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Kenya’s Edinah Jebitok will aim to be crowned the winner of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Hannut on Sunday, January 21, 2024.

Jebitok will participate in the Tour Gold Meeting buoyed by her success in Seville in November and Venta de Banos in December.

Jebitok finished seventh in Bathurst last year before a second-place finish at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza in Elgoibar on January 7. This was just two seconds behind Beatrice Chebet, the world Cross-Country champion.

Jebitok will enjoy the company of her compatriot Pamela Kosgei, who was also a medallist in Bathurst when she claimed bronze in the U20 women’s race.

Jebitok and Kosgei will face off with Megan Keith of Britain. Keith was a third-place finisher in Hannut last year, and before she went on to win European U23 titles in the 5000m in July and Cross Country in December.

Keith, 21, also took part in the Valencia race and managed a personal best of 31:22.

Giovanna Selva of Italy and Anna Vindics-Toth of Hungary, who placed third and fourth, respectively, at the Campaccio, are among the entrants alongside Kenya’s Faith Chepkoech and Belgium’s Jana Van Lent.

Men’s competition

In the men’s category, Isaac Kimeli will carry the country’s flag and hopes to improve on his runner-up finish last year.

The Kenyan-born star was second to France’s Yann Schrub during the snow-covered race on home soil in 2023. He will be accompanied by Guillaume Grimard, who was third during that race.

Uganda’s Rogers Kibet, Rwanda’s Yves Nimubona, and Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana are among the entrants in the race.

Nimubona and Ntakarutimana started their 2024 cross-country campaigns at the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy, early this month and were third and fourth, respectively. Nimubona clocked a personal best of 27:49 over the 10km race in Valencia a week later.

Kibet also managed a personal best in Valencia, as he finished six places ahead of Nimubona in eighth place by timing 27:07. At the Bathurst World Cross Country Championship in February, the 20-year-old finished 15th.