Kiplimo wins third successive World Cross Country Crown
David GOMBE
Jacob Kiplimo stormed to a historic third consecutive World Cross Country title at the 2026 Championships in Tallahassee, USA.
The Ugandan long-distance runner clocked a time of 28 minutes 18 seconds in the senior men’s race on Saturday (10 January).
His victory saw him become the fourth man in history to win three consecutive world cross-country titles. He now joins John Ngugi, Paul Tergat and Kenenisa Bekele in achieving the ‘threepeat’ on the trail.
Ethiopia’s Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Berihu Aregawi added a World Championship silver medal, followed closely behind by Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo in third place.
Kiplimo, a three-time Olympian, has now won five World Championship gold medals and a total medal tally of eight. After winning last year’s Chicago Marathon in the United States, the Ugandan has secured another medal to open the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, Agnes Jebet Ngetich won the first individual world title of her career in the senior women’s race at Apalachee Regional Park.
The Kenyan athlete finished in a time of 31:28.
Double defending world champion Beatrice Chebet missed out on this year’s championship since she is expecting her first child.
Ngetich stepped up to add to her two team gold medals and individual bronze from the previous two World Championships.
Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek and Senayet Getachew of Ethiopia rounded off the podium in Florida, the first time the competition has been held in the USA since Boston 1992.