Nadia Battocletti returns to defend her Campaccio crown but she faces 2024 champion Francine Niyomukunzi who will look to regain the title when the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting takes place in San Giorgio su Legnano on Sunday (25).
Celestin Ndikumana was second in the men&rsquo;s race last year and he is also back in Italy, looking to go one better this weekend.
Last year Olympic and world medallist Battocletti became the first Italian winner at Campaccio in 31 years, covering the 6km course in 21:14 to triumph by 44 seconds.
This time she heads to San Giorgio su Legnano off the back of two wins in December &ndash; one at the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa and the other over 5km at the BOclassic in Bolzano. Prior to that she won the Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Atapuerca and was second in Alcobendas.
Burundi&rsquo;s Niyomukunzi will be looking to deny her another win on home soil, to regain the Campaccio title she won for the first time two years ago. On that occasion the 26-year-old clocked 19:42 to beat Battocletti by four seconds, but the pair also met at Campaccio in 2023, when Battocletti finished fourth, two seconds and one place ahead of Niyomukunzi.
Last year Niyomukunzi won the Cross Country Tour Gold event in Albufeira and she was third in Elgoibar at the start of the year.
They will be joined by Elvanie Nimbona, who finished third in the Cinque Mulini in November, plus Micheline Niyomahoro, who finished fourth at Campaccio last year.
Italy&rsquo;s Adele Roatta and Lucia Arnoldo also finished in the top 10 last year and return, Arnoldo now with a seventh-place finish in the vertical uphill race at the World Mountain &amp; Trail Running Championships in Canfranc-Pirineos to her name.
In the men&rsquo;s 10km race, two athletes who finished in the top four last year will battle again. Burundi&rsquo;s Ndikumana was second and Tunisia&rsquo;s Olympic steeplechase fourth-place finisher Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui was fourth and they both race again as part of a field that also features Kenya&rsquo;s Matthew Kipkoech Kipruto, Uganda&rsquo;s Dolphine Chelimo, Rwanda&rsquo;s Yves Nimubona, Burundi&rsquo;s Emile Hafashimana and Ethiopia's Abrham Sime.
Kipruto makes his Campaccio debut after finishing third, second and then first respectively in Cross Country Tour Gold races in Soria, San Vittore Olona and Eldoret in the last couple of months of 2025.
Chelimo secured seventh place at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee earlier this month, while Nimubona finished third at Campaccio in 2024.
Other top 10 finishers last year who are returning are Hafashimana who was sixth last year and his compatriot Egide Ntakarutimana who placed 10th, plus Italy&rsquo;s Luca Alfieri who was eighth.
<h2>Jebet defends in Hannut</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Sheila Jebet will face Uganda&rsquo;s world U20 cross-country medallist Charity Cherop when she returns to defend her title at the Cross Cup de Hannut, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting, on Sunday (25).
The pair will renew their rivalry over 8km after their respective first- and third-place finishes in Hannut last year. Jebet went on to claim three second-place finishes and a third place in Cross Country Tour Gold races in November &ndash; in Cardiff, Soria, Atapuerca and Alcobendas &ndash; while Cherop focused on the track.
They have both raced once so far this year, 18-year-old Cherop opening her season at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee where she clinched a historic bronze medal in the U20 race and 20-year-old Jebet finishing second in the Cross Country Tour Gold event in Elgoibar last weekend.
That performance saw Cherop become Uganda's first ever women's individual medallist at the World Cross Country Championships and she was joined on her nation&rsquo;s team gold medal-winning squad by Bentalin Yeko who finished seventh and also races in Hannut.
Belgium won the senior women&rsquo;s team title at the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa last month and team members Jana Van Lent, who finished fourth, and Lisa Rooms, who was fifth, will race on home soil in Hannut.&nbsp;
Kenya&rsquo;s 20-year-old Keneth Kiprop heads to Hannut to contest the senior men&rsquo;s 8km race, two weeks on from finishing 10th at the World Cross Country Championships.
He faces Eritrea&rsquo;s 18-year-old Saymon Amanuel who was runner-up in Elgoibar last weekend and finished first and second respectively at the Cinque Mulini and in Alcobendas in November, plus Uganda&rsquo;s Martin Kiprotich who finished second in the mountain classic race at the World Mountain &amp; Trail Running Championships in September.
Milkesa Fikadu helped Ethiopia to bronze in the mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships and he steps up in distance to race in Hannut.
Belgium&rsquo;s Cross Cup leader Guillaume Grimard finished fifth in Hannut in 2024 and returns, as does Luxembourg&rsquo;s Ruben Querinjean, the 3000m steeplechase specialist who was sixth last year and placed seventh at the European Cross Country Championships.
Other steeplechasers in action are Germany&rsquo;s Frederik Ruppert, who won the Diamond League title last year, and Belgian champion Tim Van de Velde.

Nadia Battocletti returns to defend her Campaccio crown but she faces 2024 champion Francine Niyomukunzi who will look to regain the title

