World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships. It was an annual competition until 2011, when World Athletics changed it to a biennial event.^[1]

History

Traditionally, the World Cross Country Championships consisted of four races: one each for men (12 km) and for women (8 km); and one each for junior men (8 km) and for junior women (6 km). Scoring was done for individuals and for national teams. In the team competition, the finishing positions of the top six scorers from a team of up to nine are summed for the men and women, respectively, and the lowest score wins. For the junior races, the top three from a team of up to four are scored.

The year 1998 saw the introduction of two new events at the World Cross Country Championships, a short race for men and a short race for women. The last time these 4 km races were held was 2006, and there are no public plans to bring them back.

In an incredible show of dominance, the senior men's team race was won by Ethiopia or Kenya every year from 1981 to 2017 in both the short and long races. In the senior men's 12 km race, Kenya won the world championships for an astounding 18 years in a row, from 1986 through 2003, a record of unequaled international success. Kenya and Ethiopia have enjoyed a similar strangle-hold on the other categories. On the women's side, only one other nation has won the long team race since 1991, namely, Portugal in 1994. These African nations were not quite so dominant in the short races, but they have won every women's junior race since its introduction in 1989.

Several athletes have won two or more individual titles: Craig Virgin, who is the only American to ever win at World Cross Country Championships, which he did twice; Carlos Lopes, the first man to win three times (although Jack Holden won the International Cross Country Championships four times between 1933 and 1939, Gaston Roelants between 1962 and 1972); John Ngugi, the first man to win five times; Paul Tergat, the first man to win five times in a row; Kenenisa Bekele, the only man to win both the short and long courses in the same year, which he did five years in a row, and whose win in 2008 gave him six long course championships, the most of anyone in history; Sonia O'Sullivan, first athlete ever to win both the long and short course double in the same year; Grete Waitz, the first woman to win five times (although Doris Brown Heritage won the International Cross Country Championships five times between 1967 and 1971); Lynn Jennings, who won three times; Derartu Tulu, who won three times; Tirunesh Dibaba, who won three times in the long course and once in the short course; Zola Budd, who became the youngest ever winner when she won in 1985 and then won again in 1986; Gete Wami, who won twice at the long course and once at the short; and Edith Masai, who won the short race three times. Tirunesh Dibaba was also once the junior women's champion.

Many consider the World Cross Country Championships to be the most difficult races to win, even more difficult than the Olympic Games. At most major championships, the world's best distance runners are separated into a few races, i.e. 3000 m Steeplechase, 5000 m, and 10,000 m. However, in the absence of the short course races, the World Cross Country Championships pit all runners against one another in only one race. Thus, the competition is quite fierce. It's no wonder, then, that several Olympic Champions have gotten their start as World Cross Country Champions: Carlos Lopes, marathon, 1984; John Ngugi, 5000 m, 1988; Khalid Skah, 10,000 m, 1992; and Kenenisa Bekele, 10,000 m, 2004 and 2008. Numerous other champions have medalled at the Olympic Games or the World Championships, or have set World Records.

In the 206th IAAF Council Meeting, held after the 2016 Summer Olympics, the council decided to add a mixed-gender relay race to the World Cross Country Championships schedule – a first for the event.^[2]

