From the evening of January 10 to the early morning of January 11 Beijing time, the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships (Tallahassee 26) concluded.
Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo won the senior men's title, completing a three-peat.10-kilometer road world record holder, Kenyan athlete Agnes Ngetich (Agnes Ngetich)won the senior women's title and set a new course record.
The U20 men's and women's titles went to Kenya'sFranklin Kibet and Ethiopia'sMarta Alemayehu won. The mixed relay title went to Australia. How did the Chinese athletes perform?
The first event to get underway was the mixed relay final: four legs in total, two men and two women, each running one 2-kilometer lap. The course was mainly grass, withslopes,water pits, mud pits, sand and logs as man-made obstacles.
A total of 15 teams competed in the mixed relay final. The favorites for the title were Kenya, Ethiopia, Australia, France and the host team USA. The four athletes China entered were Sun Ningkai, Xu Hui, Yu Shuiqing and Liu Huiru.
Australia, led by Jessica Hull, won in 22 minutes 23 seconds, with the four legs clocking 5:14, 5:57, 5:22 and 5:50 respectively.
France finished second, three seconds behind, with Ethiopia third. Last edition’s champions Kenya were only fourth.
The Chinese team finished 13th with a time of 24:38, with the four legs split as 5:47 (Sun Ningkai), 6:46 (Xu Hui), 5:42 (Yu Shuiqing) and 6:23 (Liu Huiru). The highest-placed Asian team was Japan, with 24:08.
The second race was the U20 women's final, over 6 km run over three laps. China fielded Deng Yue, Hu Jinhua, Rong Rong and Wang Yuhan.
The biggest storyline in this category is the defending champion,the Ethiopian wonder girl, just 17 years old Marta Alemayo（ Marta Alemayo ）can she defend her title.
After the gun fired, Alemayo immediately showed tremendous strength and took the lead, staying out front. Although a few competitors ran alongside her, they posed no real threat. In the final lap she surged, accelerating away from her rivals to win in 18:52, claiming the World Cross Country Championships U20 women's title for the second consecutive year. Her compatriot Wosane Asefa finished second in 19:18.
Uganda's Charity Cherop took third place by 1 second, earning Uganda's first-ever U20 women's medal. Uganda also claimed the team title. Kenya and Japan were second and third in the team standings, respectively. China finished seventh as a team.
Notably, the top 13 finishers were all from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
China's highest-ranked athlete was Hu Jinhua, 20:38, 17th overall and second among Asians. Next were Rong Rong, 21:01, 24th; Wang Yuhan, 22:06, 44th; and Deng Yue, 22:29, 51st.
The third race was the U20 men's final, covering 8 km over 4 laps. China fielded Luo Zhihui, Ma Zilong, Xie Yuhang and Yu Jiangfu.
Entering the third lap, the lead pack still had more than ten runners, all athletes from Kenya, Uganda andEthiopiaathletes.
Ultimately, Kenyan athletes swept the top four positions. Frankline Kebet outsprinted Emmanuel Kiprono in the final stage to take the victory in 23:18, with the latter finishing two seconds behind in second place.Third place went to Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi with a time of 23:28. Kenya also secured a three-peat in this category.
Japanese athlete Niizuma Haruki (NIIZUMA Haruki), 24:31, 15th place, first in Asia, second non-African finisher.
The four Chinese athletes posted times of 26:39 (Yu Jiangfu, 48th), 26:49 (Ma Zilong, 51st), 27:31 (Luo Zhihui, 57th), 27:59 (Xie Yuhang, 62nd).
American runner Tyler Daillak placed 16th after running with only one shoe at 7 kilometers, and helped the U.S. team take the team bronze. The team champions were Kenya and Uganda. The Chinese team finished 11th.
Next up was the senior women's final, a 10-kilometer race run over five laps. China fielded Li Qingqing, Li Yuan, Chen Yuxuan, Pan Shuanglu, and Wang Panpan.
10-kilometer road world record holder Agnes Ngetich was the favorite. There was little suspense in the race; she ultimately won in 31 minutes 28 seconds, a new course record, finishing ahead of the runner-up Ugandan Joy Cheptoyek by as much as 42 seconds. Third place went to Ethiopian Senayet Getachew .
The top three teams were Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. China placed 11th.
The five Chinese athletes posted times of 37:13 (Li Qingqing, 61st), 37:53 (Li Yuan, 69th), 38:11 (Wang Panpan, 70th), 39:08 (Pan Shuanglu, 74th), 39:32 (Chen Yuxuan 76th)
Finally, the main event: the men's senior final, also 10 kilometers, run over 5 laps. China fielded Chen Zhongping, Liu Xing, Ma Wenliang, Tang Haoran, Tian Weizheng, and Wang Wenjie.
Already a two-time defending champion, Jacob Kiplimo ultimately took the title in 28 minutes 18 seconds, completing a three-peat.
The runner-up was Ethiopia'sBerihu·Aregawi ( Berihu Aregawi ), and after losing to Jacob Kiplimo in the previous two editions, he was beaten by him again, finishing in 28:36.
Third place went to KenyanDaniel·Ebenyo( Daniel Ebenyo), with a time of 28:45.
World Championships 10,000m championJimmy·Gressier（ Jimmy Gressier ）ultimately finished 15th.
The Chinese team's six athletes posted the following results: 32:05 (Ma Wenliang, 70th), 32:49 (Tang Haoran, 78th), 33:11 (Chen Zhongping, 89th), 33:46 (Liu Xing, 93rd), 34:15 (Wang Wenjie, 101st), 34:56 (Tian Weizheng, 104th).