Past two champions Battocletti and Niyomukunzi in Campaccio clash

Ethiopia&rsquo;s Sutume Kebede and Tadese Takele will defend their Tokyo Marathon titles against strong fields when they return to the World Athletics Platinum Label event on 1 March.
Kebede set a Japanese all-comers' record of 2:15:55 when winning in Tokyo in 2024 before retaining her title last year and now hopes for a hat-trick.
But she faces some tough opposition in a field that features five other runners with PBs under 2:18 and five of the 15 fastest women in history.
Kenya&rsquo;s former world record-holder Brigid Kosgei tops the entry list with the PB of 2:14:04 she set in Chicago in 2019. More recently she won the Shanghai Marathon in November in 2:16:36 and her 2:16:02 victory in Tokyo in 2022 is one of her many major marathon wins.
They will be joined by last year&rsquo;s Chicago Marathon champion Hawi Feysa of Ethiopia, who ran 2:14:57 to win that race, plus Kenya&rsquo;s Berlin Marathon winner Rosemary Wanjiru (2:16:14), Ethiopia&rsquo;s Chicago runner-up Megertu Alemu (2:16:34) and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Bertukan Welde, who clocked 2:17:56 when finishing second in Amsterdam last year.
Other entries include USA&rsquo;s Sara Hall and Japan&rsquo;s Ai Hosoda and Yumi Yoshikawa.
The men&rsquo;s entry list is led by Kenya&rsquo;s Timothy Kiplagat, who sits joint 11th on the world all-time list with the 2:02:55 he ran to finish second in Tokyo in 2024.
He and Takele are among the eight men with sub-2:04 PBs in the field. Kiplagat&rsquo;s compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao won the London Marathon in 2024 and ran his PB of 2:03:11 when finishing second in Valencia in 2023, while their fellow Kenyan Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich ran 2:03:13 in Berlin in 2023 and finished third in Tokyo last year.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Milkesa Mengesha, who won the 2024 Berlin Marathon in a PB of 2:03:17, is also in the field, along with Kenya&rsquo;s Geoffrey Toroitich (2:03:30), French record-holder Morhad Amdouni (2:03:47) and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Wolde (2:03:48).
Takele won in Tokyo last year in 2:03:23, improving his PB by one second, and he will line up alongside another former winner &ndash; the 2023 champion Chalu Deso of Ethiopia.
Other entries include Kenya&rsquo;s Daniel Mateiko, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Selemon Barega and Muktar Edris, Italy&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Iliass Aouani, Japanese record-holder Suguru Osako and Canadian record-holder Cam Levins.
<h3>Elite field</h3>
Women Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:14:04 Hawi Feysa (ETH) 2:14:57 Sutume Kebede (ETH) 2:15:55 Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 2:16:14 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:16:34 Bertukan Welde (ETH) 2:17:56 Mestawut Fikir (ETH) 2:18:48 Mekides Shimeles (ETH) 2:19:56 Aberu Ayana (ETH) 2:20:20 Waganesh Mekasha (ETH) 2:20:26 Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32 Azmera Gebru (ETH) 2:20:48 Violah Cheptoo (KEN) 2:21:40 Pascalia Jepkogei (KEN) 2:22:47 Ai Hosoda (JPN) 2:20:31 Sinead Diver (AUS) 2:21:34 Malindi Elmore (CAN) 2:23:30 Yumi Yoshikawa (JPN) 2:25:20 Xia Yuyu (CHN) 2:25:45 Mirai Waku (JPN) 2:25:58 Ayano Ikemitsu (JPN) 2:26:07 Li Zhixuan (CHN) 2:26:15 Bai Li (CHN) 2:26:33 Xu Bingjie (CHN) 2:27:11 Aleksandra Brzezinska (POL) 2:27:20 Yuri Karasawa (JPN) 2:27:27 Lu Ying (CHN) 2:27:30 Vanessa Wilson (AUS) 2:28:34 Grace Loibach Nawowuna (KEN) debut
Men Timothy Kiplagat (KEN) 2:02:55 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 2:03:11 Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich (KEN) 2:03:13 Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 2:03:17 Tadese Takele (ETH) 2:03:23 Geoffrey Toroitich (KEN) 2:03:30 Morhad Amdouni (FRA) 2:03:47 Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:03:48 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 2:04:24 Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:04:29 Abayneh Degu (ETH) 2:04:53 Chalu Deso (ETH) 2:04:53 Suguru Osako (JPN) 2:04:55 Kengo Suzuki (JPN) 2:04:56 Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:05:15 Shifera Tamru (ETH) 2:05:18 Cameron Levins (CAN) 2:05:36 Ryota Kondo (JPN) 2:05:39 Suldan Hassan (SWE) 2:05:57 Justus Kangogo (KEN) 2:05:57 Muktar Edris (ETH) 2:05:59 Tsubasa Ichiyama (JPN) 2:06:00 Iliass Aouani (ITA) 2:06:06 Simon Kariuki (KEN) 2:06:29 Naoki Koyama (JPN) 2:06:33 Kazuya Nishiyama (JPN) 2:06:45 Ryu Takaku (JPN) 2:06:45 Yusuke Ogura (JPN) 2:06:51 Barnaba Kipkoech (KEN) 2:06:54 Derese Workneh (ETH) 2:06:58 Vincent Yegon (KEN) debut

Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede and Tadese Takele will defend their Tokyo Marathon titles against strong fields when they return to the World Athletics Platinum Label event on 1 March

Kebede and Takele to defend Tokyo titles against multiple major champions

Two-time champion and course record-holder Workenesh Edesa returns to the Osaka Women&rsquo;s Marathon to defend her title at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday (25).
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Edesa improved the course record by more than two minutes in 2024, matching her then PB of 2:18:51. She retained her title last year, clocking 2:21:00 to win ahead of Japan&rsquo;s Kana Kobayashi and Yuka Suzuki, who both ran big PBs.
Edesa went on to win the Hamburg Marathon in April in a personal best of 2:17:55 before finishing third in the Sydney Marathon.
This time her rivals will include her compatriot Bedatu Hirpa and Uganda&rsquo;s Stella Chesang.
Hirpa ran a PB of 2:18:27 to win the Dubai Marathon a year ago and then clinched another victory at the Paris Marathon, where she clocked 2:20:45.
Chesang most recently finished 12th in the World Championships marathon in Tokyo and before that she placed sixth in the London Marathon. Her national record of 2:18:26 was set in Valencia in 2024.
They will be joined on the start line by leading Japanese athletes Mizuki Matsuda and Mao Uesugi.
Matsuda, who has a PB of 2:20:42 from Berlin in 2024, finished seventh in Osaka last year and is a three-time winner of the race having secured victory in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Uesugi set her lifetime best of 2:22:11 when finishing fourth in Nagoya last year.
<h3>Leading elite entries</h3>
Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:17:55 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26 Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:18:27 Mizuki Matsuda (JPN) 2:20:42 Mao Uesugi (JPN) 2:22:11 Mizuki Nishimura (JPN) 2:25:54 Chiharu Suzuki (JPN) 2:25:59 Madoka Nakano (JPN) 2:26:50 Sakiho Tsutsui (JPN) 2:26:51 Nanaka Izawa (JPN) 2:29:28 Mikuni Yada (JPN) debut

Two-time champion and course record-holder Workenesh Edesa returns to the Osaka Women’s Marathon to defend her title

Edesa defends Osaka crown 

Letsile Tebogo stepped on to the track alongside his teammates, bearing the weight of a nation and a continent on his shoulders. Together with the men&rsquo;s 4x400m relay team, he turned belief into performance, lifted the hopes of a nation, and turned an Olympic bronze from Tokyo in 2021 into gold at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25. A journey of patience and pride, and a nation lifted.
Now, with 100 days to go, Botswana prepares to host the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 where the host nation will be on the hunt for further honours.
&ldquo;Once we get into the team, it&rsquo;s only one personality,&rdquo; said Olympic 200m champion Tebogo. &ldquo;The teamwork that we have, the mentality that we have when we are going into the 4x400m &ndash; now it&rsquo;s teamwork. We&rsquo;re doing all this for the country, for everybody who&rsquo;s watching and in support of Botswana.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that I&rsquo;ll always look back on and cherish.&rdquo;
Tebogo&rsquo;s season had been impacted by injury, but when he got to Tokyo he was determined to still compete in all three events &ndash; the 100m, the 200m and the 4x400m.
And forming part of the team that claimed Africa&rsquo;s first world 4x400m title was the perfect end to the championships for the 22-year-old, who rebounded after being disqualified for a false start in the 100m final and missing out on a 200m medal by one place, despite clocking 19.65.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m forever grateful for my teammates, for the confidence that they gave me,&rdquo; he said in an <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/world-athletics-exclusives/697208634e2827b202b61d62" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive World Athletics video feature</a>.
&ldquo;They boosted me into stepping up because it was just more of a horrible season for me. The injuries that we had during that season, we had too many starts and stops.
&ldquo;After what happened in the 100m, in the 200m where you know you had true potential to bring up a medal and it didn&rsquo;t happen, the confidence went downhill, but they managed to pull it back up the hill again.&rdquo;
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/world-athletics-exclusives/697208634e2827b202b61d62" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/697250d7875be44a09b6904b.jpg" alt="Pride of the nation &ndash; Letsile Tebogo" /></a>
Racing in the pouring rain Tebogo ran the second leg in the 4x400m final, taking over from Lee Bhekempilo Eppie and running a strong lap before handing the baton to Bayapo Ndori. In a thrilling finish, individual 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi chased down USA&rsquo;s 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin and edged ahead in the closing stages to get gold on the line.
&ldquo;I had to lock in differently to know that this is not my individual event &ndash; I am carrying three other people&rsquo;s hopes with me. So, why not? I shouldn&rsquo;t disappoint them. No matter how tired I am, no matter what&rsquo;s going through my mind,&rdquo; added Tebogo.
&ldquo;I just stepped up &ndash; it was the team that pushed me through.&rdquo;
Tebogo also formed part of the Botswana 4x400m teams that clinched Olympic silver in Paris in 2024 and won at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, The Bahamas, that same year.
The next edition of the World Athletics Relays heads to his home soil on 2-3 May.
Reflecting on his nation's success, the World Athletics Kids&rsquo; Athletics ambassador added: &ldquo;It means a lot because they know we are inspiring a lot of kids in Botswana. Even the elderly trying to exercise, trying to keep healthy. That&rsquo;s the most important thing about Botswana.
&ldquo;We are going to continue to dominate the 4x400m for as long as possible.&rdquo;
Interview and video production by Marta Gorczyńska for World Athletics
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World Athletics Relays

A journey of patience and pride, and a nation lifted.

