Beatrice Chebet wins the senior women's race in Bathurst (© AFP / Getty Images)
As the year draws to a close, we look back at the key moments of 2023 in each area of the sport.
The series continues with a review of cross country, and will be followed over the coming days by reviews of other event groups.
As is always the case when reviewing cross country in a calendar year, it’s a story of two seasons.
The World Athletics Cross Country Tour always straddles two years, as it usually starts in September or October and then finishes in February or March of the following year.
But 2023 had the additional spectacle of the first World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held for four years, with Bathurst in Australia hosting the event in February.
Men’s cross country
2022-2023 World Athletics Cross Country Tour standings
| 1 | Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) | 3720 |
| 1 | Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI) | 3720 |
| 1 | Yann Schrub (FRA) | 3720 |
| 4 | Levy Kibet (KEN) | 3660 |
| 5 | Birhanu Balew (BRN) | 3660 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) | 29:17 |
| 🥈 | Berihu Aregawi (ETH) | 29:26 |
| 🥉 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) | 29:37 |
| Full results | ||
Season at a glance
Jacob Kiplimo ensured the men’s title at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships remained with Uganda as he claimed gold by beating defending champion Joshua Cheptegei in Bathurst.
Kiplimo, 23, had finished as runner-up to his elder compatriot at the last edition of the event in Aarhus in 2019. Four years on he was a significantly more experienced competitor and he had the endurance – on a day of stormy conditions – to outrun a field of stellar talents.
The young Ugandan, who had won a first senior global title 18 months after the previous World Cross Country Championships by earning world half marathon gold, covered the 10km course in Bathurst in 29:17.
The double Commonwealth 10,000m champion, who also has Olympic and world 10,000m bronze medals on his CV, checked over his shoulder several times before celebrating over the final 50 metres.
Cheptegei just held on to bronze, one place ahead of Kenya’s fast-finishing 2015 and 2017 winner Geoffrey Kamworor, with both being given a time of 29:37.
Silver, in 29:26, went to Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi, who finished the season top of the men’s 10km road race standings with 26:33, while Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie finished fifth, some 20 seconds adrift.
Ishmael Kipkurui became the first Kenyan in 12 years to win the men’s U20 title, finishing the 8km course in 24:29, one second ahead of his compatriot Reynold Cheruiyot, the world U20 1500m champion.
Bronze went to Ethiopia’s Boki Diriba in 24:31.
Kenya won the senior team gold ahead of Ethiopia and Uganda. Gold and silver went the same way in the U20 team event, with bronze going to the United States.
Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera, men’s winner of the 2021-2022 World Athletics Cross Country Tour, had to share the honour with his compatriot Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Yann Schrub of France in the 2022-2023 edition.
All three achieved a perfect score of 3720 through their three best marks of the series.
Schrub, the European 10,000m bronze medallist, made his first appearance on the tour at the end of January when he won in Hannut and he went on to to win in Calzadilla and Albufeira in February.
Ndikumwenayo won in Soria, Atapuerca and Seville in the space of two weeks in November.
Kwizera made six appearances in the series and was triumphant on four occasions - in Amorebieta in October, Alcobendas in November, Venta de Banos in December and at Campaccio in January.
A strong start to the 2023-2024 series puts Kwizera in a good position to make a successful defence of the title.
After the first eight races he has two wins to his credit, claimed at the Spanish venues of Soria on 19 November and Alcobendas a week later.
The six other races have gone to six different winners, with Celestin Ndikumana coming home first at Amorebieta-Etxano on 22 October, Kiplimo – recently recovered from injury – taking the title in Atapuerca a week later, Keneth Kiprop winning in Cardiff on 11 November, Ronald Kwemoi ending victorious in Seville a day later, Adriaan Wildschutt winning at Austin, Texas, on 30 November and Abdessamad Oukhelfen triumphant in Venta de Banos on 17 December.
