Preparations are complete ahead of Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Gold Tour set to be staged on Saturday at the Lobo Village in Kapsiret, Eldoret.
Over 400 athletes among them Ethiopian Tokyo Olympics 10,000m bronze medallist Letesenbet Gidey and two-time World Cross Country champion Geoffrey Kamworor have confirmed participation to the event.
Others expected to take part are the reigning world champions Hellen obiri and Ruth Chepng’etich who will face off in the 10 km senior women race which will be the final event on Saturday
“We thank World Athletics for granting us this prestigious chance to make this happen. Most athletes from overseas have already landed and it will be a mouth watering event.As we all know this will be the 12th and the final gold label tour in the cross country series ,and the only one in the African continent and as a result we have to strive to make it a success.
“I want to urge fans to take the advantage of free entry and turn up in numbers to support their local champions” meet director Barnaba Korir noted.
Men’s race will be a battle titan as the 2016 10,000M olympic silver medalist Paul Tanui will be up against 2019 10,000M World bronze medalist Ronex Kipruto,Daniel Simiyu,Cornelius Kangogo,Abel Mutai,Leonard Bett and 2018 5000M World U20 champion Edward Zakayo among other Kenyan participants.
The event will start with the junior races for the Under 18 and under 20 before the core events in the afternoon starting with the men’s race before paving way for a brief gender based seminar in honour of the late Agnes Tirop ,then culminating with the 10km senior women race.
The Memorial Agnes Tirop Classic World Cross Country Gold Tour is one of the 20 events in the World Cross Country Tour that World Athletics introduced in October last year.
The tour has 20 events comprising 15 gold, two silver and three bronze.
Tirop was found murdered on October 13, last year at her home in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet and her estranged partner, Ibrahim Rotich is being held in connection with her death.
At just 19, Tirop made history as the second youngest woman after Zola Budd from South Africa to ever win a senior women’s race at the World Cross Country Championships during the 2015 edition in Guiyang, China.