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A spectacular morning of track and field unfolded at the Itálica Archaeological Complex in Santiponce for the 44th Itálica Cross edition; spectators must still be left with goosebumps after witnessing a performance of this magnitude, as the world’s best cross-country contenders delighted those present in the third Gold event of the World Athletics cross circuit 2026-2027. In the women’s category, the Ethiopian Likina Amebaw claimed victory for the first time, while the Spaniard Rodrigue Kwizera added a third title to the event’s history following a beautiful and electrifying final sprint.
The opening stages of the men’s race saw the dominance of our best hurdler, Dani Arce, who took the lead without hesitation together with the indefatigable Chiki Pérez, 38 years old, and the already established Miguel Ángel Martínez Chazarra, while the favored African runners let the trio dictate the tempo; the first lap (2370m) was completed in 6:59, with a large leading pack; in the second circuit there were no notable changes, the pace remained similar, 7:08, to reach the halfway point in 14:07; shortly before this, the Ugandan Dismas Yeko stretched the group, which narrowed to ten athletes, now without Arce or Pérez but with Chazarra still among the best; it was striking that the three-time world runner-up in the specialty, Berihu Aregawi, clearly affected by inactivity, closed the leading group, hinting —as would be confirmed in the final laps— that he was not at his best coming to Itálica after months of injury.
At the start of the third lap, the relatively unknown 19-year-old Kenyan Charles Kiboino began to stir things up and progressively the leading pack began to shed runners, first Aregawi, then Chazarra, Ndikumwenayo… the cut Kiboino caused was tremendous, to the point that, when the clock showed 19:45, just before the seventh kilometer, only Kwizera and the new Kenyan sensation, the world U-20 cross and 5000m champion Frankline Kibet, dared to keep pace with Kiboino, 13th in the World 5K in Copenhagen last September; his extremely high cadence showed in the time spent on that third and penultimate lap, 6:44; as the bell rang, the leading trio moved two seconds ahead of the Kenyan Denis Kipkemoi, third last year, and four clear of Thierry Ndikumwenayo, while Aregawi had already lost any chance of sniffing the podium.
The final lap proved as thrilling as it was spectacular; Kwizera looked strong and, although his two prior victories and circuit knowledge gave him an edge, the threat posed by the two very young Kenyans remained latent, adding an exciting dose of drama to the event’s conclusion. Kiboino continued to push as if possessed, trying to distance his two companions in the break, with Kwizera always second and Kibet closing the trio; with 400 meters to go Kwizera took the lead aiming to launch a long attack that would drop his rivals, but instead he watched Kiboino surge past him with only about 150 meters to the line; the finish promised to be gripping, and it was, with the local idol Kwizera overtaking Kiboino on his right with 80 meters remaining to claim, in 27:36, his third crown after wins in 2021 and 2025, equalling Kenenisa Bekele’s feat as a triple winner also from the early 2000s. Kibet completed a podium of high prestige and the other two Spaniards, Ndikumwenayo and Chazarra, finished 5th and 6th, at 22 and 23 seconds behind the winner.
Itálica’s Opening Race: Amebaw, Robles and Forero Reach the Top Ten
The women’s race, also over 9,550m, saw the initial dominance of the 5,000m world junior champion Charity Cherop from Uganda, who was accompanied by Ethiopians Likina Amebaw and Yenenesh Shimket, Kenyan Maurine Chebor and Cynthia Chepkurui, plus Burundian Francine Niyomukunzi, while María Forero led the chase group; the first lap was completed in 8:00, and Cherop appeared as a solid leader who gradually increased her pace, with Niyomukunzi the first to be unable to sustain such speed, soon followed by Chebor; behind, the local heroine Carolina Robles, now a marathoner, demonstrated that cross country runs in her DNA as she caught Forero and moved to the front of the second group; by the end of the second lap, completed in 7:30, the Ugandan continued firmly at the head, Amebaw stayed close, while Chepkurui and Shimket were already running in single file, such was the pace Cherop imposed; before the halfway point of the penultimate lap, the podium was set as Shimket fell off, clearing the path for Cherop, Amebaw and Chepkurui to decide the order of the coveted podium with determination.
Shortly before the bell, after another frenetic lap in 7:30, Chepkurui raised the white flag of surrender and, as soon as the decisive lap began, Amebaw unleashed her premeditated and lethal attack, distancing Cherop with ease to seal the race in her favor; the star based in Peguerinos (Ávila) launched headlong in pursuit of her first Itálica victory, which she completed with a final time of 30:40 and eight seconds ahead of the valiant Ugandan; Chepkurui completed a high-voltage podium; in the battle for being the first European, the Dutchwoman Amina Maatoug won clearly, seventh at 1:37 from Amebaw, while Robles, eighth, and Forero, ninth, were the first Spaniards, the Seville-born Robles beating the Huelva-born Forero by 25 seconds; both were key pieces of the national team ahead of the European cross country in Belgrade on December 13.
Thus another thrilling edition of the world’s best cross country, finally held without rain but with wind, on an unforgettable day of top-level world athletics in its purest form.
