Kamworor, Obiri lead Kenya’s charge in Denmark

History beckons for Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor when he seeks to retain his World Cross Country title against a strong field featuring his compatriots at the landmark Moesgaard Museum grounds in Aarhus, Denmark, from 1pm on Saturday.

At the same time, a bruising battle beckons when World and Commonwealth 5,000 metres champion Hellen Obiri teams up with 3,000m steeplechase world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech to take on opponents in senior women’s race. Kenya will be targeting an unprecedented seventh individual victory and a sixth team title in the past seven editions.

Kamworor is hoping to take a step closer to World Cross Country legends John Ngugi, Paul Tergat and Kenenisa Bekele by winning the diadem more than three times. Ngugi and Tergat, all from Kenya, have each won the championships five times, with Ethiopia’s Bekele winning it six times.

Whereas Ngugi, Tergat and Bekele won their titles when the championship was an annual event, Kamworor has bagged two victories (in 2015 in Guiyang, China and in 2017 in Kampala) when the event went biennial.

Christened ‘Man of All Surfaces’ due to his mastery of cross-country, track and road running, Kamworor, the World Half Marathon champion and 2015 World 10,000m silver medallist, will team up in senior men’s race with experienced 2011 World Country silver medallist Paul Tanui and 19-year-old World Under-20 10,000m champion Rhonex Kipruto.

Kipruto was the talk of road racing last year when he came within two seconds from breaking the 10km road world record held by fellow Kenyan Leonard Komon, gliding to victory in 26 minutes and 46 seconds in Prague, Czech Republic.

Amos Kirui, winner of Kenyan trials who claimed bronze in steeplechase at 2018 Commonwealth Games, and gold at the 2016 World Under-20 Championships, and 2017 World Cross Country Under-20 bronze medallist Richard Kimunyan make the rich Team Kenya squad.

Despite finishing fifth in the Kenyan trials, reigning World Cross country champion Kamworor is in excellent shape and is the man to beat in Aarhus. The Kenyans face traditional rivals from Ethiopia and Uganda, who are out to halt Kenya’s charge to a fourth straight men’s title. USA should present a strong threat, what with five former Kenyans in their squad.

Uganda are yet to win the men’s title, Imane Merga last won it for Ethiopia in 2011 while Craig Virgin is the last American to have won the event in 1980 and 81 respectively. East Africa has dominated the men’s event since 2002 when Bekele started his reign on Dublin, and Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese took over with victory in 2007 in Mombasa before Kamworor’s exploits in 2017 in Kampala.

Ethiopian youngster Selemon Barega, Bonsa Dida, who finished 10th in 2017 edition in Kampala and surprise Ethiopian trials winner Mogos Tuemay will lead the battle against the Kenyans. The Ethiopians, who have won the team title in the last three editions, will be out to also get individual titles Saturday.

Commonwealth 10,000m and 5,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei would like to quickly forget the 2017 heartbreak when he failed to shine at home.

Cheptegei led the race till midway in the last lap before fading to 30th. Cheptengei teams up with the 2017 World Cross Country Under-20 champion Jacob Kiplimo.

Americans will be led by red-hot Shadrack Kipchirchir, Leonard Korir and Stanley Kebenei as Eritrea and Burundi are likely to be close up. Australia, Great Britain and Japan look also to be the best chances of a non-African team pushing into the top six.

Kenya Under-20 team has national champion Samuel Chebolei, Commonwealth Youth Games 3000m champion Edwin Kiplangat Bett who finished eighth in the Under-20 men’s race two years ago in Kampala, World Under-20 steeplechase silver medallist Leonard Bett, and Cleophas Kandie.

In senior women’s race, Kenyan women made history in 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, staging a clean sweep of medals as well as the first six places. Irene Cheptai, who led the chase, will not compete today and that duty has fallen on the shoulders of Obiri, the 2016 Olympics 5,000m silver medallist and Chepkoech. Both will compete in the global event for the first time.

Obiri won the Kenya Defence Forces Championships and ruled the National Cross Country Championships in Eldoret last month.

Before that, Obiri clocked 29 minutes and 59 seconds in 10km at the end of December before winning the IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting in Elgoibar in January.

Obiri is aiming to become the first woman to win senior world titles indoors (she won 3,000m in 2012), outdoors (she won 5,000m in 2017) and in cross country.

The last time Kenya failed to produce an individual champion was in 2008 when world 5,000m record-holder Tirunesh Dibaba took her fourth senior title.