The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking all four individual titles and all four team titles at the competition. Kenyans took the top four spots in both junior men's and junior women's races to finish with a perfect team score.
In the absence of Zersenay Tadese and Kenenisa Bekele, the senior men's race was an opportunity for less-established runners. Joseph Ebuya won the gold (his first major medal), becoming the first Kenyan to win the men's race since Paul Tergat in 1999. Teklemariam Medhin of Eritrea took second place (also his first major medal) while Moses Ndiema Kipsiro of Uganda was third. Kenya won the senior men's team gold with ease and Eritrea won the team silver medal. Defending champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam only just made the top ten but led Ethiopia to the team bronze.
Florence Kiplagat was not present to defend the women's senior title, leaving Linet Masai and Tirunesh Dibaba as the favourites. However, a sprint finish by little-known runner Emily Chebet rendered Masai the silver medallist for a second year running. Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia won the fourth World Cross Country bronze of her career as Dibaba finished outside of the medals. Kenya and Ethiopia won the team gold and silver, respectively, while Shalane Flanagan led the United States women's team to a bronze medal.
The top four in both the junior men and women's races were all Kenyan, with Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku and Mercy Cherono the gold medallists. The dominance of the competition by Kenyan and East African runners was accompanied by a decline in the number of European teams that were entered for the tournament, with some historically strong countries sending no athletes at all.
Read more about 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships: Reception, Medal Table, See Also
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