Pride of the nation – Letsile Tebogo

The WCH Tokyo 25 competition apparel of Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Camryn Rogers head up an impressive list of donations during 2025 which are today inducted into the 3D online platform of the Museum of World Athletics

WCH Tokyo 25 donations by Jefferson-Wooden and Rogers highlight record year for MOWA

When the bar was raised to 2.00m in the women&rsquo;s high jump final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, the beaming Nicola Olyslagers raised her hands up to the heavens before running through the rest of her familiar routine.
Not long afterwards, those heavens were to open, bringing a temporary halt to the competition &ndash; dampening the runway and the landing bed, and the spirits of the rivals who might have prevented the woman from the Central Coast region of New South Wales from collecting her first world outdoor crown.
Before the rain came down on the Japan National Stadium, though, the tall Olyslagers effectively slayed the opposition with her snappy first-time clearance, adding an ultimately wet world outdoor gold medal to the world indoor gongs she gained under cover in Glasgow in 2024 and in Nanjing in March 2025.
<h2>The notebook that travelled the world</h2>
While in Tokyo, the 28-year-old Australian kindly donated one of her trademark journal-diaries to the Museum of World Athletics, choosing the most richly illustrated of all her journals, filled with detailed training session reports, technical sketches and more spiritual watercolours. It was not the one in which she scribbled her mark out of ten in the aftermath of what proved to be her winning jump in the Japanese capital, but one from 2022, when she finished fifth in the World Championships final in Oregon.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69715b9ce0375fe20c791c3d.jpg" alt="Excerpts from Nicola Olyslagers' journal" /></div>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69715b8be0375fe20c791c3a.jpg" alt="Excerpts from Nicola Olyslagers' journal" />
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Excerpts from Nicola Olyslagers' journal
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It took the former Nicola McDermott four world outdoor campaigns to make the podium, which she did when earning bronze in Budapest in 2023. And then a fifth to reach the top in Tokyo.
The athlete from North Gosford has been obliged to dig deep and graft for her success. Nailing that crucial first-time 2.00m effort before the deluge in the Japanese capital highlighted the gold-plated mental armour that she has brought to her high jump game.
<h2>&lsquo;A different story heading into Tokyo&rsquo;</h2>
It showed that she had learned from the loss she suffered in the rain-lashed Letzigrund Stadium 12 months previously, when Yaroslava Mahuchikh emerged from the cocoon of her umbrella-sheltered sleeping bag to snatch victory from her grasp at the Zurich Weltklasse Diamond League meet.
In doing so, in the wake of Mahuchikh&rsquo;s Olympic win on countback ahead of Olyslagers in Paris, the young Ukrainian managed to preserve the unbeaten record that she maintained to the conclusion of the 2024 outdoor season.
It was a different story heading into Tokyo last year.
Mahuchikh had to settle for bronze when Olyslagers retained her world indoor crown in Nanjing in March and, despite landing two early Diamond League victories in China against her Australian rival, the world record-holder was unable to gain the upper hand as the 2025 outdoor season progressed.
In six encounters, from June onwards, Olyslagers won five and Mahuchikh just one (taking their running head-to-head career tally to 11-27 in favour of the Ukrainian).
That lone success for Mahuchikh came at the Silesia Diamond League meeting on 15 August, where she cleared 2.00m and Olyslagers 1.97m.
Five days later they met in the rain in Lausanne. Mahuchikh abandoned after misses at 1.81m and 1.91m, while Olyslagers shared victory at 1.91m with Germany&rsquo;s Christina Honsel and Maria Zodzik of Poland.
Psychologically, it was no small triumph, draining away the rain-drenched memory of that 2024 loss in Zurich &ndash; and providing the in-form Olyslagers with a vital edge for the downpour to come in Tokyo.
<h2>Joy and resilience</h2>
&ldquo;The joy that&rsquo;s inside of me can&rsquo;t get drowned out,&rdquo; she told the trackside interviewer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s from a source that doesn&rsquo;t get diluted with circumstances.&rdquo;
That source, of course, is a deep Christian faith, the cornerstone of Olyslagers&rsquo; steadfast, joyful character.
It takes resilience to cope with unfavourable conditions in the heat of a major high jump final.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/68cff527e02c47e001c36f5b.jpg" alt="Nicola Olyslagers at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25" />
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Nicola Olyslagers at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (&copy; Getty Images)
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Dwight Stones might have been a class apart in the men&rsquo;s event in the 1970s but his zippy approach run was neutralised in the rain in the 1976 Olympic final in Montreal, the Californian slipping to third place with 2.21m &ndash; before raising his world record to 2.32m on dry land in Philadelphia just four days later.
For Olyslagers, the psychological lift of winning in the rain in Lausanne was followed by the high of improving her Oceanian record to 2.04m in securing her first Diamond League title on her return to Zurich &ndash; not to a rain-drenched Letzigrund Stadion but in the dry of the Sechselautenplatz.
That came in a titanic battle with Mahuchikh, who achieved a joint season&rsquo;s best of 2.02m. When her outdoor title was on the line in Tokyo, however, the world record-holder was unable to match Olyslagers after the bar was raised to 2.00m, clipping it off with her heels before the rain came and then registering two more failures as she struggled for traction and rhythm through the puddled in-field.
With a best of 1.97m, Mahuchikh had to settle for joint bronze with the 20-year-old Angelina Topic of Serbia, Zodzic taking silver with a second-time clearance at 2.00m after the rain-break.
&ldquo;This was just pure joy, even in the rain,&rdquo; the jubilant Olyslagers reflected. &ldquo;To finish with a very saturated notebook and a gold medal&hellip; it's wonderful.
&ldquo;I was just spending time with Jesus out there. I was like, 'I could be here for hours. The stadium can shut down. I'm in my happy place right now.'"
Up in the Seven Network television commentary box, Bruce McAvaney observed: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been quite a stunning ascension for the smiling high jumper from the Central Coast&hellip;last in 2017, dead last with no mark; out in qualifying in 2019; fifth in 2022, third on countback in 2023; and now a world outdoor champion.&rdquo;
At the World Athletics Awards in Monaco at the end of November, the voice of Australian track and field was honoured for his huge contribution to the sport with the prestigious President&rsquo;s Award.
And the smiling Olyslagers, a world champion indoors in the dry of Nanjing and outdoors in the damp of Tokyo, was rewarded for her golden deeds in 2025 with the richly-deserved Female Field Event Athlete of the Year Award.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage
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<div><a href="https://tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6885f79e982e117f1338cb26.jpg" alt="MOWA banner" /></a>
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When the bar was raised to 2.00m in the women’s high jump final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, the beaming Nicola Olyslagers raised her hands up to the heavens before running through the rest of her familiar routine.

