Agnes Ngetich in action at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst
‘We have to bring sports to people, not wait for people to come to sports’
A lot has happened since Agnes Ngetich stood on the podium at the last edition of the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
On that occasion, in Bathurst, the Kenyan took individual bronze in the senior women’s race, helping her country to secure the team gold medal.
She went on to set track PBs of 8:32.62 for 3000m, 14:36.70 for 5000m and 31:34.83 for 10,000m, the latter when finishing sixth at the World Championships in Budapest.
But it’s on the roads where Ngetich made the biggest breakthrough.
In Brasov in September, she clocked 29:24 for 10km, which would have broken the women-only world record, but the course was later found to be marginally too short. But Ngetich showed she was capable of producing that kind of performance two months later in Lille, where she clocked 29:26.
She wasn’t finished there, though. Last month in Valencia, she smashed the world 10km record with a stunning 28:46 clocking, having passed through the 5km mark in an equal world record of 14:13.
Having set the tone for her 2024 campaign, Ngetich has big hopes for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Belgrade 24.
Approaching the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, what are your expectations and aims for the race?
My hope is to make it safely through the Kenyan Trials for the World Cross Country Championships. Once I make it to Belgrade, I will do my best to improve on the bronze medal I won in Bathurst last year.
Were you happy with your 2023 season?
It was a tough year overall. It started on a high note with a medal in Bathurst. I was expecting a top-five finish, but I thought making the podium was possible, so I am glad I made it.
After making the team to contest 10,000m at the World Championships in Budapest, I was a bit disappointed with the performance. I suffered from very painful menstrual camping the day before the 10,000m final and felt like I had a lack of energy.
This was followed by two heartbreaks on the road: the women-only world 5km and 10km records I set in Brasov were not ratified due to the course being 25 metres short, then in the Lille 10km I faced unfavourable weather.
After training for a 29-low run, and running 29:24 alone in Brasov and 29:26 in windy and cold Lille, I knew I had a world record in me, so the 10km in Valencia in January was very important.
What’s your plan for the rest of 2024 and what’s the ultimate goal this year?
I’m taking things one step at the time. My first hope is to qualify for the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade this March and to run well there. We have a long season ahead of us because it’s an Olympic year.
How long have you been training for?
Once I graduated from high school, I moved from Kamwosor to Iten and started training full-time in 2022. I believe that my time is yet to come, once the talent and hard work come together.
How would you describe being an athlete in Kenya?
Young and developing athletes in Kenya face enormous challenges: nutrition, housing, training, sports equipment, medical, etc. So many talented athletes don’t make it due to the difficult conditions, but I am blessed to have had support from Ikaika Sports (her management) and Adidas Running since 2016, while still in school. I was patient, focused on school and running as much as I could under the circumstances and tried not to rush anything.
I’m also grateful to be associated with Tirop’s Angels, an organisation founded by Kenyan athletes and the late Agnes Jebet Tirop's family, standing in unity against gender-based violence. Our hope is that through joint efforts we can make a path somewhat easier for the next generation.
What do you think needs to be done to further raise the profile of athletics?
We need to take the sport to the people and not wait for the people to come to the sport. Sport should be accessible, fun, inspiring, and community driven.
What gives you the most happiness in athletics?
I find happiness in training, in camaraderie with teammates, in jokes during ice-baths, sitting in the sun while feeling broken and tired from training or after a big meal. This is where there is the most beauty for me, with results coming after period of challenge, growth and problem-solving.
