• The national cross-country meet held at the Kenya Prisons Staff Training College, Ruiru, was part of Athletics Kenya (AK) selection for a team to the global event slated for March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.
• The World Cross country champion Beatrice Chebet found it hard to keep up with the pace placing fourth in a time of 31:59.7.
Image: HANDOUT
World Half Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe will be seeking to win. the World Cross Country Championship title after a dominant display at national trials on Saturday in Ruiru.
The national cross-country meet held at the Kenya Prisons Staff Training College, Ruiru, was part of Athletics Kenya (AK) selection for a team to the global event slated for March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Sawe cut the tape in 28:38.3 to take the top spot in the senior men's 10km race.
He was followed by Samuel Chebolei who clocked 28:38.9 with Gideon Rono completing the top three places in 28:41.9.
"My aim now after making it to the world cross team is to go for the title. I want to add a world cross title to my collection,” Sawe said after the race.
Sawe further noted that he would train hard before the Serbia event to fend off the strong Ugandan contingent who pose a threat to Team Kenya.
“Now I am going to train hard before the World Cross Country meet. It is going to be a tough race because Ugandans are worthy opponents. But with teamwork and enough training, I am sure to pull off a win,” he stated.
Sawe started off the race slow holding the top four positions before eventually taking off in the final Kilometers to pull off a magnificent win.
This according to him was all part of his strategy. “Cross country is not an easy race. I had to take it easy in the opening stages. I knew the position I had taken was good for me and I waited until the last minutes to make my move and it went in my favour."
In the 2023 championships held in Bathurst, Australia, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo clocked 29:17 to clinch the title. Berihu Aregawi settled for silver clocking 29:26 whereas Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda sealed the podium finish with 29:37.
Coming into Saturday’s race, Sawe stated that he expected to pull off a win owing to the level of training he has been undergoing.
“Before today's race, I had prepared myself well both physically and mentally. I came in today's race confident of winning,” Sawe quipped.
The 29-year-old had before the race won the Heerenberg, Netherlands, 15km road race title in December 2023, clocking 42:35.
On October 2023, Sawe clocked 59:10 to clinch the World Half Marathon title in Riga, Latvia after his compatriot Daniel Simiu waved him on to go and win the title.
2023 World Cross Country bronze medallist Agnes Ngetich stamped a foot of authority in the women's race after she clocked 31:50.9.
2019 Africa U20 silver medallist in the 3,000m Immaculate Anyango placed second in 31:53.1 with 2013 World Youth 3,000m champion, Lilian Kasait settling for third after clocking 31:56.3.
The World Cross country champion Beatrice Chebet found it hard to keep up with the pace placing fourth in a time of 31:59.7.
Ngetich was quick to lay out her ambitions of securing a gold medal in the 10,000m at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
“This year I am targeting a gold medal in the 10,000m at the upcoming Olympics. I also want a podium finish in Serbia,” she stated
The 23-year-old praised the opponents, stating that being able to pull off the win was through pure determination.
“The race was highly competitive. There were some elite runners like Anyango, Beatrice, and Kasait who are very strong runners so I had to fight for that top spot,” she stated
Elsewhere, Samuel Kibathi won the men’s U20 race clocking 22:37.7 followed by Charles Rotich (22:38.9) and Johana Erot (22:44.4).
Virginia Nyambura used her rich experience to outrun the strong field in the women’s 2km run, clocking 6:15.7.
Mercy Wanjiru came second in 6:17.9 while Chepkirui Purity settled for third after clocking 6:17.9.
Reynold Cheruiyot won the men’s 2km run in 5:31.8 while Emmanuel wanyonyi came second in 5:33.3. Kyumbe Munguti placed third in 5:34.9.