Editions

Edition	Year	City	Country	Date	Venue	No. of Countries	No. of Athletes
1st	1973	Waregem	Belgium	17 March	Hippodroom Waregem	21	286
2nd	1974	Monza	Italy	16 March	Mirabello Racecourse	23	269
3rd	1975	Rabat	Morocco	16 March	Souissi Racecourse	26	316
4th	1976	Chepstow	United Kingdom	28 February	Chepstow Racecourse	21	306
5th	1977	Düsseldorf	West Germany	20 March	Galopprennbahn Düsseldorf-Grafenberg	22	345
6th	1978	Glasgow	United Kingdom	25 March	Bellahouston Park	27	358
7th	1979	Limerick	Ireland	25 March	Greenpark Racecourse	27	383
8th	1980	Paris	France	9 March	Hippodrome de Longchamp	28	381
9th	1981	Madrid	Spain	28 March	Hipódromo de la Zarzuela	39	460
10th	1982	Rome	Italy	21 March	Ippodromo delle Capannelle	33	382
11th	1983	Gateshead	United Kingdom	20 March	Riverside Park	35	431
12th	1984	East Rutherford	United States	25 March	Meadowlands Racetrack	40	443
13th	1985	Lisbon	Portugal	24 March	Sports Complex of Jamor	50	570
14th	1986	Colombier	Switzerland	23 March	Planeyse Colombier	57	670
15th	1987	Warsaw	Poland	22 March	Służewiec Racecourse	47	576
16th	1988	Auckland	New Zealand	26 March	Ellerslie Racecourse	41	441
17th	1989	Stavanger	Norway	19 March	Scanvest Ring	41	568
18th	1990	Aix-les-Bains	France	25 March	Hippodrome de Marlioz	59	617
19th	1991	Antwerp	Belgium	24 March	Linkeroever Racecourse	51	633
20th	1992	Boston	United States	21 March	Franklin Park	53	580
21st	1993	Amorebieta	Spain	28 March	Jaureguibarría Course	54	653
22nd	1994	Budapest	Hungary	26 March	Kincsem Park	60	760
23rd	1995	Durham	United Kingdom	25 March	University of Durham	58	619
24th	1996	Stellenbosch	South Africa	23 March	Danie Craven Stadium	65	669
25th	1997	Torino	Italy	23 March	Parco del Valentino	72	725
26th	1998	Marrakech	Morocco	21/22 March	Menara district	66	707
27th	1999	Belfast	United Kingdom	27/28 March	Barnett Demesne	66	759
28th	2000	Vilamoura	Portugal	18/19 March	Sporting Complex of Vilamoura	76	805
29th	2001	Ostend	Belgium	24/25 March	Hippodrome Wellington	67	790
30th	2002	Dublin	Ireland	23/24 March	Leopardstown Racecourse	59	664
31st	2003	Lausanne	Switzerland	29/30 March	Institut équestre national d'Avenches	65	605
32nd	2004	Brussels	Belgium	20/21 March	Ossegem Park	72	673
33rd	2005	Saint-Galmier	France	19/20 March	Hippodrome Joseph-Desjoyaux	72	695
34th	2006	Fukuoka	Japan	1/2 April	Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park	59	574
35th	2007	Mombasa	Kenya	24 March	Mombasa Golf Course	63	470
36th	2008	Edinburgh	United Kingdom	30 March	Holyrood Park	23	448
37th	2009	Amman	Jordan	28 March	Al Bisharat Golf Course	57	459
38th	2010	Bydgoszcz	Poland	28 March	Myślęcinek Park	59	437
39th	2011	Punta Umbría	Spain	20 March	Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández	51	423
40th	2013	Bydgoszcz	Poland	24 March	Myślęcinek Park	41	398
41st	2015	Guiyang	China	28 March	Guiyang horse racing circuit	51	410
42nd	2017	Kampala	Uganda	26 March	Kololo Independence Grounds	60	557
43rd	2019	Aarhus	Denmark	30 March	Moesgaard Museum	63	520
44th	2023	Bathurst	Australia	18 February	Mount Panorama Circuit	48	453
45th	2024	Belgrade	Serbia	30 March	Park of Friendship
46th	2026	Tallahassee	United States	February	Apalachee Regional Park

Doping

As in other areas of the sport, athletes at the competition are prohibited from doping and tests are undertaken before and at the championships to ensure athletes obey the regulations. A total of fourteen doping violations have occurred at the World Cross Country Championships, with the first violation coming from Cosmas Ndeti who was the original runner-up at the 1988 junior men's race; he remains the only athlete stripped of a medal for doping. Seven doping violations have come from Moroccan athletes, with Portuguese athletes accounting for a further three. The 2010 and 2011 editions had the highest number of doping violations, with totals of four and five, respectively. The senior men's long race has produced the highest number of violations, with eight in total.^[3]