Olyslagers’ iconic diary joins MOWA collection

When Evan Dunfee was a fourth-grade student at Kingswood Elementary, his teacher would give him a popsicle stick for every 500m lap of the school yard that he ran during recess or lunch break.
It motivated the nine-year-old son of an Olympic swimming coach and great, great nephew of an Olympic marathon runner to join a sports club, with the aim of making it to the very top one day.
<h2>&lsquo;Inside a world-record schedule&rsquo;</h2>
Within a year, Dunfee was winning age-grade race walks as a member of the Kajak Track and Field Club in Richmond, British Columbia &ndash; across the Fraser River from Vancouver in the south west corner of Canada.
It took the popsicle stick kid two-and-a-half decades to reach the global pinnacle in his sport.
Dunfee was into his 35th year when he set out on the first of 35 laps of the men&rsquo;s 35km at the prestigious &lsquo;Dudince 50&rsquo; World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting on 22 March last year.
This time, on each circuit of the southern Slovakian spa town, the Canadian was rewarded not with tally tokens but with kilometre splits inside world record schedule.
Passing 1km in 4:09, 3km in 12:15, and 5km in 20:18, he was 76 seconds clear of the field when he reached 10km in 40:22.
Dunfee crossed the Dudince finish line in 2:21:40 &ndash; seven seconds inside the global mark set by Japan&rsquo;s Masatora Kawano in Takahata in October 2024.
&ldquo;I was well under pace but lost a little time over the last seven kilometres,&rdquo; he reflected. &ldquo;I got a little stressed out then, but it was a dream come true in the end.&rdquo;
<h2>Champion through pain</h2>
A world record-holder at the age of 34, Dunfee fulfilled another dream four months later, pushing through the pain barrier to become a world champion for the first time.
Despite tearing his left hamstring with two kilometres to go, he gritted his teeth and held on to win the men&rsquo;s 35km race walk, the opening event of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/68c4d4e2b80bc59344afb7e0.jpg" alt="Evan Dunfee wins the 35km race walk in Tokyo" />
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Evan Dunfee wins the 35km race walk in Tokyo (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Pamela Smith)
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Upon arrival in Japan, Dunfee kindly agreed to donate mementoes from his world record performance in Dudince to the Museum of World Athletics.
The bib and cap he wore that day stand in the glittering Heritage collection as tokens of the prolonged resilience and determination that can be required to make it to the very top in athletics.
<h2>More marathon than sprint</h2>
Dunfee first wore the Maple Leaf motif at global level at the World U18 Championships in Ostrava in 2007, placing a modest 23rd in the 10,000m track race walk.
At those same championships, Grenadian schoolboy Kirani James finished runner-up in the 400m final. Just four years later, he was a senior world champion at the age of 18.
Dunfee&rsquo;s path to the global summit has been more of a marathon sojourn than a sprint.
&ldquo;My coach and I have been together since I was 10,&rdquo; he reflected in the aftermath of his Tokyo triumph, referring to his long-time guiding light, Gerry Dragomir.
&ldquo;We set goals to become world champion and to set a world record and we managed to do both this year. It really is a dream come true.
&ldquo;I am turning 35 this year but I just feel like I am getting better and better.&rdquo;
Dunfee turned 35 just 15 days after his victory in the Japanese capital. He&rsquo;s no longer a world record-holder, his 35km time in Dudince having been eclipsed by Italian Massimo Stano&rsquo;s 2:20:43 in Podebrady in May.
A bronze medallist at 50km at both the 2019 World Championships and delayed 2020 Olympics, the veteran Canadian would seem ideally suited to the marathon distance that, together with the half marathon, will become a standard major championship race walk event from 2026 onwards.
He happens to be blessed with the sporting genes of not just his father, Don Dunfee, an international swimmer who coached the Canadian swimming team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, but also those of his great, great uncle, William &lsquo;Rover&rsquo; Forsyth, who finished 15th in the 1912 Olympic marathon in Stockholm.
Nicknamed for his penchant for roaming the wilds of the Canadian countryside, Forsyth also won titles at state and national level as a discus thrower and pole vaulter, earning a place in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
Rover&rsquo;s great, great nephew &ndash; Evan Forsyth Dunfee &ndash; race walked the 2025 Vancouver Marathon in 2:58:57 in May, affording the wider athletics fraternity a keen perspective on the scope of his talent.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m working really hard on being better at being proud of myself, and this was an effort I&rsquo;m proud of,&rdquo; he confessed on Instagram. &ldquo;Sub-three-hour marathoner &ndash; that has a really nice ring to it.&rdquo;
Dunfee has done a good deal more to make his family truly proud of him.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6971f0bca065e618b73abcbe.jpg" alt="Evan Dunfee&rsquo;s signed race walk world record bib" />
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Evan Dunfee&rsquo;s signed race walk world record bib (&copy; MOWA)
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<h2>Integrity and giving back</h2>
After crossing the line an exhausted fourth in the men&rsquo;s 50km event at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he was briefly promoted to the bronze medal position when the race referee ruled that Hirooki Arai had made contact with Dunfee in their neck-and-neck battle for third spot.
When a Japanese appeal overturned the disqualification, Dunfee dissuaded the Canadian team from appealing the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, fulsomely congratulating his rival on securing bronze.
&ldquo;Contact is part of our event and I don&rsquo;t believe this was malicious or done with intent,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I will sleep soundly tonight, and for the rest of my life, knowing I made the right decision.&rdquo;
A shining role model, Dunfee raised more than $50,000 for the Canadian charity KidSport by marking its 25th anniversary by walking 25km a day for 25 days. He also spoke to 100,000 children at 25 schools about the value of sport and goal setting.
As a coach at the Richmond Kajaks, also the club of world and Olympic hammer champion Camryn Rogers, Dunfee is determined to further inspire the next generation at grassroots level.
Like his father before him, he has already coached to Olympic level, guiding fellow British Columbian Olivia Lundman to selection for the marathon relay mixed race walk in Paris last year.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage
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When Evan Dunfee was a fourth-grade student at Kingswood Elementary, his teacher would give him a popsicle stick for every 500m lap of the school yard that he ran

