Ethiopia’s Gebrhiwet Is Junior Favorite At XC Worlds

The 18-year-old has dominated the indoor track this season.

It should come as no surprise that the junior men’s winner at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships has hailed from either Ethiopia or Kenya over the past two decades.

As such, topping the list of favorites at this year’s meet is Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet.

At 18 years of age, Gebrhiwet ran a world junior record at 3000m in Boston last month. And on Feb. 24, he was the first runner to break the tape at Ethiopia’s cross-country selection race.

However, Gebrhiwet has yet to win a medal at a global championships. He hopes to change that at the 2013 edition of the event, March 24 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Expected to challenge the Ethiopian is rival Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto, who finished sixth at the Kenyan trials last month.

Also in the mix is Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris. In January, he dominated the cross-country series in Italy. A month later, however, Edris suffered leg problems that prevented him from finishing higher than fifth at the Ethiopian Trials.

An interesting footnote: Kenya has won all but one junior title since 1988 (Ethiopia won in 1998).

For More: IAAF