Year	Athlete	Country	Race	Original placing
1988	Cosmas Ndeti	Kenya	Junior men	2nd
2002	Hamid El Mouaziz	Morocco	Men's long	44th
2006	Yuliya Mochalova	Russia	Junior women	24th
2007	Binnaz Uslu	Turkey	Women's	DNF
2008	Fethi Meftah	Algeria	Men's	35th
2010	Chakir Boujattaoui	Morocco	Men's	12th
2010	Ahmed Baday	Morocco	Men's	29th
2010	Hélder Ornelas	Portugal	Men's	75th
2010	Hanane Ouhaddou	Morocco	Women's	56th
2011	Nuno Costa	Portugal	Men's	34th
2011	José Rocha	Portugal	Men's	41st
2011	Hafid Chani	Morocco	Men's	DNF
2011	Najim El Gady	Morocco	Men's	DNF
2011	Hanane Ouhaddou	Morocco	Women's	81st

Medals

Senior Men's Individual Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1973 (11.98 km)	Pekka Päivärinta  Finland	35:46.4	Mariano Haro  Spain	35:46.5	Rod Dixon  New Zealand	36:00
1974 (12 km)	Eric de Beck  Belgium	35:23.8	Mariano Haro  Spain	35:24.6	Karel Lismont  Belgium	35:26.6
1975 (12 km)	Ian Stewart  Scotland	35:20	Mariano Haro  Spain	35:21	Bill Rodgers  United States	35:27.4
1976 (12 km)	Carlos Lopes  Portugal	34:47.8	Tony Simmons  England	35:04	Bernie Ford  England	35:07
1977 (12.3 km)	Léon Schots  Belgium	37:43	Carlos Lopes  Portugal	37:48.2	Detlef Uhlemann  West Germany	37:52.2
1978 (12.3 km)	John Treacy  Ireland	39:25	Aleksandr Antipov  Soviet Union	39:28	Karel Lismont  Belgium	39:32
1979 (12 km)	John Treacy  Ireland	37:20	Bronisław Malinowski  Poland	37:29	Aleksandr Antipov  Soviet Union	37:30
1980 (12.58 km)	Craig Virgin  United States	37:01	Hans-Jürgen Orthmann  West Germany	37:02	Nick Rose  England	37:05
1981 (12 km)	Craig Virgin  United States	35:05	Mohammed Kedir  Ethiopia	35:07	Fernando Mamede  Portugal	35:09
1982 (11.978 km)	Mohammed Kedir  Ethiopia	33:40.5	Alberto Salazar  United States	33:44.8	Rod Dixon  New Zealand	34:01.8
1983 (11.994 km)	Bekele Debele  Ethiopia	36:52	Carlos Lopes  Portugal	36:52	Some Muge  Kenya	36:52
1984 (12.086 km)	Carlos Lopes  Portugal	33:25	Tim Hutchings  England	33:30	Steve Jones  Wales	33:32
1985 (12.19 km)	Carlos Lopes  Portugal	33:33	Paul Kipkoech  Kenya	33:37	Wodajo Bulti  Ethiopia	33:38
1986 (12 km)	John Ngugi  Kenya	35:32.9	Abebe Mekonnen  Ethiopia	35:34.8	Joseph Kiptum  Kenya	35:39.8
1987 (11.95 km)	John Ngugi  Kenya	36:07	Paul Kipkoech  Kenya	36:07	Paul Arpin  France	36:51
1988 (12 km)	John Ngugi  Kenya	34:32	Paul Kipkoech  Kenya	34:54	Kipsubai Koskei  Kenya	35:07
1989 (12 km)	John Ngugi  Kenya	39:42	Tim Hutchings  United Kingdom	40:10	Wilfred Kirochi  Kenya	40:21
1990 (12.2 km)	Khalid Skah  Morocco	34:21	Moses Tanui  Kenya	34:21	Julius M. Korir  Kenya	34:22
1991 (11.764 km)	Khalid Skah  Morocco	33:53	Moses Tanui  Kenya	33:54	Simon Karori  Kenya	33:54
1992 (12.53 km)	John Ngugi  Kenya	37:05	William Mutwol  Kenya	37:17	Fita Bayissa  Ethiopia	37:18
1993 (11.75 km)	William Sigei  Kenya	32:51	Dominic Kirui  Kenya	32:56	Ismael Kirui  Kenya	32:59
