African Cross Country Championships

Last updated
African Cross Country Championships
Sport Cross country running
Founded1985;39 years ago (1985)
2011;13 years ago (2011)
Continent Africa (CAA)

The African Cross Country Championships is a regional cross country running competition for athletes from Africa.

Contents

History

The competition had a one off edition in 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya, and the medallists were mostly from the host nation. [1] Following an announcement by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that the IAAF World Cross Country Championships would change to a biennial format, the Confederation of African Athletics stated that the 2011 African Cross Country Championships would be held in Cape Town, South Africa, marking a relaunch of the competition. [2]

While all other continental regions defined by the IAAF have had their own regional cross country championships on an annual or biennial basis, Africa did not have a regular competition in this mould for a long period. This may have been due to a number of factors including: the high status of annual cross country meetings such as the Kenya National Cross Country Championships and the Jan Meda International Cross Country (which doubles as the Ethiopian championships), [3] the size of the region, the prominence of smaller regional championships, and the comparative lack of resources available to the Confederation of African Athletics.

The fact that the majority of the sport's top competitors come from Africa means that the top runners at the World Cross Country Championships, especially in the men's section, are largely the same ones which would form the field of an African Championships – at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships the top 25 finishers in the men's race, and the top 12 in the women's race, were all African-born. [4] [5] Commenting on the dominance of the competition, IAAF president Lamine Diack said that the competition had "become not only an African affair but an East African affair, and these days you don't even get athletes from West Africa competing". [6]

A number of smaller regional championships have been held in Africa: the East African Cross Country Championships and the Maghreb Cross Country Championships in North Africa are both well-established competitions. [7] [8] West and Central African competitions have also been held in past years. [9] [10]

The 6th championships were originally scheduled to be hosted by Lomé, Togo in early 2020. They were initially postponed due to the 2020 Togolese presidential election, and then they were delayed indefinitely in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11]

Editions

EditionYearVenueCityCountryNo. of
athletes
1985 Nairobi Kenya
1st 2011 Koerboom Park Cape Town South Africa
2nd [12] 2012 Koerboom Park Cape Town South Africa160
3rd [13] 2014 Kololo Kampala Uganda
4th 2016 Yaoundé Cameroon
5th [14] 2018 Chlef Algeria
6th 2024 Yasmine Hammamet Hammamet Tunisia116 [15]

Champions

YearMen's senior raceWomen's senior raceMen's teamWomen's teamMixed relay
1985Flag of Kenya.svg  Paul Kipkoech  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Hellen Kimaiyo  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
2011 Flag of Kenya.svg  John Nzau Mwangangi  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Mercy Cherono  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
2012 Flag of Kenya.svg  Clement Langat  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Joyce Chepkirui  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
2014 Flag of Kenya.svg  Leonard Barsoton  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Faith Kipyegon  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
2016 Flag of Kenya.svg  James Gitahi Rungaru  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Alice Aprot Nawowuna  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
2018 Flag of Kenya.svg  Alfred Barkach  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Celliphine Chespol  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia
2024 Flag of Kenya.svg  Vincent Kibet Langat  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Cintia Chepngeno  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya

1985 medallists

Individual

RaceGoldSilverBronze
Men's seniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Paul Kipkoech  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Andrew Masai  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg  Joshua Kipkemboi  (KEN)
Women's seniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Hellen Kimaiyo  (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg Marcelina Cheboi (KEN)Flag of Kenya.svg Florence Mwangechi (KEN)
Men's juniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Peter Rono  (KEN)Flag of Uganda.svg Jeremiah Chelego (UGA)Flag of Kenya.svg Samuel Okemwa (KEN)

Team

RaceGoldSilverBronze
Men's seniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN) (21)Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda  (UGA) (83)Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania  (TAN) (141)
Women's seniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN) (10)Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania  (TAN) (40)Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda  (UGA) (44)
Men's juniorFlag of Kenya.svg  Kenya  (KEN) (10)Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda  (UGA) (46)Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania  (TAN) (48)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport of athletics</span> Group of sporting events

Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.

Ahmed Ibrahim Baday is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres and cross-country running but now competes in road running competitions. He is currently banned for doping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking all four individual titles and all four team titles at the competition. Kenyans took the top four spots in both junior men's and junior women's races to finish with a perfect team score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships</span>

The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake.

The Asian Cross Country Championships is a biennial regional cross country running competition for athletes from Asia. It is organised by the Asian Athletics Association and was first held in 1991 in Fukuoka, Japan. The competition has been held every two years since then, although the 2003 edition was postponed due to political conflicts within the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almond Blossom Cross Country</span>

The Almond Blossom Cross Country is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, in the Algarve region of Portugal, in early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It is held in co-operation with the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve. The race gets its name from the white blossom which appears on the almond trees native to the Algarve region during the spring.