On 10 December Schrub won a first senior European cross country title for France on a muddy course in Brussels.
Britain’s Will Barnicoat earned the U23 title, with Axel Vang Christensen winning a sprint finish to claim the men’s U20 title for Denmark.
Women’s cross country
2022-2023 World Athletics Cross Country Tour standings
| 1 | Rahel Daniel (ERI) | 3720 |
| 1 | Lucy Mawia (KEN) | 3720 |
| 3 | Isabel Barreiro (ESP) | 3620 |
| 4 | Laura Luengo (ESP) | 3580 |
| 5 | Purity Chepkirui (KEN) | 3570 |
World medallists
| 🥇 | Beatrice Chebet (KEN) | 33:48 |
| 🥈 | Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) | 33:56 |
| 🥉 | Agnes Jebet Ngetich (KEN) | 34:00 |
| Full results | ||
Season at a glance
Beatrice Chebet of Kenya earned a dramatic win in the women’s senior race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 after the favourite, Letesenbet Gidey, collapsed within a few metres of apparent victory.
Ethiopia’s world 10,000m champion and world record-holder had tracked her Kenyan rival until the final lap, when she moved ahead. But Chebet, a silver medallist in the previous year’s world 5000m final, maintained her form and belief to regain the lead over the final metres, with Gidey dropping suddenly with the finish line in sight.
She was out for the count – officially so after a spectator jumped the fence to help her over the line, with Gidey thus incurring disqualification.
Chebet, the U20 world cross country champion in 2019, won gold in 33:48, while Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama claimed silver in 33:56 and Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich took bronze in 34:00.
“I didn’t expect to win but she was slowing,” Chebet said. “I saw my chance and I decided to kick. I felt she didn’t have any more.”
Ethiopia topped the podium in the women’s 6km U20 race thanks to 17-year-old Senayet Getachew, who finished ahead of Kenya’s 18-year-old Medina Eisa and 15-year-old Pamela Kosgei.
Kenya won team gold ahead of Ethiopia in the senior and U20 events, with senior bronze going to Uganda and U20 bronze to the United States.
The hosts got on to the medal podium in the mixed relay, where they won bronze behind Kenya and Ethiopia.
Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel and Kenya’s Lucy Mawia finished as joint leaders in the 2022-2023 World Athletics Cross Country Tour with perfect scores of 3720 from their best three marks in the series.
Daniel, who had won the 2021-2022 series outright, won at Campaccio in January and in Elgoibar just two days later. She then faced difficult snowy conditions in Hannut later that month, but once again emerged as the winner.
Mawia, runner-up to Daniel in the previous edition of the competition, had dominated the races at the start of the tour, winning in Bydgoszcz in October and in Soria and Alcobendas in November.
With eight of the 2023-2024 series races completed, Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw has guaranteed herself at least a share of the title with three victories.
She won the opening race of the season at Amorebieta-Etxano on 22 October, adding maximum points also at two other Spanish races in Soria on 19 November and Alcobendas on 26 November.
Chebet won at Atapuerca on 29 October, while Megan Keith was victorious in Cardiff on 11 November and Edinah Jebitok won in Seville the following day. Jebitok also took the title in Venta de Banos on 17 December.
The race at Austin, Texas, on 30 November was won by home runner Katie Wasserman.
At the European Cross Country Championships, Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal completed a hat-trick of women’s senior titles.
The 33-year-old Norwegian completed the 9km course at a muddy Laeken Park in 33:40, 45 seconds ahead of Italy’s multiple U20 and U23 winner Nadia Battocletti, who passed Great Britain’s Abbie Donnelly on the final lap to secure silver.
Donnelly held on for bronze, clocking 34:42 to finish 18 seconds ahead of Ireland’s two-time champion Fionnuala McCormack.
On a day that saw Great Britain top the medal table, Megan Keith won the women’s U23 titles and her compatriot Innes FitzGerald took U20 gold.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics
