Purity Chepkirui anchors Kenya to the mixed relay title at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Belgrade 24 (© Getty Images)
Defending champions Kenya will be vying for a fourth title in the mixed relay at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26.
The East African powerhouse has won all but one title in this discipline since it was introduced to the World Cross in 2017. Reynold Cheruiyot, Kyumbe Munguti and Purity Chepkirui formed three-quarters of Kenya’s victorious team in 2024 and will be back in action in Florida, keen to add another gold medal.
Cheruiyot, the world 1500m bronze medallist, won Kenya’s 2km trial race in October, finishing ahead of Munguti, who also claimed mixed relay gold for Kenya in 2023. Chepkirui, the 2021 world U20 1500m champion, was a convincing winner of the women’s trial race. Winfred Mbithe, who won mixed relay gold in 2017 and bronze in 2019, is also part of the squad, although the final team composition will be confirmed closer to race day.
Ethiopia, winners in 2019, remain the only other nation to have claimed a world cross-country mixed relay title. Although their squad has been affected by visa issues, they have assembled a competitive line-up that includes 2022 world indoor 1500m bronze medallist Hirut Meshesha, African 10,000m bronze medallist Gela Hambese and 2021 world U20 1500m silver medallist Wegene Adisu.
Two of the athletes who helped Australia claim bronze on home soil in Bathurst three years ago – Olympic 1500m silver medallist Jessica Hull and Commonwealth 1500m champion Ollie Hoare – return for relay duty as part of a full-strength team. Linden Hall, Sarah Billings and Jack Anstey complete Australia’s relay pool.
Great Britain & Northern Ireland, bronze medallists two years ago in Belgrade, have also named several returning members. Thomas Keen, Adam Fogg and Alexandra Millard – all of whom stood on the podium in 2024 – are joined in the squad by world road mile silver medallist Callum Elson.
Sage Hurta-Klecker, who finished fifth in the 800m at last year’s World Championships, is the stand-out name on the US team. The host nation will also be represented by NCAA indoor 3000m champion Ethan Strand.
Other contenders include 2019 silver medallists Morocco, whose team features national indoor 3000m record-holder Enass Essayi and 2023 NCAA indoor 3000m champion Fouad Messaoudi, along with a French team led by European indoor 1500m champion Agathe Guillemot.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
