Ugandan successfully defends senior men’s crown in Belgrade as Will Barnicoat is best of the Brits in 27th
Jacob Kiplimo handled the heat with ease, negotiated the hay maze in style and took the man-made blue ‘hills’ in his stride as he stormed to another world cross-country men’s title in Belgrade on Saturday (March 30).
The Ugandan had too much pace for his rivals in the closing stages of a gruelling 10km race. At the finishing area the athletes were caked in mud and dripping with sweat. Some sought sanctuary in the nearby first aid tent. But Kiplimo, who clocked 28:09, looked like he could have gone around again.
The Ugandan joins an exclusive club of athletes who have won back-to-back men’s titles at the World Cross – namely Kenenisa Bekele, Geoffrey Kamworor and Paul Tergat.
Runner-up on Saturday was Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia – three seconds behind the winner and perhaps his day will come in future – as Benson Kiplangat earned a surprise bronze and led Kenya to team gold.
Jacob Kiplimo (Getty)
Nicholas Kipkoror and Samwel Masai of Kenya were fourth and fifth as one of the big favourites and former champions, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, was a relatively well beaten sixth with Sabastian Sawe of Kenya seventh.
Chimdessa Debele had a spell at the front in the early stages but the Ethiopian faded to 16th, while Gideon Rono of Kenya then moved into a small lead mid-race before dropping back to ultimately finish eighth.
It was a day when slow starters were rewarded and over-eager runners were punished. Kiplimo’s move came with around a mile to go as he sped away to gold, even having time to showboat a little in the closing strides.
“The course was fine, a little challenging with the obstacles,” Kiplimo said. “It was a little tough running in the heat, but that wasn’t a major issue.
“I was hungry for medals after missing Budapest last year. I was in good shape, but then the injury happened and I had to get treatment, but I am back now.
“My goal this year is to do what Cheptegei did and win an Olympic gold. My main focus is the 10,000m, but I’m not sure yet if I want to double.”
Will Barnicoat, the European under-23 champion, was the leading Brit in 27th and he was pretty pleased with his run. “Tactically, I ran that as one of the best races in my lifetime,” he said.
“I’m off to Font Romeu now for a block of hard training and then back on the track,” he added, with ambitions to qualify for the 5000m at the European Championships in Rome in June.
Calum Johnson, the UK Inter-Counties winner, was also pleased with his afternoon’s work as he finished 44th. He has little time to recover, though, before racing again in the Berlin Half Marathon next week, which is part of a long-term plan under coach Alan Storey to move to the marathon ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Tom Evans was also satisfied with 49th place. Brutally realistic, he said he didn’t expect to live with the likes of Kiplimo but his main achievement was qualifying for the event and he will now turn his attention to his speciality – ultra distance running – with the European Off-Road Running Championships in Annecy in late May and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in August.
With the senior men’s race finishing the programme, Evans was also full of praise for the GB team – the highlights of which were the mixed relay bronze, Abbie Donnelly’s 20th place in the women’s race and Innes FitzGerald and Jess Bailey making the top 20 in the under-20 women’s event.
“We may not be winning medals right at the front but we are all there giving it our absolute best,” he said, adding that it was great that British Athletics had sent sizeable teams to Belgrade whereas many other European nations had skipped it.
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James Kingston and Scott Stirling did not have such a great day in 68th and 74. Like Evans, Kingston suggested it was his main goal to simply make the team and, aged just 22, he hopes to use this a springboard for further success.
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