the sport.
Weather forecasters predict a rainy race day with temperatures ranging between 11-13&deg;C&nbsp;at the time of the event.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

The fields for the Elgoibar Juan Muguerza Cross-Country are of the usual high calibre.

Cross country creme gather in Elgoibar

Dawit Seyaum and Addisu Yihune achieved an Ethiopian double at the 65th edition of the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, the eighth Gold level meeting of this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour, on Thursday (6).
The 2022 edition of the popular Northern Italian race celebrated the 100th anniversary of the local sports club Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese.
In the women&rsquo;s race, Eritrea&rsquo;s Rahel Daniel Ghebreyohannes took the early lead ahead of a seven-women group featuring Ethiopia&rsquo;s Medina Eisa, Kenya&rsquo;s world U20 champion Beatrice Chebet, Seyaum, Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Fantaye Belayneh, Italy&rsquo;s Anna Arnaudo and her compatriot Nadia Battocletti, the European U23 cross country champion. The leading pack went through the 2km mark in 6:38.
Seven runners remained at the front as the pace picked up at 4km. Seyaum changed gear, clocking a split of 2:49 between 4km and 5km. The leading pack was whittled down to five runners at 5km.
Seyaum, Chebet and Daniel Ghebreyohannes broke away with 500 metres to go and battled it out for the win. Seyaum unleashed her final kick to cross the finish line in 18:48, holding off Atapuerca cross country winner Daniel Ghebreyohannes by just one second in a close sprint. Chebet was beaten for the second time in this cross country season by Daniel Ghebreyohannes and had to settle for third place in 18:51 ahead of Belayneh (18:56) and Eisa (19:05).
Battocletti edged her Slovenian rival Klara Lukan to finish sixth in 19:06.
Seyaum claimed a back-to-back win after her recent triumph at the Boclassic 5km road race in Bolzano last Friday.
The men&rsquo;s race saw a big group featuring Kenya&rsquo;s Vincent Kipkurui Too, Emmanuel Korir Kiplagat and Amos Serem, together with Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yihune, Eritrea&rsquo;s Aron Kifle and Italian runners Iliass Aouani, Yohanes Chiappinelli and Eyob Ghebrehiwet Faniel, go through 3km in 8:43.
Too set the pace at the front of an eight-man group, closely followed by Serem, Kiplagat, Kifle, Yihune and Faniel during the third lap. They went through 4km in 11:46 and 5km in 14:30.
Aouani was the first to drop back at 7km and the leading group was whittled down to seven athletes. Kiplagat then moved to the front ahead of six other runners: Serem, Kifle, Faniel, Too, Yihune and Chiappinelli.&nbsp;
The first significant move came at 8km when Yihune, Kiplagat, Too, Serem and Kifle picked up the pace and pulled away from marathon runner Faniel by two seconds. Yihune pushed on at the front and increased his lead during the last lap, going on to cross the finish line in 28:39 with a six-second gap over Kiplagat.
Serem, who won the world U20 gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase in Nairobi last August, won a very close sprint for third place in 28:53, holding off Too. Kifle rounded out the top five in 28:59.
Faniel finished sixth as the first Italian athlete in 29:15, beating European 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Chiappinelli (29:21) and Italian cross country champion Aouani (29:45).
Yihune joined the list of Ethiopian stars who have won the Campaccio race, that includes Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Muktar Edris, Imane Merga and Hagos Gebrhiwet.
Yihune, who will turn 19 in March, finished fourth in the 5000m at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi and clocked a PB of 12:58.99 over this distance in Hengelo last June.
&ldquo;I felt confident during the race that I could win, as I knew that I was well prepared,&rdquo; said Yihune. &ldquo;I train with Selemon Barega. He is my role model.&rdquo;
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics 
<h3>Leading results&nbsp;</h3>
Women 1 Dawit Seyaum (ETH) 18:48 2 Rahel Daniel Ghebreyohannes (ERI) 18:49 3 Beatrice Chebet (KEN) 18:51 4 Fantaye Belayneh (ETH) 18:56 5 Medina Eisa (ETH) 19:05 6 Nadia Battocletti (ITA) 19:06 7 Klara Lukan (SLO) 19:06 8 Lucy Mawia (KEN) 19:15 9 Anna Arnaudo (ITA) 19:41 10 Eva Cherono (KEN) 19:58
Men 1 Addisu Yihune (ETH) 28:39 2 Emmanuel Korir Kiplagat (KEN) 28:45 3 Amos Serem (KEN) 28:53 4 Vincent Kipkurui Too (KEN) 28:53 5 Aron Kifle (ERI) 28:59 6 Eyob Ghebrehiwet Faniel (ITA) 29:15 7 Yohanes Chiappinelli (ITA) 29:21 8 Iliass Aouani (Italy) 29:45 9 Mohamed Jihnaoui (TUN) 29:49 10 Luca Alfieri (ITA) 29:53
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7166151?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a>

