Ebenyo, Anyango hope for classic debuts in Sirikwa Cross Country
By Joel Sang, February 2, 2024
Daniel Ebenyo and Immculate Anyango will hope to have successful debuts when they feature at the penultimate Sirikwa World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold on Saturday, February 3, in Eldoret.
Ebenyo, a World silver medallist in the half marathon, will be hunting for his second victory on the gold label after opening with a victory at the Campaccio International in January.
The field is expected to be extra competitive, given that Ebenyo will square it out with Ishael Kipkurui, Sebastian Sawe, Stanley Waithaka, Nicholas Kipkorir, and Ronald Kwemoi.
Kipkurui will be looking to improve his fourth-place finish at the Elgoibar Juan Muguerza International Cross Country in January, while Sawe, who won the senior team title at last year’s World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, will be in his first cross country competition since last February.
In November, Kwemoi won at the Cross Internacional de Italica in Seville and will thus be looking for his second victory in the series.
Kimeli, who won gold in the Bathurst World Cross Country Championship, will be making his second appearance in Sirikwa after finishing second in 2022.
Waithaka is also hoping for a better performance after missing last year’s edition due to an injury.
Women’s race
In the women’s category, Anyango will hope to beat a strong field and emerge as the winner on his debut appearance. She is the world’s second-fastest woman over 10km and became the second woman in history to run 10km under 29 minutes after a 28:57 run at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja in January.
Grace Nawowuna, fourth-place finisher at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst and winner of the 2022 Kenyan cross country title, is Anyango’s top competitor.
Joyciline Jepkosgei, Catherine Amanang’ole, Janeth Chepng’etich, and Koan Kipyatich will also line up on the Sirikwa course.
Jepkosgei finished fourth in Chicago in October, Chepngetich was third at the Great Chepsaita Cross Country Run, and Kipyatich was runner-up at the Dublin Marathon in 2023.
Meanwhile, Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei explained why the Sirikwa series will incorporate age-grade competitions.
“These are people who bring more activities to the event; it is an outing at the same time as it is a competition.
“Remember, young athletes either have not discovered themselves or we have also not discovered them. So, this is an opportunity for both of us to discover,” Tuwei said, as per World Athletics.