1994 (12.06 km)	William Sigei  Kenya	34:29	Simon Chemoiywo  Kenya	34:30	Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia	34:32
1995 (12.02 km)	Paul Tergat  Kenya	34:05	Ismael Kirui  Kenya	34:13	Salah Hissou  Morocco	34:14
1996 (12.15 km)	Paul Tergat  Kenya	33:44	Salah Hissou  Morocco	33:56	Ismael Kirui  Kenya	33:57
1997 (12.333 km)	Paul Tergat  Kenya	35:11	Salah Hissou  Morocco	35:13	Tom Nyariki  Kenya	35:20
1998 (12 km)	Paul Tergat  Kenya	34:01	Paul Koech  Kenya	34:06	Assefa Mezegebu  Ethiopia	34:28
1999 (12 km)	Paul Tergat  Kenya	38:28	Patrick Ivuti  Kenya	38:32	Paulo Guerra  Portugal	38:46
2000 (12.3 km)	Mohammed Mourhit  Belgium	35:00	Assefa Mezegebu  Ethiopia	35:01	Paul Tergat  Kenya	35:02
2001 (12.3 km)	Mohammed Mourhit  Belgium	39:53	Sergiy Lebid  Ukraine	40:03	Charles Kamathi  Kenya	40:05
2002 (11.998 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	34:52	John Yuda  Tanzania	34:58	Wilberforce Talel  Kenya	35:20
2003 (12.355 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	35:56	Patrick Ivuti  Kenya	36:09	Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia	36:17
2004 (12 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	35:52	Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia	36:10	Sileshi Sihine  Ethiopia	36:11
2005 (12.02 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	35:06	Zersenay Tadesse  Eritrea	35:20	Abdullah Ahmed Hassan  Qatar	35:34
2006 (12 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	35:40	Sileshi Sihine  Ethiopia	35:43	Martin Mathathi  Kenya	35:44
2007 (12 km)	Zersenay Tadese  Eritrea	35:50	Moses Mosop  Kenya	36:13	Bernard Kiprop Kipyego  Kenya	36:37
2008 (12 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	34:38	Leonard Patrick Komon  Kenya	34:41	Zersenay Tadese  Eritrea	34:43
2009 (12 km)	Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia	35:02	Moses Ndiema Kipsiro  Uganda	35:04	Zersenay Tadese  Eritrea	35:04
2010 (11.611 km)	Joseph Ebuya  Kenya	33:00	Teklemariam Medhin  Eritrea	33:06	Moses Ndiema Kipsiro  Uganda	33:10
2011 (12 km)	Imane Merga  Ethiopia	33:50	Paul Kipngetich Tanui  Kenya	33:52	Vincent Kiprop Chepkok  Kenya	33:53
2013 (12 km)	Japhet Kipyegon Korir  Kenya	32:45	Imane Merga  Ethiopia	32:51	Teklemariam Medhin  Eritrea	32:54
2015 (12 km)	Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor  Kenya	34:52	Bedan Karoki Muchiri  Kenya	35:00	Muktar Edris  Ethiopia	35:06
2017 (9.858 km)	Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor  Kenya	28:24	Leonard Barsoton  Kenya	28:36	Abadi Hadis  Ethiopia	28:43
2019 (10 km)	Joshua Cheptegei  Uganda	31:40	Jacob Kiplimo  Uganda	31:44	Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor  Kenya	31:55
2023 (10 km)	Jacob Kiplimo  Uganda	29:17	Berihu Aregawi  Ethiopia	29:26	Joshua Cheptegei  Uganda	29:37