Dawit Seyaum and Addisu Yihune achieved an Ethiopian double at the 65th edition of the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano.

Seyaum and Yihune claim Campaccio crowns

Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Seyaum will clash with Kenya&rsquo;s Beatrice Chebet at the 65th edition of Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano on Thursday (6), the eighth Gold level meeting of this season&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Tour.
Seyaum is looking to continue her impressive period of form after winning the Boclassic 5km road race in Bolzano with a course record of 15:22. In Lille seven weeks prior, the 1500m specialist clocked 14:39 for 5km, one of the fastest performances in history.
Chebet will be aiming to win her first World Cross Country Tour Gold race of the season after finishing second in Atapuerca and third at the Cross Italica in Seville. The 21-year-old won the world U20 5000m title in Tampere in 2018 and the world U20 cross-country title in Aarhus in 2019. Last year she beat a high-quality field to win the 3000m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha in 8:27.49.
Chebet will renew her rivalry with Eritrea&rsquo;s Rahel Ghebreyohannes Daniel, who won in Atapuerca by one second.
The top Italian athlete in the field is Nadia Battocletti, who won the European U23 cross-country title in Dublin last month. The 21-year-old crowned a successful 2021 campaign in which she finished seventh in the Olympic 5000m final in 14:46.29, just two seconds shy of the Italian record. Last week Battocletti finished third at the Boclassic 5km race behind Seyaum and Norah Jeruto.
Kenya&rsquo;s Eva Cherono and Lucy Mawia Muli, winners of the World Cross Country Tour Gold races in Alcobendas and Soria respectively, should also be in contention, as should Ethiopia&rsquo;s Belayneh Pantaye, who clocked 14:44.51 for 5000m last year.
Others in the field include Slovenia&rsquo;s Klara Lukan, Poland&rsquo;s European U23 steeplechase silver medallist Kinga Krolik, Italy&rsquo;s European U23 10,000m silver medallist Anna Arnaudo and Giovanna Selva.
Two months after finishing third at the New York City marathon, Italian marathon record-holder Eyob Faniel will start his 2022 campaign as one of the favourites in the men&rsquo;s race.
Faniel, who became the first Italian runner to reach the New York Marathon podium since Stefano Baldini in 1997, broke Baldini&rsquo;s Italian record in Seville last year, clocking 2:07:19. He finished fourth at the 2021 edition of Campaccio and set an Italian half marathon record of 1:00:07 in Ampugnano last year.
The other top Italian athlete in the field is Iliass Aouani, a national champion at cross country, 10,000m and 10km on the roads.
But both Italians will have to be at their best to beat Eritrea&rsquo;s Aaron Kifle, who earned bronze at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships and finished fourth at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus.
Others to look out for include Kenya&rsquo;s world U20 steeplechase champion Amos Serem, World U20 Championships 5000m fourth-place finisher Yehune Addisu of Ethiopia, Eritrea&rsquo;s Awet Habte, European steeplechase bronze medallist Yohannes Chiappinelli, emerging Italian runner Dario De Caro, Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui from Tunisia, and Kenyan duo Vincent Kipkurui Too and Emmanuel Kipkorir Kiplagat.
The list of past Campaccio winners includes the likes of Grete Waitz (1982), Haile Gebrselassie (1994), Paul Tergat (1997), Paula Radcliffe (2002), Kenenisa Bekele (2002 and 2004), Sergiy Lebid (2003 and 2005), Eliud Kipchoge (2009), Muktar Edris (2013 and 2017), Hellen Obiri (2017) and Jacob Kiplimo (2021).
The 2022 edition of the famous Italian race will honour the memory of 1973 world cross-country champion Paola Pigni, who died last June, and Agnes Tirop, who finished third in 2017 and second in 2018 in San Giorgio su Legnano and tragically died last October.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum will clash with Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet 