Dunfee’s race walk world record kit enters MOWA

Organisers have confirmed that eight of the top 10 finishers from last year&rsquo;s Boston Marathon &ndash; including winner John Korir and world champion Alphonce Simbu &ndash; will return to the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on 20 April.
Korir&rsquo;s 2:04:45 victory in Boston last year came just six months after he triumphed at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. The Kenyan capped his 2025 season with victory at the Valencia Marathon, clocking a PB of 2:02:24.
Tanzania&rsquo;s Simbu finished second in Boston last year, just ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Cybrian Kotut, who also returns to Boston this year.
Kenya&rsquo;s Benson Kipruto &ndash; winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon, 2022 Chicago Marathon, 2024 Tokyo Marathon, and 2025 New York City Marathon &ndash; also returns to Boston. Kipruto is the first man in history to win all three of the US-based Abbott World Marathon Major races.
&ldquo;Boston holds a special place in my heart, as I won my first major there in 2021 and have finished third twice,&rdquo; said the Olympic bronze medallist. &ldquo;I look forward to starting my 2026 season and racing a fast group of men in April.&rdquo;
In total, the men&rsquo;s field features 25 men who have bettered 2:07 for the marathon distance.
Additional international stars include Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist and 2024 New York City Marathon winner, and Sydney Marathon champion Hailemaryam Kiros of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lemi Berhanu, the 2016 Boston Marathon champion, returns on the 10th anniversary of his win, while Alex Masai, third in Chicago last year in 2:04:37, will make his Boston debut.
Conner Mantz, who placed fourth in Boston last year before replicating that position in Chicago with a North American record of 2:04:43, leads a deep US contingent. Two-time Olympic medallist Galen Rupp, Clayton Young, Biya Simbassa, Houston Marathon winner Zouhair Talbi and CJ Albertson will all take to the start line.
<h3>Men's field</h3>
Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:02:16 John Korir (KEN) 2:02:24 Cybrian Kotut (KEN) 2:03:22 Abdi Nageeye (NED) 2:04:20 Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:04:33 Hailemaryam Kiros (ETH) 2:04:35 Alex Masai (KEN) 2:04:37 Alphonce Felix Simbu (TAN) 2:04:38 Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:04:39 Conner Mantz (USA) 2:04:43 Yohanes Chiappinelli (ITA) 2:05:24 Benard Biwott (KEN) 2:05:25 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 2:05:27 Zouhair Talbi (MAR/USA) 2:05:45 Richard Ringer (GER) 2:05:46 Sondre Moen (NOR) 2:05:48 Galen Rupp (USA) 2:06:07 Akira Akasaki (JPN) 2:06:15 Tebello Ramakongoana (LES) 2:06:18 Andy Buchanan (AUS) 2:06:22 Gemechu Dida (ETH) 2:06:45 Hendrik Pfeiffer (GER) 2:06:45 Rory Linkletter (CAN) 2:06:49 Biya Simbassa (USA) 2:06:53 Tsegay Weldlibanos (ERI) 2:07:35 Patrick Tiernan (AUS) 2:07:45 Clayton Young (USA) 2:08:00 CJ Albertson (USA) 2:08:17 Yemane Haileselassie (ERI) 2:08:25 Alex Maier (USA) 2:08:33 Amaury Paquet (BEL) 2:08:44 Sam Chelanga (USA) 2:08:50 Daniel Mesfun (USA) 2:08:51 Ben Preisner (CAN) 2:08:58

Eight of the top 10 finishers from last year – including winner John Korir and world champion Alphonce Simbu – will return to the Boston Marathon

Defending champion Korir faces world champion Simbu in Boston

International track and field action is back with a bang on Saturday (24) as Boston hosts the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix &ndash; the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of the year. A programme loaded with world and Olympic champions ensures there&rsquo;s nothing tentative about the start of the 2026 indoor campaign.
Many athletes will be using this weekend &ndash; or, indeed, other meetings on the World Indoor Tour &ndash; as a stepping stone towards the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 in two months' time.
Other athletes will use Boston as a launch pad for their season as a whole which, for some, will culminate with the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September. And for many, Boston offers an early and uncompromising test of winter form.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/69734d440d1d33e295c0cae5.jpg" alt="WIT where to watch - Boston 2026" /></a>
One of the most intriguing contests of the day comes in the final discipline of the programme, where four athletes who have each won global gold at different disciplines converge in the men&rsquo;s 300m.
Olympic 100m gold medallist and four-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles lines up against 2022 world indoor 400m champion Jereem Richards, 2016 world indoor 60m champion Trayvon Bromell and multiple global relay gold medallist Vernon Norwood.
Lyles, who won the 60m at this meeting last year, will be opening his season this weekend. His indoor 300m PB stands at 31.87, which stood as the world indoor best back when he set that time in 2017. Richards, meanwhile, holds the meeting record of 32.10.
The world short track best now stands at 31.56, but there&rsquo;s genuine reason to believe that mark could be tested on Saturday.
The men&rsquo;s 600m brings together a trio with serious 800m pedigree. 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier, who returned to PB form last year after a long spell of injury troubles, will be seeking another victory in Boston, having set meeting records here over 800m in 2021 and 600m in 2020.
Bryce Hoppel, the 2024 world indoor champion, adds further depth to a field that also includes Cian McPhillips, who set an outdoor Irish record of 1:42.15 when finishing fourth at last year&rsquo;s World Championships.
The world short track best of 1:12.84 was set just last month by Josh Hoey, who will be in action elsewhere in Boston &ndash; but the clock may again be under threat. Hoey, the world indoor 800m champion, steps back to his specialist discipline, having shown tremendous form last month over 600m and in the road mile with his 3:54.77 Honolulu victory.
<h2>Global medallists clash in the hurdles</h2>
The women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles is a showdown between two athletes who have each won two world titles.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Danielle Williams won the 2015 and 2023 world 100m hurdles titles outdoors, while Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas won the 2024 and 2025 world indoor crowns. Charlton is also the world indoor record-holder, but Williams heads to Boston as the early season world leader following her 7.94 clocking in Clemson earlier this month.
The men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles is equally loaded, with world champion Cordell Tinch up against Olympic silver medallist Daniel Roberts and 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham.
In other sprint action, 2024 Diamond League champion Ackeem Blake headlines the men&rsquo;s 60m, while 2019 world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith leads the women&rsquo;s event.
The two-lap sprints also promise fireworks. Olympic relay champion Quincy Wilson, who recently turned 18, looks to continue his remarkable rise in the men&rsquo;s 400m. He won in Boston last year with a world U18 short track best of 45.66, then went on to break the outdoor age-group best for the distance with 44.10. He&rsquo;ll remain an U20 athlete for all of 2027, so he still has plenty of time to chase the ratified world U20 short track best of 44.80.
The women&rsquo;s 400m features world heptathlon champion Anna Hall, who adds an extra layer of intrigue by doubling up later in the programme. The US all-rounder will also contest the long jump, where she joins an outstanding domestic field that includes double Olympic bronze medallist Jasmine Moore, world indoor champion Claire Bryant and 2024 world indoor silver medallist Monae&rsquo; Nichols.
<h2>Strong depth in distances</h2>
As is often the case in Boston, distance fans are well catered for. A high-quality men&rsquo;s 2000m field features 2022 world 1500m champion Jake Wightman, double Olympic bronze medallist and world short track 3000m record-holder Grant Fisher and 2024 world indoor 1500m bronze medallist Hobbs Kessler.
The women&rsquo;s 1500m brings together world silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi of Kenya and US mile record-holder Sinclaire Johnson, before attention turns to a standout women&rsquo;s 3000m featuring Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull and 2024 world indoor champion Elle St Pierre, the US indoor record-holder.
In the men&rsquo;s 3000m, world U20 mile record-holder Cameron Myers takes on Irish record-holder Andrew Coscoran, who returns to Boston after his win here last year.
From explosive sprints to tactically rich distance races, Boston promises to deliver an electric start to top-flight World Indoor Tour action. And with records already wobbling early in the indoor season, few marks will feel entirely safe on Saturday.
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New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