Senior Men's Team Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1973	Belgium	109	Soviet Union	119	New Zealand	136
1974	Belgium	103	England	109	France	215
1975	New Zealand	127	England	198	Belgium	211
1976	England	90	Belgium	118	France	187
1977	Belgium	126	England	129	Soviet Union	144
1978	France	151	United States	156	England	159
1979	England	119	Ireland	198	Soviet Union	210
1980	England	100	United States	163	Belgium	175
1981	Ethiopia	81	United States	114	Kenya	220
1982	Ethiopia	98	England	114	Soviet Union	257
1983	Ethiopia	104	United States	170	Kenya	191
1984	Ethiopia	134	United States	161	Portugal	223
1985	Ethiopia	129	Kenya	141	United States	153
1986	Kenya	45	Ethiopia	119	United States	204
1987	Kenya	53	England	146	Ethiopia	161
1988	Kenya	23	Ethiopia	103	France	134
1989	Kenya	44	United Kingdom	147	Ethiopia	162
1990	Kenya	42	Ethiopia	96	Spain	176
1991	Kenya	38	Ethiopia	104	Spain	198
1992	Kenya	46	France	145	United Kingdom	147
1993	Kenya	25	Ethiopia	82	Portugal	167
1994	Kenya	34	Morocco	83	Ethiopia	133
1995	Kenya	62	Morocco	111	Spain	120
1996	Kenya	33	Morocco	99	Ethiopia	107
1997	Kenya	51	Morocco	70	Ethiopia	125
1998	Kenya	12	Ethiopia	57	Morocco	60
1999	Kenya	12	Ethiopia	57	Portugal	76
2000	Kenya	18	Ethiopia	68	Portugal	69
2001	Kenya	33	France	72	United States	87
2002	Kenya	18	Ethiopia	43	Morocco	58
2003	Kenya	17	Ethiopia	23	Morocco	51
2004	Ethiopia	14	Kenya	30	Eritrea	66
2005	Ethiopia	24	Kenya	35	Qatar	42
2006	Kenya	24	Eritrea	28	Ethiopia	42
2007	Kenya	29	Morocco	152	Uganda	191
2008	Kenya	39	Ethiopia	104	Qatar	143
2009	Kenya	28	Ethiopia	28	Eritrea	50
2010	Kenya	20	Eritrea	46	Ethiopia	69
2011	Kenya	14	Ethiopia	38	Uganda	49
2013	Ethiopia	38	United States	52	Kenya	54
2015	Ethiopia	20	Kenya	20	Bahrain	54
2017	Ethiopia	21	Kenya	22	Uganda	72
2019	Uganda	20	Kenya	43	Kenya	46
2023	Kenya	22	Ethiopia	32	Uganda	37

Senior Men's Team Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Kenya	25	6	4	35
2	Ethiopia	10	14	7	31
3	England	3	5	1	9
4	Belgium	3	1	2	6
5	France	1	2	3	6
6	Uganda	1	0	4	5
7	New Zealand	1	0	1	2
8	United States	0	6	3	9
9	Morocco	0	5	3	8
10	Eritrea	0	2	2	4
11	Soviet Union	0	1	3	4
12	Great Britain	0	1	1	2
13	Ireland	0	1	0	1
14	Portugal	0	0	4	4
15	Spain	0	0	3	3
16	Qatar	0	0	2	2
17	Bahrain	0	0	1	1
Totals (17 entries)		44	44	44	132