Seyaum takes on Chebet at Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano

Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor and Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey are the first star names confirmed for the Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour, to be held in Eldoret on 12 February.
The announcement was made at the launch of the&nbsp;World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, with&nbsp;Athletics Kenya and event organiser&nbsp;Barnaba Korir&nbsp;adding that further athletes will be confirmed in the coming days.
Three-time world cross country champion&nbsp;Kamworor, who was present during the launch of the event, said that he is looking forward to using it to test his endurance and speed against some of the world&rsquo;s best cross country runners.
With the 29-year-old &ndash; who won his two senior world cross country titles in 2015 and 2017 following the U20 title he claimed in 2011 &ndash; already confirmed for the event, Kenyan fans are assured of a formidable opponent for other big names that could be added to the entry list from the neighbouring countries of Uganda and Ethiopia.
In the women's event, the confirmation of two-time world U20 cross country champion Gidey, who set a world half marathon record of 1:02:52 in Valencia in October, sets the scene for an amazing race next month. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61d4a6f9a76e28c204268168.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />(&copy; Roger Sedres)
 Some of the Kenyan athletes to join the elite fields will continue to be selected and invited following upcoming cross country races in Kenya that will culminate with the national championships to be held at the same venue on 22 January.
The major&nbsp;World Athletics Cross Country Tour races set to take place in the picturesque Lobo Village in Kapseret near Eldoret town will be the senior men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 10km events that will be held in the afternoon. The morning session will include U20 races as part of the programme.
The event's technical director, Ibrahim Hussein, explained that the course will feature hay, logs, hills and water sprays to help make it an exciting cross country event.&nbsp; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61d4a5e21549dc70c8fc4ffc.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />(&copy; Justin Lagat)
 Dignitaries present during the launch included Kenya&rsquo;s Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Heritage and Culture, Dr. Amina Mohamed, together with&nbsp;Athletics Kenya President Major Jackson Tuwei, Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago and world marathon record-holder Eliud Kipchoge.
As well as&nbsp;Kipchoge and&nbsp;Kamworor, other&nbsp;prominent athletes in attendance included Faith Kipyegon, Moses Tanui, Jonathan Korir, Alice Aprot, Geoffrey Mutai, Leonard Komon and Rhonex Kipruto.
Also present were family representatives of the late Agnes Tirop, who expressed gratitude to the Kenyan athletics fraternity for being with them during the hard times following <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/agnes-tirop-obituary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the death of their daughter</a>, and for the decision to name the cross country event in memory of her.
In line with that, following Tirop's&nbsp;alleged murder,&nbsp;much of the speeches focused on the fight to ensure that no more such deaths would occur in the Kenyan athletic community.
&ldquo;It is sad to be naming races after young runners who would still be running them,&rdquo; said two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge.
&ldquo;It would be understandable if it were an accident or an illness,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;If we want to change Kenya, we don&rsquo;t have to be leaders holding any office, because if we don&rsquo;t hold any offices, we have families to lead. We need to have values that reflect us.&rdquo;
To honour Tirop, the Athletics Kenya president asked those present to stand and observe a minute of silence. He said that despite some of the great moments that 2021 offered, Tirop&rsquo;s death was part of the darkest times, but it was an eye-opener in some way.
&ldquo;We have already saved two women so far who were in a similar situation to Agnes, and are now in the process of finalising and working on the report we gathered from the consultative meetings with athletes across the country,&rdquo; Tuwei said.
Athletics Kenya&rsquo;s vice president, Paul Mutwii, expressed joy at Kenya&rsquo;s opportunity to host the World Athletics Cross Country Tour event for the first time, and said that it was &ldquo;overdue&rdquo; given the success that Kenya has had in this discipline on the world stage.
Both the Cabinet Secretary for Sports and the County Governor of Uasin Gishu expressed their passion for working with and supporting the federation.
Justin Lagat for World Athletics

