Athletics stars upbeat as Eldoret gets ready for world cross trials

Robert Kiprop celebrates after winning 10km senior men during AK second leg of Cross Country Champions race in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County. [File, Standard] The stage is set for a thrilling national trial for the 2026 World Cross Country Championships in Eldoret on Saturday, and stars are getting ready to make the Kenyan team. For many top athletics guns, the training is over, and the focus is on the 2026 National Cross Country Championships as they battle for top honours. Athletes who competed in the 2025 National Cross Country show in February, which was also staged at the Eldoret Sports Club, are facing off once again in the race happening in the cathedral of distance racing. On Thursday, athletes who entered for the Eldoret contest said they were aiming for tickets to the 2026 World Cross Country Championships set for Tallahassee, Florida (USA) on January 10. Traditionally, making the Kenyan cast for the World Cross Country Championships has been in the mould of blistering contests. Former African 5000m champion Robert Kiprop, who will be representing the National Police Service in the showdown, was yesterday upbeat of a stellar show in Eldoret. Kiprop, who had cruised to a hard-fought victory at the Uasin Gishu half marathon on August 10, said he had concluded his training alongside the police squad in Iten. His last international assignment was the pacing duty at the Berlin Marathon, where he helped Sabastian Sawe clinch victory on September 21. But before then, Kiprop was a dominant figure at the Kapsokwony Cross Country meet earlier in September before later competing in the police championship. He hopes the much work he has done to improve his endurance and speed will propel him to Team Kenya to Florida. "I hope to do my best at the national cross country championships, which will also serve as the national trials. My target is to make the team," Kiprop told Standard Sport from Iten. The 2019 African 5000m champion placed 9th at the 2025 National Cross Country Championships in Eldoret in February, and he hopes to improve in performance tomorrow. "I wish that any of us from the police team qualifies to represent the country because we have trained hard," said Kiprop. On Saturday, he expects to compete alongside many other stars from the police, among them the reigning national champion Daniel Ebenyo, who is also a world 10,000m silver medallist, as well as Kiplimo Naibei. With big names such as Dehli Half Marathon champion Alex Matata and a strong team of women such as 2010 world junior cross country champion Mercy Cherono and Sandrafelis Chebet among others, in the entry list, the police squad is primed for brilliance as they face counterparts from the Athletics Kenya (AK) regions and other affiliates, including Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Prisons Service and Kenya Wildlife Service. Also competing at the national trials are youngsters who will be praying to make the team to Florida and write history before transitioning to the senior ranks. One such athlete is World Under-20 5000m champion Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi from the North Rift. Alamisi's dream of representing Kenya at the Tokyo World Championships, which ended on September 21, was crushed after he failed to qualify at the national trials. He said yesterday that he had adequate time to prepare for the national cross country contest and to make his last international race as a junior athlete. "From the training, I am confident that I will make the team to the World Cross Country Championships in the USA. I have completed my training in Iten and my training since July has been intense. I am aiming for the top six in Eldoret," Alamisi said.

Athletics stars upbeat as Eldoret gets ready for world cross trials

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Athletics stars upbeat as Eldoret gets ready for world cross trials

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