Kiprop retains title, Cherop holds off late challenge at Cardiff Cross

Uganda’s Keneth Kiprop successfully defended his title, while his compatriot Charity Cherop held off a late challenge from Kenya’s Sheila Jebet to triumph at the Cardiff Cross Challenge, this season’s third World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, on Saturday (9). 

In a repeat of the finish to the 2023 edition of this race, world U20 5000m bronze medallist Kiprop outsprinted Kenya’s Vincent Mutai in the closing stages of the 9600m senior men’s race to retain his Cardiff crown. While Mutai had put himself in a strong position with the finish line in sight, he couldn’t match Kiprop’s finishing strength and the Ugandan 19-year-old sprinted over the finish line untroubled.

In the senior women’s race over 6400m, Uganda’s 17-year-old Cherop had looked a clear winner before her fellow teenager Jebet launched a late attack. Cherop, the world U20 5000m bronze medallist in Lima in August, also picked up her pace over the final stretch and held off her rival, clocking 20:15 to finish one second clear of Jebet, who finished fourth in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships in March and fifth in the 5000m at the World U20 Championships.

Britain’s Zak Mahamed led an early breakaway group of nine in the men’s race, with Dutch Olympic 1500m sixth-place finisher Niels Laros to the fore of the chase pack.

Kiprop, using his experience of the course, then took charge and pushed things on at the front. Mutai surged towards the end of the first of the three laps and quickly strung out the lead group, with five athletes running in a line behind him, but the pack came back together soon after.

The leaders began to weave through lapped runners midway through the second loop of the course before Mutai and the Ugandan duo of Kiprop and Dan Kibet surged away with 23 minutes on the clock.

With less than a kilometre left to run, Kiprop and Mutai dropped Kibet and were locked in battle as they approached the final curve of the course. Kiprop kicked as they hit the finishing straight and celebrated as he reached the finish line in 27:06 to retain his title.

Mutai finished two seconds back, while Kibet secured third place in 27:15 ahead of Burundi’s Celestin Ndikumana and Emile Hafashimana. Ireland’s Efrem Gidey finished sixth, Mahamed seventh, Younes Kniya eighth, Logan Rees ninth and Laros 10th.

The women’s race saw Cherop form part of an 11-stong lead group after around six minutes of running, with Jebet leading the chase pack. Kate Axford, a former GB hockey international, led the front group alongside her compatriot Izzy Fry, with home favourite Cari Hughes just behind them and Cherop sitting back in the pack.

Cherop took over at the front a few minutes later, stretching out the field, and she led a breakaway group of four as the leaders completed the first of the two laps of the course.

She was joined by Fry, Axford and Hughes, with Cherop and Axford side by side as they reached the twisting segment of the course. Fry and Hughes were close behind, with Amelia Quirk running off the back of the pack.

Jebet then made a move, passing Quirk to surge into fifth place around 14 minutes into the race. Cherop made her break with roughly 1500m remaining, chased by Axford, with a charging Jebet closing on Fry and Hughes. 

Cherop continued to extend her advantage, while Jebet caught up with Axford with just over a minute of the race left to run.

Cherop was away as they reached the final curve into the finishing straight, but Jebet kicked past Axford and launched an attack. She left her finishing sprint a little too late, however, and Cherop was able to respond to the challenge, winning in 20:15 to Jebet’s 20:16. Axford held on for third place in 20:21, ahead of Hughes and Fry. Poppy Tank, Sofia Thogersen, Emmy van den Berg, Quirk and Meg Gadsby completed the top 10.

Britain’s European U20 cross country champion Innes FitzGerald was a dominant winner of the women’s U20 race, while the U20 men’s title was claimed by Will Rabjohns.

Leading results

Women (6400m)
1 Charity Cherop (UGA) 20:15
2 Sheila Jebet (KEN) 20:16
3 Kate Axford (GBR) 20:21
4 Cari Hughes (GBR) 20:25
5 Izzy Fry (GBR) 20:30

Men (9600m)
1 Keneth Kiprop (UGA) 27:06
2 Vincent Mutai (KEN) 27:08
3 Daniel Kibet (UGA) 27:15
4 Celestin Ndikumana (BDI) 27:19
5 Emile Hafashimana (BDI) 27:21

Results