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Kibet lead the race for long, and held on as the lead pack whitled down with every lap, but faded at the very end.
Uganda’s Dan Kibet finished a disappointing fourth in a close contest that went down to the final kilometre at the 2023 World Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, Australia.
The Kenyans and Ethiopians had dominated each of the opening two races, but the Ugandans pushed them all the way in the junior men’s race.
Kibet lead the race for long, and held on as the lead pack whitled down with every lap, but faded at the very end.
Ishmael Kipkirui eventually won the race, stopping the clock at an impressive 24:29.
Kipkirui unleashed a strong run on the finishing straight to overtake compatriot Reynold Cheruiyot who took silver to complete a Kenya 1-2.
Ethiopia's Boki Diriba chased hard but had to make do with bronze in 24:31.
All three of Uganda’s athletes finished inside the top 15. Kenneth Kiprop finished a strong sixth with a time of 24:52, with Hosea Chemutai finishing 11th at 25:24.
Despite strong individual performances, Uganda was not classified for the team medals after failing to register the minimal number of athletes for the race.
It should be noted that three of Uganda’s athletes bound for the championships were denied travelling visas for the race.
Meanwhile, Kipkirui and Cheruiyot’s gold and silver helped Kenya take team gold with 22 points with Ethiopia taking Silver.
USA, just as they did in the U20 women's race, claimed bronze.
WORLD CROSS COUNTRY 2023
Men Juniors (U20) Results
1 Ishmael KIPKURUI KEN 24:29
2 Reynold CHERUIYOT KEN 24:30
3 Boki DIRIBA ETH 24:31
4 Dan KIBET UGA 24:36
5 Bereket ZELEKE ETH 24:51
6 Keneth KIPROP UGA 24:52
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