Kiplimo lands third straight world cross country title

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, the reigning Chicago Marathon champion, won his third consecutive men’s crown on Saturday at the World Cross Country Championships.

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The 25-year-old completed the hat-trick over 10 kilometers in a winning time of 28min 18sec with Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi 18 sec back in a third consecutive runner-up finish, with Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo third in 28:45.

Kiplimo became only the fourth man to win three world cross country titles in a row after Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele (2002-2006) and the Kenyans Paul Tergat (1995-1999) and John Ngugi (1986-1989).

"To win three times, I'm so happy about it,” Kiplimo said. “I think it’s about the consistency in your training. Another thing it’s about is believing in yourself.”

Kiplimo was last year’s London Marathon runner-up in 2hr 3min 37sec in his debut at the 26.2-mile distance, then captured the Chicago Marathon in 2:02:23 last October, a quick turnaround that added to the challenge of defending his title.

“Today was the hardest one,” Kiplimo said.