International track and field action is back with a bang on Saturday (24) as Boston hosts the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

Lyles, Hall and Tinch kick-start indoor campaigns in Boston

Organisers of the Boston Marathon have revealed the women&rsquo;s field for the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on 20 April.
Sharon Lokedi, who won in Boston last year with a course record of 2:17:22, will be back to defend her title. Six months after her Boston triumph, Lokedi went on to place second in New York in 2:20:07, an official PB (as Boston is ineligible for records and PBs).
Lokedi is joined by fellow Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot and Irine Cheptai, as well as Ethiopians Workenesh Edesa and Bedatu Hirpa. In total, there are 11 women on the entry list who have bettered 2:20 for the marathon.
Cheptai placed fourth last year in 2:21:32, while world and Olympic gold medallist Cheruiyot finished fifth in London last year. Edesa won the 2024 Sydney Marathon, as well as the Osaka and Hamburg Marathons in 2025, while Hirpa was the Paris and Dubai Marathon winner last year.
Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Ngugi-Cooper, who set a PB of 2:19:25 in Chicago last year, has placed in the top 10 five times in Boston.
There are also 13 US women in the field with PBs faster than 2:26. It features all three women who represented the US at the 2024 Olympics, including US record-holder Emily Sisson, as well as the US trio that competed at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, led by fourth-place finisher Susanna Sullivan.
The full men&rsquo;s field will be announced soon, but defending champion John Korir and USA&rsquo;s Conner Mantz have already been confirmed.
<h3>Women&rsquo;s field</h3>
Irine Cheptai (KEN) 2:17:51 Workenesh Edesa (ETH) 2:17:55 Magdalena Shauri (TAN) 2:18:03 Joan Melly (ROU) 2:18:04 Loice Chemnung (KEN) 2:18:24 Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:18:27 Emily Sisson (USA) 2:18:29 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:18:31 Keira D&rsquo;Amato (USA) 2:19:12 Mary Ngugi-Cooper (KEN) 2:19:26 Sharon Lokedi (KEN) 2:20:07 Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32 Gadise Mulu (ETH) 2:20:59 Calli Hauger-Thackery (GBR) 2:21:24 Fikrte Wereta (ETH) 2:21:32 Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:21:56 Fiona O&rsquo;Keeffe (USA) 2:22:10 Mao Uesugi (JPN) 2:22:11 Erika Kemp (USA) 2:22:56 Isobel Batt-Doyle (AUS) 2:22:59 Lisa Weightman (AUS) 2:23:15 Natosha Rogers (USA) 2:23:28 Mercy Chelangat (KEN) 2:23:33 Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:24:12 Dakotah Popehn (USA) 2:24:20 Gabi Rooker (USA) 2:24:29 Leanne Pompeani (AUS) 2:24:47 Jess McClain (USA) 2:25:46

Organisers of the Boston Marathon have revealed the women’s field for the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on 20 April.