Geoffrey Kamworor and Letesenbet Gidey are the first star names confirmed for the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event.

Kamworor and Gidey confirmed for Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour

As the year draws to a close, we look back at the key moments of 2021 in each area of the sport.
The series continues with a review of cross country action and will be followed over the coming days by reviews of other event groups. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s cross country</h2>
<h3>Current World Athletics Cross Country Tour standings</h3>
<table style="border: 1px solid #999; width: 90%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Lucy Mawia 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3695 points (Soria, Atapuerca and Alcobendas)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Likina Amebaw 🇪🇹 ETH</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">3640 points (Soria, Atapuerca and Venta de Banos)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">3</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Francine Niyomukunzi 🇧🇮 BDI</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3610 points (Amorebieta-Etxano, Soria and Atapuerca)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">4</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Rosalia Tarraga 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">3485 points (Amorebieta-Etxano, Soria and Alcobendas)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">5</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Lidia Campo 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3480 points (Amorebieta-Etxano, Soria and Alcobendas)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-tour/standings/2022/women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full standings</a> 
<h3>World rankings</h3>
<table style="border: 1px solid #999; width: 80%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Likina Amebaw 🇪🇹 ETH</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1253</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Lucy Mawia 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">1231</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">3</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Dolshi Tesfu 🇪🇷 ERI</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1226</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">4</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Blanca Fernandez 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">1206</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">5</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Francine Niyomukunzi 🇧🇮 BDI</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1203</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/cross-country/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-12-21&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full rankings</a> 
<h3>Major winners</h3>
European: Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal 🇳🇴 NOR NCAA: Whittni Orton 🇺🇸 USA All other major international cross-country championships did not take place in 2021 
<h3>Season at a glance</h3>
In the first few months of 2021, some of the big traditional international cross-country events found space on the calendar after the pandemic forced their postponement.
Ethiopia's Tsehay Gemechu was the stand-out performer at two of those meets. The 2019 World Championships 5000m fourth-place finisher triumphed at the Campaccio meeting in March, beating Kenya's Lilian Rengeruk, and was victorious again a week later at the Cinque Mulini. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6060b762fe2281a76127b67a.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Her compatriot Likina Ameba made it an Ethiopian triple when winning in Albufeira in mid-Aprll, beating a largely Spanish and Portuguese field.
Following the outdoor track and field season, the current revamped and renamed World Athletics Cross Country Tour kicked off in September, with the first top-tier Gold level meeting being the Cardiff Cross Challenge on 16 October.
The women&rsquo;s winner in Cardiff was Britain&rsquo;s Charlotte Arter and from there the Tour moved on to Spain &ndash; with wins shared between Kenya&rsquo;s Lucy Mawia, Norah Jeruto and Edinah Jebitok; Eritrea&rsquo;s Rahel Daniel and Dolshi Tesfu; and Burundi's Francine Niyomukunzi &ndash; and the USA, where Allie Buchalski triumphed. 
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u_H1Y3S207s" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 With the wins widely shared, it&rsquo;s Amebaw who leads the world rankings ahead of&nbsp;Mawia, with her consistency including second place finishes behind Mawia in Soria and&nbsp;Jebitok in&nbsp;Venta de Banos. 
In the World Cross Country Tour standings, the top two switch as&nbsp;Amebaw is in top spot ahead of Mawia, with&nbsp;Amorebieta winner Niyomukunzi in third.
Europe was the only area to hold a continental championships, with Norway&rsquo;s Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal claiming the crown ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s Meraf Bahta and Germany&rsquo;s Alina Reh.&nbsp; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61b64186813f4d4cbea5b54f.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> 