Senior Women's Individual Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1973 (3.99 km)	Paola Pigni  Italy	13:45.2	Joyce Smith  England	13:58	Josee van Santberghe  Belgium	14:01
1974 (4 km)	Paola Pigni  Italy	12:42	Nina Holmén  Finland	12:47.6	Rita Ridley  England	12:54
1975 (3.9 km)	Julie Brown  United States	13:42	Bronislawa Ludwichowska  Poland	13:47	Carmen Valero  Spain	13:48
1976 (4.8 km)	Carmen Valero  Spain	16:19.4	Tatyana Kazankina  Soviet Union	16:39	Gabriella Dorio  Italy	16:56
1977 (5.1 km)	Carmen Valero  Spain	17:26	Lyudmila Bragina  Soviet Union	17:28	Giana Romanova  Soviet Union	17:35
1978 (4.728 km)	Grete Waitz  Norway	16:19	Natalia Mărăşescu  Romania	16:49	Maricica Puică  Romania	16:59
1979 (5.04 km)	Grete Waitz  Norway	16:48	Raisa Smekhnova  Soviet Union	17:14	Ellison Goodall  United States	17:18
1980 (4.82 km)	Grete Waitz  Norway	15:05	Irina Bondarchuk  Soviet Union	15:49	Yelena Chernysheva  Soviet Union	15:52
1981 (4.41 km)	Grete Waitz  Norway	14:07	Jan Merrill  United States	14:22	Yelena Sipatova  Soviet Union	14:22
1982 (4.663 km)	Maricica Puică  Romania	14:38.9	Fiţa Lovin  Romania	14:40.5	Grete Waitz  Norway	14:43.9
1983 (4.072 km)	Grete Waitz  Norway	13:29	Alison Wiley  Canada	13:37	Tatyana Pozdnyakova  Soviet Union	13:37
1984 (5 km)	Maricica Puică  Romania	15:56	Galina Zakharova  Soviet Union	15:58	Grete Waitz  Norway	15:58
1985 (4.99 km)	Zola Budd  England	15:01	Cathy Branta  United States	15:24	Ingrid Kristiansen  Norway	15:27
1986 (4.65 km)	Zola Budd  England	14:49.6	Lynn Jennings  United States	15:07.8	Annette Sergent  France	15:12.2
1987 (5.05 km)	Annette Sergent  France	16:46	Liz Lynch  Scotland	16:48	Ingrid Kristiansen  Norway	16:51
1988 (5.962 km)	Ingrid Kristiansen  Norway	19:04	Angela Tooby  United Kingdom	19:23	Annette Sergent  France	19:29
1989 (6 km)	Annette Sergent  France	22:27	Nadezhda Stepanova  Soviet Union	22:34	Lynn Williams  Canada	22:41
1990 (6 km)	Lynn Jennings  United States	19:21	Albertina Dias  Portugal	19:33	Yelena Romanova  Soviet Union	19:33
1991 (6.425 km)	Lynn Jennings  United States	20:24	Derartu Tulu  Ethiopia	20:27	Liz McColgan  United Kingdom	20:28
1992 (6.37 km)	Lynn Jennings  United States	21:16	Catherina McKiernan  Ireland	21:18	Albertina Dias  Portugal	21:19
1993 (6.35 km)	Albertina Dias  Portugal	20:00	Catherina McKiernan  Ireland	20:09	Lynn Jennings  United States	20:09
1994 (6.22 km)	Hellen Chepngeno  Kenya	20:45	Catherina McKiernan  Ireland	20:52	Conceição Ferreira  Portugal	20:52
1995 (6.47 km)	Derartu Tulu  Ethiopia	20:21	Catherina McKiernan  Ireland	20:29	Sally Barsosio  Kenya	20:39
1996 (6.3 km)	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	20:12	Rose Cheruiyot  Kenya	20:18	Naomi Mugo  Kenya	20:21
1997 (6.6 km)	Derartu Tulu  Ethiopia	20:53	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	20:55	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	21:00
1998 (8 km)	Sonia O'Sullivan  Ireland	25:39	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	25:42	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	25:49
1999 (8.012 km)	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	28:00	Merima Denboba  Ethiopia	28:12	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	28:12
2000 (8.08 km)	Derartu Tulu  Ethiopia	25:42	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	25:48	Susan Chepkemei  Kenya	25:50
2001 (7.7 km)	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	27:49	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	27:52	Lydia Cheromei  Kenya	28:07
2002 (7.974 km)	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	26:55	Deena Drossin  United States	27:04	Colleen de Reuck  United States	27:17
2003 (7.92 km)	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	25:53	Deena Drossin  United States	26:02	Merima Denboba  Ethiopia	26:28
2004 (8 km)	Benita Johnson  Australia	27:17	Ejagayehu Dibaba  Ethiopia	27:29	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	27:34
2005 (8.108 km)	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	26:34	Alice Timbilil  Kenya	26:37	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	26:37
2006 (8 km)	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	25:21	Lornah Kiplagat  Netherlands	25:26	Meselech Melkamu  Ethiopia	25:38
2007 (8 km)	Lornah Kiplagat  Netherlands	26:23	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	26:47	Meselech Melkamu  Ethiopia	26:48
2008 (7.905 km)	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	25:10	Mestawet Tufa  Ethiopia	25:15	Linet Chepkwemoi Masai  Kenya	25:18
2009 (8 km)	Florence Jebet Kiplagat  Kenya	26:13	Linet Chepkwemoi Masai  Kenya	26:16	Meselech Melkamu  Ethiopia	26:19
2010 (7.759 km)	Emily Chebet  Kenya	24:19	Linet Chepkwemoi Masai  Kenya	24:20	Meselech Melkamu  Ethiopia	24:26
2011 (8 km)	Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot  Kenya	24:58	Linet Chepkwemoi Masai  Kenya	25:07	Shalane Flanagan  United States	25:10
2013 (8 km)	Emily Chebet  Kenya	24:24	Hiwot Ayalew  Ethiopia	24:27	Belaynesh Oljira  Ethiopia	24:33
2015 (8 km)	Agnes Jebet Tirop  Kenya	26:01	Senbere Teferi  Ethiopia	26:06	Netsanet Gudeta  Ethiopia	26:11
2017 (9.858 km)	Irene Cheptai  Kenya	31:57	Alice Aprot Nawowuna  Kenya	32:01	Lilian Rengeruk  Kenya	32:11
2019 (10 km)	Hellen Obiri  Kenya	36:14	Dera Dida  Ethiopia	36:16	Letesenbet Gidey  Ethiopia	36:24
2023 (10 km)	Beatrice Chebet  Kenya	33:48	Tsigie Gebreselama  Ethiopia	33:56	Agnes Jebet Ngetich  Kenya	34:00

