Loibach, Nyambura headline Team Kenya for Africa Cross Country

Grace Loibach, who finished fourth at the world cross country last year, and steeplechaser Virginia Nyambura are in Team Kenya for the Africa Cross Country Championships scheduled for February 25 in Tunis, Tunisia.

Kenya Defence Forces champion Cintia Chepng’eno and Glady Kwamboka, who finished second at the Kenya Police Cross Country Championships, are also in the senior women’s 10km team.

The quartet is part of the squad of 30 athletes named by Athletics Kenya senior vice president Paul Mutwii for the continental championships on Thursday.

Mutwii said the shortlisted athletes will converge at Watakatifu Wote Catholic Hostels, Ngong, Kajiado, on Sunday afternoon to start residential training.

The team, which will be accompanied by nine officials, was selected during the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Lobo Village, Eldoret.

Mutwii said all the podium finishers, senior men and women, at the Sirikwa Classic have not been considered for selection after they requested for exemption.

“Most want to focus on other races including the upcoming World Cross Country Championships but even those going to the Africa event will also be available for selection,” said Mutwii.

Loibach, 20, will try to emulate her sister Alice Aprot when she won the senior women’s title during the 2016 Africa championships in Yaounde, Cameroon.

It will be the third time Loibach, who finished sixth during the Sirikwa Classic, will be representing Kenya after she finished fourth at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Australia and ninth at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year.

Chepng’eno, Nyambura and Kwamboka settled fourth, ninth and tenth, respectively, during the Sirikwa Classic, won by the fast-rising Emmaculate Anyango.

Nyambura is perhaps the most experienced, having won silver in Distance Medley at the 2015 World Relay Championships, the year she won the Diamond League Trophy in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Nyambura, who has been battling to make an impact upon return from maternity leave in 2022, having missed the 2016 Rio Olympics with an injury, won the world youth 2,000m steeplechase title besides finishing seventh in the steeplechase at the 2015 world championships.

Also in the women’s team are Sandrafelis Chebet, who is yet to make a major breakthrough at the senior level after flourishing at the junior level, where she won silver in the 2,000m steeplechase at the 2015 world under-18 and silver medals in 3,000m and 5,000m at the 2017 Africa Under-20 championships.

The 2022 Africa 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist Caren Chebet has also made the cut in the senior women’s team.

African Games 5,000m champion Robert Kiprop Koech will lead Kenya’s assault in senior men’s 10km that has Samuel Naibei Kiplimo and Vincent Lagat.

The last edition of the Africa Cross Country Championships was held in 2018 in Chlef, Algeria, while the next event that was due for 2020 in Lomé, Togo, was postponed to 2021 and later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Chlef, Kenya claimed the first two podium places in each of the senior men and women’s 10km and men under-20 8 km races.

The current 3,000m steeplechase under-20 world record holder, Celliphine Chespol and the 2019 world 5,000m silver medallist, Margaret Chelimo, won gold and silver, respectively.

The 2019 world 10,000m silver medallist Rhonex Kipruto, the 10km world record holder, and 2022 world 10,000m silver medallist Stanley Waithaka, went for the top honours in men under 20.

Kenya’s under-20 women only won a medal (Bronze) through Hellen Ekalale.