Stage set for Kenyan XC Champs / IAAF Permit Meeting – PREVIEW

Nairobi, Kenya – News filtering through Kenya’s northern borders will no doubt spur inspired performances at Saturday’s national cross country championships (21) at Nairobi’s well manicured Ngong Racecourse.

The KCB Nairobi Cross which acts as the national trials is an IAAF Cross Country permit meeting.

That Ethiopia’s pocket rocket, Kenenisa Bekele, through injury appears unlikely to defend his senior men’s title at next month’s 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan, is music to the ears of Kenyan runners who will be making yet another attempt at reclaiming the gold in the 12-kilometre race last won by five-times World champion Paul Tergat 10-years-ago in Belfast.

Further news that Tirunesh Dibaba is also unlikely again because of injury to make her defence of the senior women’s title will also uplift the hopes of Ethiopia’s neighbours and distance running arch-rivals at Saturday’s national championships that will also act as the selection platform for the Kenyan team to the 28 March global championships in the Jordanian capital.

Despite winning the women’s short course four-times through Edith Masai (three times) and Jackline Maranga, Kenya has won the senior women’s gold medal for the long course, now the only existing distance for senior women, just once in the history of the World Cross Country Championhips which date back to 1973 through Hellen Chepng’eno (Budapest, 1994). Although in Lornah Kiplagat, the country also gave birth to the 2007 champion who, however, runs in the orange Dutch singlet.

Foreign talent

Saturday’s championships triple up as an IAAF Permit Meeting with a legion of 27 foreign athletes joining the Kenyans, key among them a dozen Ugandans led by World Junior Championships 3000 Steeplechase silver medallist, Benjamin Kiplagat, who has been drawn in the blue riband senior men’s race.