Senior Women's Team Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1973	England	40	Finland	73	United States	90
1974	England	28	Italy	50	Finland	61
1975	United States	44	New Zealand	50	Poland	61
1976	Soviet Union	33	Italy	59	United States	64
1977	Soviet Union	15	United States	48	New Zealand	76
1978	Romania	30	United States	37	England	55
1979	United States	29	Soviet Union	48	England	68
1980	Soviet Union	15	England	49	United States	49
1981	Soviet Union	24	United States	36	Italy	89
1982	Soviet Union	44	Italy	57	England	67
1983	United States	31	Soviet Union	41	Canada	53
1984	United States	52	England	65	New Zealand	91
1985	United States	42	Soviet Union	77	Romania	96
1986	England	65	New Zealand	67	France	76
1987	United States	46	France	50	Soviet Union	55
1988	Soviet Union	51	United Kingdom	61	France	72
1989	Soviet Union	58	France	60	United States	68
1990	Soviet Union	37	Ethiopia	75	Portugal	80
1991	Kenya	36	Ethiopia	36	Soviet Union	48
1992	Kenya	47	United States	77	Ethiopia	96
1993	Kenya	52	Japan	93	France	100
1994	Portugal	55	Ethiopia	65	Kenya	75
1995	Kenya	26	Ethiopia	38	Romania	84
1996	Kenya	24	Ethiopia	44	Romania	70
1997	Ethiopia	24	Kenya	34	Ireland	64
1998	Kenya	30	Ethiopia	37	United Kingdom	74
1999	Ethiopia	18	Kenya	27	Portugal	94
2000	Ethiopia	20	Kenya	23	United States	98
2001	Kenya	18	Ethiopia	70	France	77
2002	Ethiopia	28	United States	38	Kenya	41
2003	Ethiopia	17	Kenya	30	United States	36
2004	Ethiopia	26	Kenya	30	United Kingdom	74
2005	Ethiopia	16	Kenya	22	Portugal	86
2006	Ethiopia	16	Kenya	39	Japan	80
2007	Ethiopia	19	Kenya	26	Morocco	99
2008	Ethiopia	18	Kenya	22	Australia	84
2009	Kenya	14	Ethiopia	28	Portugal	72
2010	Kenya	14	Ethiopia	22	United States	76
2011	Kenya	15	Ethiopia	29	United States	57
2013	Kenya	19	Ethiopia	48	Bahrain	73
2015	Ethiopia	17	Kenya	19	Uganda	101
2017	Kenya	10	Ethiopia	45	Bahrain	59
2019	Ethiopia	21	Kenya	25	Uganda	36
2023	Kenya	16	Ethiopia	25	Uganda	41

