Chebet, Obiri & Kenya’s past World Cross Country champions who have dominated for 17 remarkable years

• Here is the list of Kenya’s senior women’s past winners at the World Cross Country Championships.
• The latest champion is Agnes Ngetich, who stormed to victory to secure the nation’s 10th consecutive senior women’s title at Tallahassee 26 on Saturday, January 10.
• Beatrice Chebet and Emily Chebet are the only Kenyan athletes to have won the title twice.

Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich stormed to victory, securing the nation’s 10th consecutive senior women’s title at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 on Saturday, January 10.

Winning by an emphatic 42 seconds, the world 10km record holder achieved the second-largest margin of victory in the event’s history.

Ngetich, the 2023 Bathurst bronze medallist and 2024 Belgrade team gold winner, delivered a dominant performance, clocking 31:28 to claim her first global title ahead of Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek and Ethiopia’s Senayet Getachew.

ALSO READ: Agnes Ngetich crowned World Athletics Cross Country champion as Kenya claims record 10th title

To mark this decade of dominance with ten straight championships without a loss, the SportPesa Blog revisits the previous nine victories and the athletes who led the way from 2009 to the present, spanning 17 years in the women’s senior category.

Historically, Kenya’s first gold medal in women’s cross country came in 1994, 21 years after the inaugural race in 1973.

ALSO READ: Beatrice Chebet announces maternity leave following remarkable 2-year run

It was Hellen Chepngeno who earned that historic gold, covering 6.22 km in Budapest in 20:45, after having finished 15th in 1992.

Following that, Ethiopia took over, dethroning Kenya and securing nine titles from 1995 to 2008, with Ireland and the United States also among the contenders.

Kenya’s past World Cross Country Champions

Then, in 2009, Kenya reclaimed dominance a streak that continues today. Here are the champions:

In the 2009 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan, former half marathon record holder Florence Kiplagat helped Kenya regain the gold, clocking 26:13 in the 8km race.

She had finished fifth in 2007 when the event was held in Kenya, and this time edged out Linet Chepkwemoi Masai, who took second in 26:16.

In 2010, Emily Chebet seized the title in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with a time of 24:19, narrowly ahead of Masai again at 24:20.

The following year at Punta Umbria, Spain, Vivian Jepkemoi won the 8km race in 24:58, with Masai once more finishing as runner-up.

Two-time IAAF Cross Country champion Emily Chebet reclaimed gold in 2013, before Agnes Jebet Tirop triumphed in 2015.

Ireen Cheptai then took the title in 2017, followed by the sensational two-time world champion Hellen Obiri, who won the 10km race in 2019 in Denmark.

The celebrated Beatrice Chebet then secured back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024 before stepping away for maternity leave in 2026 – paving the way for Ngetich’s crowning achievement.

List of Kenya’s past winners in the World Cross Country Championships

1. Hellen Chepngeno – 20:45 – 1994 (6.22km)
2. Florence Jebet Kiplagat – 26:13 – 2009 (8km)
3. Emily Chebet – 24:19 – 2010 (7.759km)
4. Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot – 24:58 – 2011 (8km)
5. Emily Chebet – 24:24 – 2013 (8km)
6. Agnes Jebet Tirop – 26:01 – 2015 (8km)
7. Ireen Cheptai – 31:57 – 2017 (9.858km)
8. Hellen Obiri – 36:14 – 2019 (10km)
9. Beatrice Chebet – 33:48 – 2023 (10km)
10. Beatrice Chebet – 31:04 – 2024 (10km)
11. Agnes Ngetich – 31:28 – 2026 (10km)