African Cross Country Championships

African Cross Country Championships
SportCross country running
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985)
2011; 13 years ago (2011)
ContinentAfrica (CAA)

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

History

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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

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Edition Year Venue City Country No. of
athletes
— 1985 Nairobi Kenya
1st 2011 Koerboom Park Cape Town South Africa
2nd[12] 2012 Koerboom Park Cape Town South Africa 160
3rd[13] 2014 Kololo Kampala Uganda
4th 2016 Yaoundé Cameroon
5th[14] 2018 Chlef Algeria
6th 2024 Yasmine Hammamet Hammamet Tunisia 116[15]

Champions

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Year Men's senior race Women's senior race Men's team Women's team Mixed relay
1985  Paul Kipkoech (KEN)  Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya —
2011  John Nzau Mwangangi (KEN)  Mercy Cherono (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya —
2012  Clement Langat (KEN)  Joyce Chepkirui (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya —
2014  Leonard Barsoton (KEN)  Faith Kipyegon (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya —
2016  James Gitahi Rungaru (KEN)  Alice Aprot Nawowuna (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya —
2018  Alfred Barkach (KEN)  Celliphine Chespol (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya  Ethiopia
2024  Vincent Kibet Langat (KEN)  Cintia Chepngeno (KEN)  Kenya  Kenya  Kenya

1985 medallists

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Individual

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Race Gold Silver Bronze
Men's senior  Paul Kipkoech (KEN)  Andrew Masai (KEN)  Joshua Kipkemboi (KEN)
Women's senior  Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)  Marcelina Cheboi (KEN)  Florence Mwangechi (KEN)
Men's junior  Peter Rono (KEN)  Jeremiah Chelego (UGA)  Samuel Okemwa (KEN)

Team

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Race Gold Silver Bronze
Men's senior  Kenya (KEN) (21)  Uganda (UGA) (83)  Tanzania (TAN) (141)
Women's senior  Kenya (KEN) (10)  Tanzania (TAN) (40)  Uganda (UGA) (44)
Men's junior  Kenya (KEN) (10)  Uganda (UGA) (46)  Tanzania (TAN) (48)

References

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  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.
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