{"id":7828,"date":"2026-01-06T19:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7828\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T19:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:33:17","slug":"ngetich-ebenyo-head-kenyan-team-for-world-cross-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7828\/","title":{"rendered":"Ng\u2019etich, Ebenyo head Kenyan team for World Cross Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mkalla<\/a> By
\n
\n Mkalla wa Mwambodze
\n <\/a>
\n Published on: January 06, 2026 08:05 (EAT)
\n \"Ng\u2019etich, \"Vocalize <\/p>\n

Audio By Vocalize<\/p>\n

Kenyan athletes have struck a confident tone ahead of the
\n2026 World Cross Country Championships scheduled for January 10 in Tallahassee,
\nFlorida, USA. <\/p>\n

A strong 35-member squad will be seeking to defend the overall
\ntitle Kenya won at last year\u2019s championships in Belgrade, Serbia, where the
\ncountry topped the medal standings with an outstanding 11 medals \u2014 six gold,
\ntwo silver and three bronze.<\/p>\n

World 10km record holder Agnes Ng\u2019etich will lead Kenya\u2019s
\ncharge in the senior women\u2019s 10km race, her blistering speed expected to play a
\nkey role in the country\u2019s title defence. Ng\u2019etich will be supported by a
\nformidable lineup that includes Maurine Chebor Jepkoech, Brenda Kenei, Rebecca
\nMwangi, Caren Chebet and Joyline Jepkemoi.<\/p>\n

In the senior men\u2019s race, 2023 World 10,000m silver
\nmedallist Daniel Ebenyo will spearhead the Kenyan assault. He will be backed by
\na strong and competitive cast featuring rising star Ishmael Rokitto, Edwin
\nBett, Robert Koech, Weldon Langat, Shadrack Koech, Denis Kemboi, Kevin Chesang
\nand Daniel Munguti.<\/p>\n

Munguti highlighted the intensity of the preparations,
\nnoting the focus on strength and course demands. \u201cThe training was very good,
\nand we concentrated a lot on barriers and strength training because it won\u2019t be
\neasy in America,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Ebenyo echoed the optimism within the camp, adding: \u201cWe are
\nready because we have worked hard for this, and we are very excited to be
\nhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Under-20 women\u2019s 6km race will see Cynthia Chepkirui
\nlead a promising Kenyan team that includes Mirriam Kibet, Lonah Cherono, Mercy
\nMageso, Caren Chepng\u2019eno, Mercy Jelimo and Joan Chepkirui. Cherono expressed
\nconfidence in the squad\u2019s progress, saying their preparations have been solid
\nas they head to the United States in search of gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank our coaches for guiding us well, and we promise
\nKenyans that we will fight in Florida and return with victory,\u201d said Joan
\nChepkirui and Cynthia Chepkirui.<\/p>\n

In the Under-20 men\u2019s 8km contest, World U-20 5,000m
\nchampion Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi will headline a talented lineup that also
\nincludes Emmanuel Kipkorir, Frankline Kibet, Edwin Elkana, Kevin Biwott, Andrew
\nKiptoo and Brian Kandie, as Kenya once again aims to assert its dominance on
\nthe global cross country stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Mkalla wa Mwambodze Published on: January 06, 2026 08:05 (EAT) Audio By Vocalize Kenyan athletes have struck…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[2279,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-7828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-kenya"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}