Winfred Yavi Sends Fierce Warning to Faith Cherotich After Launching 2026 Season With Dominant Win

Bahrain's Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion, Winfred Yavi, has sent a stark warning to Faith Cherotich and her opponents after securing a dominant win in the women’s race at the Cross Internacional de Italica, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event held near Seville on Sunday.

The 2025 season was a mixed one for Winfred Yavi, who competed sparingly and failed to defend her title at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, with Faith Cherotich walking away with the victory.

The men’s race saw Burundi's Rodrigue Kwizera secure a victory. Winfred Yavi, the world 3000m steeplechase silver medallist, dominated the women's race to claim a commanding win.

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Two-time Cross-Country Tour champion Kwizera emerged victorious in a tight men's contest against his Kenyan rivals.

In the women's 9.2km race, last year's runner-up Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan set the early pace. She was closely tracked by Winfred Yavi, Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw, and Kenya's Celestine Jepkosgei Biwott.

This leading quartet quickly established a gap over a chase group that included Portugal's Mariana Machado and top Spanish runners Isabel Barreiro and Maria Forero.

As the race progressed, the lead pack thinned out. By the halfway point, Biwott had fallen off the pace, leaving Winfred Yavi, Jepkemei, and Amebaw to battle for the podium positions.

The decisive moment came early in the third lap when Winfred Yavi surged to the front. Her relentless pace proved too much for Jepkemei, turning the race into a two-woman duel between Winfred Yavi and Amebaw.

However, Winfred Yavi's superiority was undeniable. With a devastating burst of speed on the final lap, she broke away from Amebaw and ran solo to the finish line, completing the last lap in a blistering 6:58 to win unopposed.

"I'm so happy to win on my debut in Italica," Winfred Yavi said as quoted by World Athletics. "I'm quite strong now as I'll be competing at the Islamic Games in Riyadh next week."

Behind her, the fight for second place intensified. Amebaw seemed set for the silver, but a late charge from Jepkemei saw the Kazakh athlete snatch the runner-up spot by a single second, 30:36 to 30:37. Biwott finished a distant fourth, with Spain's Forero taking fifth.

The men's race began more cautiously, with Kenyan duo Andrew Alamisi and Titus Kibet controlling the early stages.

Pre-race favourite Rodrigue Kwizera soon moved to the front, setting a steady tempo that gradually whittled down the lead group.

By the final stages, Kwizera's front-running tactics had paid off, leaving only Alamisi and fellow Kenyan Dennis Kipkoech in contention. With about a kilometre remaining, Alamisi made a bid for the lead, but Kwizera and Kipkoech responded immediately.

The winning move came with 500 meters to go. Using his knowledge of the course, the Spain-based Kwizera accelerated on a downhill section, creating a small but crucial gap.

He held off a final push from Alamisi to clinch the victory, with both athletes crossing the line in 26:10. Kipkoech finished just one second behind in third.