Course record-holder Lokedi leads Boston Marathon’s women’s field

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 &ndash; 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.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been fighting for an individual gold medal for a long time,&rdquo; Ngetich said just minutes after the race, her voice steady but tinged with relief. &ldquo;I was third in Australia, fourth in Belgrade. Most of the times I was there, but not at the very top. I didn&rsquo;t give up and today I&rsquo;m so happy, I&rsquo;m so grateful.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/696e51e135634eb84afe406b.JPG" alt="Agnes Ngetich celebrates her win at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26" />
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Agnes Ngetich celebrates her win at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjE2IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjE2IiB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgNDgwIDM2MCI+CiAgICAgIDxnIHRyYW5zZm9ybT0idHJhbnNsYXRlKDAsMzYwKSBzY2FsZSgwLjEsLTAuMSkiIGZpbGw9IiNCMkIyQjIiPgogICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xOTA1IDMxODIgYy0xMjYgLTQ0IC0xODcgLTEwMCAtMjUzIC0yMzMgbC00NyAtOTQgLTM1MCAtNSBjLTMyNiAtNQogICAgICAgIC0zNTQgLTYgLTQwMSAtMjYgLTE0NyAtNjAgLTI0NiAtMTgwIC0yNzQgLTMzMSAtMTQgLTc2IC0xNCAtMTY1OSAwIC0xNzM0IDMxCiAgICAgICAgLTE2NyAxNzMgLTMxMyAzMzggLTM0OCAzNyAtOCA0NzYgLTExIDE0OTAgLTExIDE1NDMgMCAxNDgwIC0yIDE1ODggNTAgMTA0IDUxCiAgICAgICAgMjAwIDE4MSAyMjQgMzA1IDggNDMgMTAgMzAwIDggOTEwIGwtMyA4NTAgLTIzIDU2IGMtNDcgMTEyIC0xNDEgMjA2IC0yNTIgMjUyCiAgICAgICAgLTUyIDIxIC03MiAyMiAtNDA1IDI3IGwtMzUwIDUgLTQ2IDk1IGMtNTQgMTEyIC0xMDYgMTY2IC0yMDcgMjEzIGwtNjcgMzIKICAgICAgICAtNDYwIDIgYy00MTYgMyAtNDY1IDEgLTUxMCAtMTV6IG05NzIgLTIzNyBjMTggLTEzIDUyIC02OCA5MyAtMTUwIDQyIC04MyA3NQogICAgICAgIC0xMzcgOTMgLTE1MCAyNyAtMTkgNDcgLTIwIDQxNSAtMjUgNDM4IC02IDQyNyAtNCA0ODcgLTg5IGwzMCAtNDMgMyAtODM2IGMyCiAgICAgICAgLTYxMCAwIC04NDggLTggLTg3NiAtMTcgLTU2IC01NCAtMTAyIC0xMDQgLTEyNSAtNDIgLTIxIC01MSAtMjEgLTE0ODggLTIxCiAgICAgICAgbC0xNDQ1IDAgLTQ0IDIzIGMtMjkgMTYgLTU0IDQwIC03NCA3MiBsLTMwIDQ4IDAgODUxIGMwIDg0NCAwIDg1MSAyMSA4OTEgMTEKICAgICAgICAyMiA0MCA1NCA2MyA3MCBsNDMgMzAgMzg4IDUgYzM2OSA1IDM5MCA2IDQxNyAyNSAxOCAxMyA1MCA2NCA4OCAxNDEgMzMgNjcgNjcKICAgICAgICAxMjkgNzUgMTM5IDM2IDQzIDUzIDQ1IDUxMiA0MiA0MjIgLTIgNDM4IC0zIDQ2NSAtMjJ6Ii8+CiAgICAgICAgPHBhdGggZD0iTTIzMDAgMjQ1MSBjLTM4MiAtNTQgLTY3MSAtMzYzIC02OTcgLTc0NiAtMjEgLTMxOCAxNjEgLTYyNyA0NTIKICAgICAgICAtNzY2IDEyNiAtNjAgMTg5IC03NCAzNTAgLTc0IDExOSAwIDE1MSA0IDIxNSAyMyAyNzYgODcgNDgwIDI5NiA1NTYgNTcyIDI1CiAgICAgICAgOTAgMjYgMjk5IDEgMzkwIC03OCAyODggLTMwMCA1MDkgLTU4OSA1ODQgLTcxIDE4IC0yMTYgMjcgLTI4OCAxN3ogbTI3MCAtMjQ5CiAgICAgICAgYzE5NyAtNjggMzM0IC0yMTQgMzg1IC00MDcgNzQgLTI4NyAtMTA0IC01OTkgLTM5MCAtNjg0IC0xMDEgLTMwIC0yNjcgLTI3CiAgICAgICAgLTM2MCA3IC0xNzQgNjQgLTMyNyAyNDAgLTM2NCA0MjAgLTYyIDMwNSAxMzUgNjA4IDQzOSA2NzcgODIgMTkgMjE1IDEyIDI5MAogICAgICAgIC0xM3oiLz4KICAgICAgPC9nPgogICAgPC9zdmc+CiAgICA=" alt="photographer icon" /> Morgan Tencza)
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The Tallahassee course demanded more than speed and after a controlled opening lap, Ngetich sensed hesitation in the pack.
&ldquo;I could feel it was a little bit slow,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was like, let me try to push, at least to see if the group can go.&rdquo;
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.
&ldquo;The obstacles were tough,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;First lap you feel strong. Second lap, you&rsquo;re going down. Jumping over those things was difficult.&rdquo;
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&rsquo;s title and two-time champion Beatrice Chebet absent, all eyes were on her.
&ldquo;All the weight came to me,&rdquo; Ngetich said. &ldquo;I was like, if the title was in Kenya, it has to stay in Kenya, I have to fight for it. I didn&rsquo;t want to lose, because people were looking up to me.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/696e520935634eb84afe4071.jpg" alt="Agnes Ngetich in action at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26" />
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Agnes Ngetich in action at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgd2lkdGg9IjE2IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjE2IiB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgNDgwIDM2MCI+CiAgICAgIDxnIHRyYW5zZm9ybT0idHJhbnNsYXRlKDAsMzYwKSBzY2FsZSgwLjEsLTAuMSkiIGZpbGw9IiNCMkIyQjIiPgogICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xOTA1IDMxODIgYy0xMjYgLTQ0IC0xODcgLTEwMCAtMjUzIC0yMzMgbC00NyAtOTQgLTM1MCAtNSBjLTMyNiAtNQogICAgICAgIC0zNTQgLTYgLTQwMSAtMjYgLTE0NyAtNjAgLTI0NiAtMTgwIC0yNzQgLTMzMSAtMTQgLTc2IC0xNCAtMTY1OSAwIC0xNzM0IDMxCiAgICAgICAgLTE2NyAxNzMgLTMxMyAzMzggLTM0OCAzNyAtOCA0NzYgLTExIDE0OTAgLTExIDE1NDMgMCAxNDgwIC0yIDE1ODggNTAgMTA0IDUxCiAgICAgICAgMjAwIDE4MSAyMjQgMzA1IDggNDMgMTAgMzAwIDggOTEwIGwtMyA4NTAgLTIzIDU2IGMtNDcgMTEyIC0xNDEgMjA2IC0yNTIgMjUyCiAgICAgICAgLTUyIDIxIC03MiAyMiAtNDA1IDI3IGwtMzUwIDUgLTQ2IDk1IGMtNTQgMTEyIC0xMDYgMTY2IC0yMDcgMjEzIGwtNjcgMzIKICAgICAgICAtNDYwIDIgYy00MTYgMyAtNDY1IDEgLTUxMCAtMTV6IG05NzIgLTIzNyBjMTggLTEzIDUyIC02OCA5MyAtMTUwIDQyIC04MyA3NQogICAgICAgIC0xMzcgOTMgLTE1MCAyNyAtMTkgNDcgLTIwIDQxNSAtMjUgNDM4IC02IDQyNyAtNCA0ODcgLTg5IGwzMCAtNDMgMyAtODM2IGMyCiAgICAgICAgLTYxMCAwIC04NDggLTggLTg3NiAtMTcgLTU2IC01NCAtMTAyIC0xMDQgLTEyNSAtNDIgLTIxIC01MSAtMjEgLTE0ODggLTIxCiAgICAgICAgbC0xNDQ1IDAgLTQ0IDIzIGMtMjkgMTYgLTU0IDQwIC03NCA3MiBsLTMwIDQ4IDAgODUxIGMwIDg0NCAwIDg1MSAyMSA4OTEgMTEKICAgICAgICAyMiA0MCA1NCA2MyA3MCBsNDMgMzAgMzg4IDUgYzM2OSA1IDM5MCA2IDQxNyAyNSAxOCAxMyA1MCA2NCA4OCAxNDEgMzMgNjcgNjcKICAgICAgICAxMjkgNzUgMTM5IDM2IDQzIDUzIDQ1IDUxMiA0MiA0MjIgLTIgNDM4IC0zIDQ2NSAtMjJ6Ii8+CiAgICAgICAgPHBhdGggZD0iTTIzMDAgMjQ1MSBjLTM4MiAtNTQgLTY3MSAtMzYzIC02OTcgLTc0NiAtMjEgLTMxOCAxNjEgLTYyNyA0NTIKICAgICAgICAtNzY2IDEyNiAtNjAgMTg5IC03NCAzNTAgLTc0IDExOSAwIDE1MSA0IDIxNSAyMyAyNzYgODcgNDgwIDI5NiA1NTYgNTcyIDI1CiAgICAgICAgOTAgMjYgMjk5IDEgMzkwIC03OCAyODggLTMwMCA1MDkgLTU4OSA1ODQgLTcxIDE4IC0yMTYgMjcgLTI4OCAxN3ogbTI3MCAtMjQ5CiAgICAgICAgYzE5NyAtNjggMzM0IC0yMTQgMzg1IC00MDcgNzQgLTI4NyAtMTA0IC01OTkgLTM5MCAtNjg0IC0xMDEgLTMwIC0yNjcgLTI3CiAgICAgICAgLTM2MCA3IC0xNzQgNjQgLTMyNyAyNDAgLTM2NCA0MjAgLTYyIDMwNSAxMzUgNjA4IDQzOSA2NzcgODIgMTkgMjE1IDEyIDI5MAogICAgICAgIC0xM3oiLz4KICAgICAgPC9nPgogICAgPC9zdmc+CiAgICA=" alt="photographer icon" /> Sergio Mateo Maria)
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And standing just off the course, watching every step, was the person guiding her through the pressure on race day: her coach, Julien Di Maria. It was he who was alongside the course in Tallahassee, part of the close-knit support network that has shaped Ngetich&rsquo;s journey at the highest level.
Also watching proudly was Ruth Jepchumba Bundotich, a long-time mentor who has played a central role in Ngetich&rsquo;s development since her teenage years. Bundotich is the chaperone of the girls&rsquo; camp in Kenya that Ngetich came through eight years ago, helping to nurture and guide young athletes before they turn professional. Recently named World Athletics Woman of the Year, she was recognised for her leadership and for building a supportive ecosystem for women and young athletes in Kenya &ndash;&nbsp;an environment that helped lay the foundations for Ngetich&rsquo;s success.
"My team never gave up on me,&rdquo; Ngetich said, eyes lighting up. &ldquo;They motivate me. Today, they told me, 'Don't panic. Just go. Be yourself'."
It&rsquo;s a bond forged through patience and belief, built across years of near misses and incremental progress. Ngetich&rsquo;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.
&ldquo;This one is special,&rdquo; she said softly. &ldquo;Records are meant to be broken. Maybe tomorrow, maybe any time. But to be a world champion, that stays. It&rsquo;s always there.&rdquo;
After the race, Ngetich returned repeatedly to the people who had carried her through the pressure. &ldquo;My family was there for me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;My teammates. My coach. They were all like, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t fear anyone.&rsquo;&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/696e51f635634eb84afe406e.JPG" alt="Agnes Ngetich at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26" />
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Agnes Ngetich at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Morgan Tencza)
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For now, there are no long-term plans for the rest of 2026. &ldquo;This was just opening the season,&rdquo; she smiled. &ldquo;When I go back home, I&rsquo;ll sit with my coach and see how it goes.&rdquo; Then she laughed, finally light. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t go for Christmas. I said if I get a medal, I&rsquo;ll go for Christmas, so this is my Christmas present.&rdquo;
On a course that demanded strength, patience and courage, Ngetich didn&rsquo;t just win a race, she showed that she possesses all three attributes. Supported by a team that 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
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46th World Athletics Cross Country Championships

