Agnes Ngetich Lifts Lid on Pressure of Filling Beatrice Chebet’s Big Shoes at World Cross Country Championships

Agnes Ngetich finally won a medal that had been missing from her collection when she claimed the 2026 World Cross-Country senior women’s title in Tallahassee, Florida on January 10.

Ngetich was the favourite for gold following the absence of defending champion and two-time winner Beatrice Chebet, who has taken a maternity break this year.

With Chebet setting the bar so high and Kenya having won the women’s title nine years straight, Ngetich did not want to be the one who let the country down and she admits the pressure was immense.

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“All the weight came to me,” Ngetich told World Athletics. “I was like, if the title was in Kenya, it has to stay in Kenya, I have to fight for it. I didn’t want to lose, because people were looking up to me.”

Ngetich was not new to this stage, however, but her previous outings had returned some disappointing outcomes.

She won bronze in 2023 but dropped out of the medal bracket in 2024, when she finished fourth, a position she got again in the 10,000m at the 2025 World Championships.

These disappointments added fire in her belly heading to Tallahassee and despite the tough course, she negotiated it well to fend off the challenge of her rivals to win the race in 31:28, which was 42 seconds more than Uganda's Joy Cheptoyek, who finished second.

“I’ve been fighting for an individual gold medal for a long time,” Ngetich further stated. “I was third in Australia, fourth in Belgrade. Most of the time I was there, but not at the very top. I didn’t give up and today I’m so happy, I’m so grateful.”

Ngetich credits the work put in by her coach Ruth Jepchumba Bundotich, saying her dedication and relentlessness paid off massively in Tallahassee.

“My coach never gave up on me. Most of the time she’s been motivating me. Even today, she was like, ‘Don’t panic. Just go. Be yourself,’” said the 24-year-old.

The world Cross Country win set the tone for the rest of the season but Ngetich is not making big plans just yet, choosing to savour the moment.

“This was just opening the season. I’ll sit with my coach and see how it goes. I didn’t go for Christmas. I said if I get a medal, I’ll go for Christmas, so this is my Christmas present.”