Kiplimo wins a third straight world cross country title in Tallahassee

Jacob Kiplimo won the senior men's race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on Saturday, his third world cross country title in a row. He covered the 10 km course at Apalachee Regional Park in 28:18, with Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi second in 28:36 and Kenya's Daniel Simiu Ebenyo third in 28:45.

The American Wesley Kiptoo took the race out, running the first lap in 5:39 and holding a two-second lead before the pack swallowed him near 3 km. From there it was Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda in the first twelve places. Tadese Worku pushed near halfway and was pulled back. Kiplimo went to the front at the end of the third lap and simply kept going: eight seconds clear within a kilometre, eighteen seconds gained on the last lap alone. World Athletics called it the biggest senior men's winning margin since 2007.

Three in a row puts Kiplimo alongside John Ngugi, Paul Tergat and Kenenisa Bekele as the only men to do it. His previous race was a 2:02:23 marathon win in Chicago in October.

Ethiopia took the team title with 30 points, ahead of Kenya on 34 and Uganda on 39. The United States was fourth on 81, with Parker Wolfe the first American home in twelfth. Uganda left with seven medals across the day, its best haul at a World Cross.

A world champion on the roads in October and over mud and logs in January, with nothing in between but the training. That is what range looks like.

Sources: World Athletics; FloTrack.