Team Kenya camp for the World Cross Country Championship Games has set its sights on better performance as the athletics calendar action shifts to the USA city of Tallahassee, Florida.

 The event kicks off on Saturday, January 10, 2026, with Kenya keen on reclaiming the championship they last won in 2017 amid a surge of recent dominance from Ugandans.

Patrick Kivuti, the senior men’s 10-kilometer squad coach, has stated that the team is raring to go, backed with proper training.

Confident

“This time we have a crop of new athletes for the event, but I am confident they are capable of the task and will do what is required of them and do what they achieved in 2017,” he stated.

“If they do what we have been instructing them and as directed, for sure they will bring the title here,” he added.

Among the races of keen interest is a showdown pitting Team Kenya skipper Daniel Ebenyo, a long-distance and half-marathon runner.

The cross-country star will be up against a studded field comprising Kiplimo, who holds the fastest half-marathon ever with an unbelievable time of 56:41 at the Mitja Marató Barcelona in February 2025.

Ebenyo will be out to reclaim the individual title for Kenya as Kiplimo seeks to extend his form as a two-time champion.

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships unite track stars, road runners, and emerging talents on a single, demanding course—celebrating endurance, resilience, and the shared global language of running.

Chebet out

The upcoming championships, which combine proven champions and rising stars, promise to be one of the most compelling editions in recent memory.

This year introduces a new layer of intrigue with the entry of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, whose transition from the track to world-class cross-country adds significant excitement. He will face formidable competition from the defending champion, Kiplimo of Uganda, and Ebenyo.

Kenya will, however, be without the reigning champion, Beatrice Chebet, whose presence would have seen her eye more glory with a third straight title.

With Chebet out, Kenya’s women’s squad will be led by Agnes Jebet Ngetich, the 10,000 km road world record holder and 2023 World Cross Country bronze medalist; Maurine Chebor, the national cross-country champion Brenda Kenei, Rebecca Mwangi, Caren Chebet; and Joyline Jepkemoi.