Agnes Ngetich receives her gold medal at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (© World Athletics 
Sergio Mateo Maria)
On a humid Saturday morning in Tallahassee, the kind that clings to your skin and leaves you out of breath, Agnes Ngetich finally stopped chasing.
She had been on the podium before – a bronze medal in Bathurst in 2023, fourth place in Belgrade in 2024. Always in the mix, but never quite at the top. Until 10 January, when she crossed the finish line at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26, claiming her first global gold.
“I’ve been fighting for an individual gold medal for a long time,” Ngetich said just minutes after the race, her voice steady but tinged with relief. “I was third in Australia, fourth in Belgrade. Most of the times I was there, but not at the very top. I didn’t give up and today I’m so happy, I’m so grateful.”
Agnes Ngetich celebrates her win at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (© World Athletics 
Morgan Tencza)
The Tallahassee course demanded more than speed and after a controlled opening lap, Ngetich sensed hesitation in the pack.
“I could feel it was a little bit slow,” she said. “I was like, let me try to push, at least to see if the group can go.”
No one followed, so she went alone into the humidity, over long stretches of grass and dirt, over the man-made obstacles that drained the legs and tested the mind.
“The obstacles were tough,” she admitted. “First lap you feel strong. Second lap, you’re going down. Jumping over those things was difficult.”
By the finish, the margin was decisive: 42 seconds. She had not just won, she had dominated.
The responsibility on her shoulders had been immense. With Kenya chasing a 10th consecutive individual women’s title and two-time champion Beatrice Chebet absent, all eyes were on her.
“All the weight came to me,” Ngetich said. “I was like, if the title was in Kenya, it has to stay in Kenya, I have to fight for it. I didn’t want to lose, because people were looking up to me.”
Agnes Ngetich in action at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (© World Athletics Sergio Mateo Maria)
And standing just off the course, watching every step, was the person who had guided her through the pressure: her coach, Ruth Jepchumba Bundotich. Recently named World Athletics Woman of the Year, Bundotich was recognised for her leadership and for building a supportive ecosystem that nurtures women and young athletes in Kenya – the very environment that allowed Ngetich to thrive.
“My coach never gave up on me,” Ngetich said, eyes lighting up. “Most of the time she’s been motivating me. Even today, she was like, ‘Don’t panic. Just go. Be yourself.’”
It’s a bond forged through patience and belief, built across years of near misses and incremental progress. Ngetich’s career has been a study in perseverance: a breakthrough bronze in Bathurst, the frustration of fourth in Belgrade and in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, and now, finally, the crowning achievement of a world gold medal. Even her world record over 10km on the road, an extraordinary accomplishment, could not replace the significance of this cross-country title.
“This one is special,” she said softly. “Records are meant to be broken. Maybe tomorrow, maybe any time. But to be a world champion, that stays. It’s always there.”
After the race, Ngetich returned repeatedly to the people who had carried her through the pressure. “My family was there for me,” she said. “My teammates. My coach. They were all like, ‘Don’t fear anyone.’”
Agnes Ngetich at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (© World Athletics Morgan Tencza)
For now, there are no long-term plans for the rest of 2026. “This was just opening the season,” she smiled. “When I go back home, I’ll sit with my coach and see how it goes.” Then she laughed, finally light. “I didn’t go for Christmas. I said if I get a medal, I’ll go for Christmas, so this is my Christmas present.”
On a course that demanded strength, patience and courage, Ngetich didn’t just win a race, she showed that she possesses all three attributes. Supported by a coach who helped build the path beneath her feet, she claimed what she had been running toward all along: her place among the world champions.
Ainhoa Serrano for World Athletics
