The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Uganda ready to defend individual and team titles in Australia
🔵 SCHEDULE
✳ Mixed Relay 7.30am
✳ U20 Race W 8.10am
✳ U20 Race M 8.50am
✳ Senior Race W 9.30am
✳ Senior Race M 10.30am
Bathurst, Australia | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | With the fastest man on earth over the 10,000 and 5,000m in their camp, Uganda are in bouyant mood at the World Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2023.
World Champion Joshua Cheptegei will captain a strong Ugandan team out to do better than their best ever performance the last time round – six medals in Aarhus in 2019.
Up to 453 elite runners from 48 teams including Uganda have descended on Australia for the global event this weekend.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ethiopia |
5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 2 |  Kenya |
2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 |  Uganda |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 |  Morocco |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  Japan |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
Uganda, individual gold and silver medalists at the last edition in Aarhus in 2019, are fancied to defend all their titles on with Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo back in form after a spell with injuries. Kenya’s two-time winner Geoffrey Kamworor is expected to be the single threat to the two Ugandan stars.
Only Cheptegei and Kiplimo survive from the Uganda men’s senior team that competed in 2019. The senior men’s team now includes Uganda Police Forces-UPF Long-distance runner Martin Kiprotich Magengo who won the National cross-country championships held in Tororo in December.
“It’s my first time to be in the national team for the world cross country championships, which is an opportunity for me to explore my career to the next level,” Magengo told Uganda Radio Network in Tororo.
The largest lump of gold ever found, a 1.5-metre-tall slab, was unearthed in Bathurst.
Two hundred years later, 450 athletes descend on the city for the #WorldCrossCountry, searching for a different type of gold🥇
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 18, 2023
Expecting to improve on her previous 21st best position, is Stella Chesang who won the senior women’s category in Tororo after crossing the finishing line at 33:56.6. She defeated Prisca Chesang who came second in 34:05.9.
Stella Chesang, who recently returned from maternity leave, and Doreen Chesang, are the only survivors from the women’s team of 2019 in Denmark.
The Uganda junior men’s team was however cut by half, after three athletes failed to secure visas to travel to Australia for the World Cross country championship.
Silas Rotich, Allan Kibet and Feb Chelogoi who were the 2nd, 4th and 5th best of the national junior team, were left behind at Entebbe on Monday night when the rest of the team flew out to join captain Joshua Cheptegei who is alrady in Bathurst. Rotich was the second best runner on the team.
Sources at the Uganda Athletics Federation say visas were denied after the three failed to secure their parent’s IDs in time.
🔵 Cross Country teams 🇺🇬 🏃
✳ Men
312 Joshua CHEPTEGEI
315 Isaac KIBET
316 Rogers KIBET
317 Samuel KIBET
318 Jacob KIPLIMO
320 Martin Magengo KIPROTICH
✳ U20 men
310 Feb CHELEGOI ❌
311 Hosea CHEMUTAI ✅
313 Allan KIBET ❌
314 Dan KIBET ✅
319 Keneth KIPROP ✅
323 Sailas ROTICH ❌
✳ Women
680 Annet Chemengich
681 Mercyline CHELANGAT
683 Rispa CHEROP
685 Doreen CHESANG
686 Prisca CHESANG
687 Stella CHESANG
✳ U20 women
678 Peace CHEBET
679 Felister CHEKWEMOI 7
682 Charity CHEROP
684 Risper CHEROP
688 Bentalin YEKO
✳ Mixed Relay
321 Abu MAYANJA (M)
322 Ronald MUSAGALA (M)
676 Knight ACIRU (W)
677 Linda CHEBET (W)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