Men's Short Race Individual Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1998 (4 km)	John Kibowen  Kenya	10:43	Daniel Komen  Kenya	10:46	Paul Kosgei  Kenya	10:50
1999 (4.236 km)	Benjamin Limo  Kenya	12:28	Paul Kosgei  Kenya	12:31	Haylu Mekonnen  Ethiopia	12:35
2000 (4.18 km)	John Kibowen  Kenya	11:11	Sammy Kipketer  Kenya	11:12	Paul Kosgei  Kenya	11:15
2001 (4.1 km)	Enock Koech  Kenya	12:40	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	12:42	Benjamin Limo  Kenya	12:43
2002 (4.208 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	12:11	Luke Kipkosgei  Kenya	12:18	Haylu Mekonnen  Ethiopia	12:20
2003 (4.03 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	11:01	John Kibowen  Kenya	11:04	Benjamin Limo  Kenya	11:06
2004 (4 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	11:31	Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam  Ethiopia	11:36	Maregu Zewdie  Ethiopia	11:42
2005 (4.196 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	11:33	Abraham Chebii  Kenya	11:38	Isaac Songok  Kenya	11:39
2006 (4 km)	Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia	10:54	Isaac Songok  Kenya	10:55	Adil Kaouch  Morocco	10:57

Men's Short Race Team Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1998	Kenya	10	Morocco	42	Ethiopia	60
1999	Kenya	14	Morocco	45	Ethiopia	55
2000	Kenya	10	Ethiopia	46	Morocco	68
2001	Kenya	13	Morocco	48	Ethiopia	51
2002	Kenya	20	Ethiopia	32	Spain	57
2003	Kenya	14	Ethiopia	31	Morocco	44
2004	Ethiopia	17	Qatar	39	Kenya	52
2005	Ethiopia	23	Kenya	31	Qatar	32
2006	Kenya	21	Ethiopia	48	Morocco	53

Women's Short Race Individual Medals

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1998 (4 km)	Sonia O'Sullivan  Ireland	12:20	Zahra Ouaziz  Morocco	12:34	Kutre Dulecha  Ethiopia	12:37
1999 (4.236 km)	Jackline Maranga  Kenya	15:09	Yamna Belkacem  France	15:16	Annemari Sandell  Finland	15:17
2000 (4.18 km)	Kutre Dulecha  Ethiopia	13:00	Zahra Ouaziz  Morocco	13:00	Margaret Ngotho  Kenya	13:00
2001 (4.1 km)	Gete Wami  Ethiopia	14:46	Paula Radcliffe  United Kingdom	14:47	Edith Masai  Kenya	14:57
2002 (4.208 km)	Edith Masai  Kenya	13:30	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	13:36	Isabella Ochichi  Kenya	13:39
2003 (4.03 km)	Edith Masai  Kenya	12:43	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	12:44	Jane Wanjiku  Kenya	12:46
2004 (4 km)	Edith Masai  Kenya	13:07	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	13:09	Teyiba Erkesso  Ethiopia	13:11
2005 (4.196 km)	Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia	13:15	Worknesh Kidane  Ethiopia	13:16	Isabella Ochichi  Kenya	13:21
2006 (4 km)	Gelete Burka  Ethiopia	12:51	Prisca Ngetich  Kenya	12:53	Meselech Melkamu  Ethiopia	12:54