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

Gold, guidance and greatness: Ngetich's historic win

Bahrain&rsquo;s Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Berihu Aregawi lived up to their status as pre-race favourites by capturing commanding wins at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza &ndash; a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in the Spanish town of Elgoibar on Sunday (18).
While Yavi dominated to clinch her first win at the event, Aregawi completed a hat-trick of consecutive victories as he prevailed against Eritrea&rsquo;s rising star Saymon Amanuel.
Yavi took command of the women's 7.62km race from the start and covered the opening lap on the track in 1:15 with only Tunisia&rsquo;s Marwa Bouzayani and Kenya&rsquo;s Sheila Jebet in close attendance. By then, the British pair of Lucy Jones and Kate O'Neill plus the Spanish tandem of Isabel Barreiro and Angela Viciosa headed the large chasing pack three seconds back.
Yavi&rsquo;s relentless pace soon paid off as Bouzayani began to cede ground some 2.1km into the race and the Yavi-Jebet clash only lasted a couple of minutes as the former broke away before reaching the third kilometre. Yavi covered the first big lap in 6:55 and she had built a five-second margin on Jebet, the 20-year-old Kenyan herself 15 seconds clear of world 3000m steeplechase fourth-place finisher Bouzayani. Jones, Barreiro and Viciosa travelled 45 seconds adrift of the lonesome leader.
The penultimate 2.2km circuit saw an outstanding Yavi gradually extend her lead as she enjoyed a huge 26-second advantage on Jebet and 52-second gap over Bouzayani at the bell following another brisk 6:57 loop. Over the closing lap, the 2023 world champion maintained her swift rhythm and the final circuit was covered in 6:56 as she reached the finish line unopposed. Her winning margin grew to 1:06 on Jebet, while Bouzayani secured her third place a further 19 seconds behind. In the fight to become the top European, Barreiro and Jones battled fiercely to the finish line, the 26-year-old Spaniard finally prevailing over the Briton by one second.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m delighted,&rdquo; said Yavi. &ldquo;In Elgoibar, the people are so nice and they make me feel special. I came here very well prepared both physically and mentally. It&rsquo;s a great success for me to win here after my third place some years ago. I&rsquo;ll next compete at the World Military Cross Country Championships in Trikala (Greece) at the end of February.&rdquo;
The men&rsquo;s 9.71km contest was held after a heartfelt one-minute silence observed in memory of Great Britain&rsquo;s Lachie Stewart, a three-time winner in Elgoibar in 1969, 1970 and 1972 and the Commonwealth 10,000m champion in 1970.
The race kicked off at a very comfortable pace, the opening 400m on the track being covered in 1:14 with Spain&rsquo;s Nassim Hassaous and Britain&rsquo;s Edward Buck at the helm, while the favourites Aregawi, Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Amanuel ran effortlessly close to them.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/696d1a9d3d3ce1bc815c3e0a.jpg" alt="Berihu Aregawi celebrates his Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza win" />
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Berihu Aregawi celebrates his Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza win (&copy; @fotorunners <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> F&eacute;lix S&aacute;nchez)
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The first serious move came some nine minutes into the race when Said Mechaal, fresh from a Spanish 10km record of 27:25 in Valencia the previous weekend, injected a brisker pace to cover the opening big lap in 6:29 and whittle down the head pack to eight athletes.
The 18-year-old Amanuel moved to the front just before the midway point and his pace was only followed by Aregawi and Ndikumwenayo, while Mechaal dropped back a few metres in fourth. After a second big loop timed at 6:22, Amanuel and Aregawi led three seconds clear of Ndikumwenayo, himself another two seconds ahead of Mechaal, while Uruguay&rsquo;s Santiago Catrofe travelled one second behind the latter.
The fascinating Aregawi-Amanuel duel came to an end when Aregawi &ndash; back in action eight days after securing his third consecutive silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee &ndash; found another gear with the clock reading 22 minutes. That saw him drop the emerging Eritrean who lost four seconds at the bell after an impressive 6:12 circuit by Aregawi, while Mechaal, Ndikumwenayo and Catrofe formed a trio some 20 seconds behind the Ethiopian.
Over the final lap Aregawi kept Amanuel at bay, the Eritrean never threatening his rival&rsquo;s lead as Aregawi built an eight-second advantage on Amanuel before the closing kilometre. By the tape the 24-year-old Ethiopian stamped his authority thanks to another 6:10 circuit to finish seven seconds clear of his young rival, while a powerful Mechaal proved to be in great form as he unleashed an attack inside the final 500 metres to speed away from Ndikumwenayo &ndash; the eighth-place finisher at last weekend&rsquo;s World Cross Country Championships &ndash; and Catrofe.
&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s win is my third consecutive win here and that makes me very happy,&rdquo; said Aregawi, who joins Spain&rsquo;s Mariano Haro in winning the men&rsquo;s race three times in a row. &ldquo;The circuit is tough but I already know how to manage it.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women (7.6km) 1 Winfred Yavi (BRN) 25:23 2 Sheila Jebet (KEN) 26:29 3 Marwa Bouzayani (TUN) 26:49 4 Isabel Barreiro (ESP) 27:07 5 Lucy Jones (GBR) 27:08 6 Angela Viciosa (ESP) 27:29 7 Andrea Romero (ESP) 27:50 8 Kate O&rsquo;Neill (GBR) 27:50 9 Marta Serrano (ESP) 28:00 10 Rosalia Tarraga (ESP) 28:09
Men (9.7km) 1 Berihu Aregawi (ETH) 29:33 2 Saymon Amanuel (ERI) 29:40 3 Said Mechaal (ESP) 30:09 4 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP) 30:12 5 Santiago Catrofe (URU) 30:15 6 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 30:32 7 Yahya Aouina (ESP) 30:35 8 Javier Guerra (ESP) 30:39 9 Carlos Mayo (ESP) 30:44 10 Mesfin Escamilla (ESP) 30:54
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-tour/calendar-results/7231829/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a>

Bahrain’s Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi and Ethiopia’s Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Berihu Aregawi lived up to their status as pre-race favourites

Where it all began: Hall’s first global gold

Former World Athletics Vice-President Dapeng dies

Battocletti and Ntakarutimana triumph at Campaccio

Chesang takes commanding win in Osaka

Hoey breaks world 800m short track record with 1:42.50 in Boston