FLORIDA, USA, Jan 10 – Following a handful of near-misses so far in his burgeoning career, Frankline Kibet struck gold on his global championships debut by winning the Under 20 men’s race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 on Saturday.
The teenager had finished second at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in February last year. He also claimed the runner-up spot in the 5000m at Kenya’s trials for the African U20 Championships. And at the end of 2025, he finished second once again in the trial race for the World Cross.
It’s no surprise that most eyes were on his teammates Emmanuel Kiprono, the Kenyan Trials winner, and Andrew Alamisi, the world U20 5000m champion. But it was Kibet who timed his effort to perfection, kicking to victory in 23:18 to lead a Kenyan 1-2-3-4 finish and securing team gold in the process.
Up until the last lap, the race was impossible to call. A large pack went through the first kilometre in 2:48, led by Kiprono and fellow Kenyan Edwin Elkana. Belgium’s Willem Renders, the European U20 5000m and cross-country champion, then took a turn leading the pack, passing through 2km in 5:49 and 3km in 8:56. It wasn’t enough to break up the pack, though, as 18 men were within two seconds of the leader.
The Belgian was soon passed by the Kenyan contingent, this time led by Andrew Kiptoo, while Kibet bided his time a stride or so behind. Uganda’s Abraham Cherotich, the world U20 mountain running bronze medallist, also featured prominently in the lead pack for most of the race and led through 5km in 14:54.
At 6km, with one lap to go, Kiprono, Kibet and Alamisi led from Cherotich and his teammate Daniel Chologoi. With the pace increasing in the closing stages, the lead pack finally started to splinter and Kiprono, Kibet and Alamisi finally broke free from the rest of the leaders.
With just a few hundred metres to go, Alamisi’s challenge finally faded, leaving Kiprono and Kibet to battle it out for victory. Coming off the final bend, it was the slightly shorter figure of Kibet who burst into the lead, charging through the line in 23:18. Kiprono held on for silver in 23:20 and Alamisi ended as a comfortable bronze medallist in 23:28. Kiptoo was fourth (23:42), but was rewarded with team gold as Kenya achieved a ‘perfect 10’ score.
“I am very happy with my victory and the team gold,” said Kibet. “We trained together, so it is good to celebrate as a team. The course was tough, but I was determined and trained well, primarily focused on speed.”
Uganda, led by fifth-place finisher Cherotich, secured team silver ahead of hosts USA, who repeated their team bronze from 2023.
It was the sixth time in World Cross history – following 1993, 2000, 2005, 2007 and 2010 – that Kenya had swept the U20 men’s medals. No other nation has achieved the feat.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
