Charity Cherop etched her name into Ugandan athletics history on Saturday, finishing third at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 to claim the country’s first ever women’s individual U-20 medal at the global event.
The 19 year-old produced a composed and courageous run in the U20 women’s 6km race, crossing the line in 19:19 to secure a landmark bronze.
Her podium finish ended two decades of Kenyan and Ethiopian dominance, making her the first athlete outside those powerhouses to medal in the category since 2000.
Ethiopia’s Marta Alemayo controlled the race from the front, defending her U20 title in 18:52 to become only the fourth woman to win back to back world U20 cross-country gold.
She led an Ethiopian one-two, with Wosane Asefa narrowly beating Cherop by a second in a tense sprint for silver.
Cherop stayed calm throughout the demanding Tallahassee course, which featured rolling hills, sand sections and the notorious “Alligator Alley” log barriers.
As Alemayo pulled clear midway through the race, Cherop held her pace, remained in contention with the chasers and finished strongly to seal bronze.
Her performance capped a remarkable day for Uganda. With four runners inside the top 10, Cherop spearheaded the team to U20 women’s gold, edging Kenya and Japan on countback.
Uganda became only the third nation, after Kenya and Ethiopia, to win the U20 team title since its introduction in 1989.