Hunegnaw Mesfin is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country and track running events. He has represented his country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won medals in the senior and junior team categories.

The 1st African Cross Country Championships was an international cross country running competition for African athletes which was held on 6 March 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa. Organised by the Confederation of African Athletics, it marked the start of a new continental competition for Africa following the decision by the IAAF to alter the scheduling of the World Cross Country Championships from every year to a biennial format.

Luchia Yishak is a former Ethiopian long-distance runner. She ran for Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996.

The 2nd African Cross Country Championships was an international cross country running competition for African athletes which was held on 18 March 2012 in Cape Town's Keurboom Park in South Africa. Organised by the Confederation of African Athletics and Athletics South Africa, it was the first time that the competition represented that year's foremost event in the sport, as the IAAF World Cross Country Championships was not held. Twenty-one nations entered athletes into the event and 160 runners participated in the races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japhet Korir</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Japhet Kipyegon Korir is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in cross country running competitions and the 5000 metres. He was the gold medallist at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, becoming the youngest ever world cross country champion. He has a personal best of 13:11.44 minutes for the 5000 m track event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 African Youth Athletics Championships</span> International athletics championship event

The 2013 African Youth Athletics Championships were the first edition of the biennial athletics competition for African athletes aged fifteen to seventeen. It was held in Warri, Nigeria, on 28–31 March. A total of 40 events were originally scheduled but only 36 went ahead, 17 for boys and 19 for girls.

The IAAF World Road Relay Championships was a biennial international athletics competition in long-distance relay running. First organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1992, the championship ran for four editions, with its last one occurring in 1998.

George Kiprotich "Kip" Rono is a Kenyan former steeplechase runner. He won a gold medal in the event at the 1979 African Championships in Athletics and was the first African steeplechase winner at the 1979 IAAF World Cup.

The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics Federations. It is typically held in February in Nairobi, the country's capital, and entrants are almost exclusively from Kenya. Entrants represent their home region or one of the high level national works teams, such as Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Police, Prisons or Universities. These teams host their own annual team championships in order to decide their selections for the national event.

The 2016 African Cross Country Championships was the fourth edition of the international cross country running competition for African athletes organised by the Confederation of African Athletics. It was held on 12 March at the Yaounde Golf Club in Yaoundé, Cameroon – the first time a West African nation had hosted the event since its re-launch in 2011. There were four races on the program: 10 km for senior men, 8 km for senior women, 7 km for junior men and 5.5 km for junior women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Southern Region Cross Country Championships</span>

The African Southern Region Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition between Southern African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). Established in 1997, it is one of three regional cross country championships organised by the CAA, alongside the North and East African Cross Country Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African Cross Country Championships</span>

The East African Cross Country Championships, also known as the Eastern Africa Cross Country Championships, is an international cross country running competition between the nations of East Africa, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). It is typically held over one day in February and features a senior and junior race for both men and women. All four races contain an individual and team competition. Senior short course races were also held during the period where that event was present at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North African Cross Country Championships</span>

The North African Cross Country Championships is an international cross country running competition between the nations of North Africa, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). It is typically held over one day in February and features a senior and junior race for both men and women. All four races contain an individual and team competition. Senior short course races were also held during the period where that event was present at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West African Athletics Championships</span> International athletics competition between West African Athletics

The West African Athletics Championships is an international athletics competition between West African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA).

References

  1. African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  2. CAA Council Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . Confederation of African Athletics (Autumn 2009). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  3. Ethiopia Cross Country Championships Archived December 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine . Time to Run (2008-02-06). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  4. 2009 Senior Race - M Final Archived 2010-06-10 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF (2009-03-28). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  5. 2009 Senior Race - W Final Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine . IAAF (2009-03-28). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  6. Africa fears changes in marathon format is bad news. The Indian Express (2009-09-16). Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  7. East African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  8. North African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  9. West African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  10. Central African Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  11. "Africa Cross Country Championships Postponed | The Reporter | Latest Ethiopian News Today". www.thereporterethiopia.com. 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  12. Williamson, Norrie (2012-03-19). Langat and Chepkirui take African XC titles in Cape Town. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-25.
  13. Kyeyune, Elly (2013-06-11). Uganda To Host World Cross Country. ChimpReports. Retrieved on 2013-06-19.
  14. 5th CAA African Cross-Country Championships - Chlef 2018
  15. "6th African Cross Country Championships | Results | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2024-04-18.