The U23 title was won by Italy&rsquo;s Nadia Battocletti, while Britain&rsquo;s Megan Keith won the U20 race.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h2>Men&rsquo;s cross country</h2>
<h3>Current World Athletics Cross Country Tour standings</h3>
<table style="border: 1px solid #999; width: 90%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Rodrigue Kwizera 🇧🇮 BDI</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3820 points (Soria, Atapuerca and Seville)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Thomas Ayeko 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">3720 points (Soria, Atapuerca and Alcobendas)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">3</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Joel Ayeko 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3700 points (Amorebieta-Etxano, Soria and Atapuerca)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">4</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Abdessamad Oukhelfen 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">3590 points (San Sebastian, Atapuerca and Alcobendas)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">5</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Yemane Haileselassie 🇪🇷 ERI</td>
<td style="width: 55%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">3570 points (Amorebieta-Etxano, Soria and Atapuerca)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-tour/standings/2022/men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full standings</a> 
<h3>World rankings</h3>
<table style="border: 1px solid #999; width: 80%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Rodrigue Kwizera 🇧🇮 BDI</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1280</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Thomas Ayeko 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">1240</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">3</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Joel Ayeko 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1233</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd; padding-left: 5px;">4</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">Abdessamad Oukhelfen 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #ddd;">1216</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee; padding-left: 5px;">5</td>
<td style="width: 50%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">Carlos Mayo 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 35%; height: 22px; background-color: #eee;">1215</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/cross-country/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-12-21&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full rankings</a> 
<h3>Major winners</h3>
European: Jakob Ingebrigtsen 🇳🇴 NOR NCAA: Conner Mantz 🇺🇸 USA All other major international cross-country championships did not take place in 2021 
<h3>Season at a glance</h3>
In the first big international cross-country race of the year, world half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo claimed top honours at the Campaccio meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano.
The Ugandan finished three seconds ahead of Ethiopia's Nibret Melak while Uganda's Oscar Chelimo was a further three seconds back in third.
Just one week later, Melak moved up a place on the podium to take the victory at the Cinque Mulini in a close finish ahead of Kenya's Leonard Bett and world 5000m champion Muktar Edris. The abbreviated Cross Country Permit series ended in mid April at the Almond Blossom Cross Country in Albufeira, where Burundi's Thierry Ndikumwenayo took a comfortable victory.
While the women&rsquo;s season has remained quite open, one athlete has dominated the men&rsquo;s side of the 2021-2022 World Cross Country Tour.
Burundi's Rodrigue Kwizera has claimed Gold level wins in Soria, Seville and Venta de Banos this year, while he was second in Atapuerca and crossed the finish line first in Alcobendas but was later disqualified for not wearing the vest of his Spanish club. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/617edcd4840620ef0b218f98.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The series of Gold meetings started with a win for Britain&rsquo;s Hugo Milner in Cardiff, while Eritrea&rsquo;s Awet Habte triumphed in Amorebieta and his compatriot Aron Kifle took the title in Atapuerca. Spain's Abdessamad Oukhelfen claimed a win on home soil following Kwizera&rsquo;s disqualification in Alcobendas and there was another home victory for Dillon Maggard at the Cross Champs at Mt.SAC in Walnut.
Kwizera leads both the world rankings and&nbsp;Country Tour standings ahead of Uganda's&nbsp;Thomas and Joel Ayeko, and Spain's&nbsp;Abdessamad Oukhelfen.
At the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Norway&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen switched his success from the track to the country, winning the senior title ahead of Turkey&rsquo;s Aras Kaya and France&rsquo;s Jimmy Gressier. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61b634e231686ea64d0fbd99.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The U23 crown was claimed by Britain&rsquo;s Charles Hicks, while Denmark&rsquo;s Axel Vang Christensen got U20 gold.
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