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Olympic champions sign up for Edinburgh

Asbel Kiprop and Brimin Kipruto join compatriot Eliud Kipchoge at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country in Holyrood Park on January 8.

Kiprop, the Olympic 1500m champion, and Kipruto, the 3000m steeplechase champion, will contest the 4km race along with former world champion and Olympic 5000m silver medallist Kipchoge, winner of the premier race at the first edition of this IAAF Permit event in 2005.

“Kiprop, although a metric mile specialist, is more than happy to step up in distance,” said Peter Riley, the meeting’s elite event co-ordinator. “And let’s remember, he was the 2007 World Junior Cross Country Champion.

“Kipruto hasn’t paid any serious attention to cross country in the past, but with his steeplechase background he will be extremely suited to a course which will suit his style of running.

“Kipchoge, the first to be recruited for the race, will be returning to the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country for the fifth occasion and has already expressed his delight at the new distance.”

The men’s elite 4km race replaces the 9km event. Added to the programme is the International Team Challenge which will see the leading British senior, under-23 and under-20 athletes take on the United States and a European Select team over 8km.

Each country competing in the International Team Challenge will consist of nine athletes per team and the first six athletes to complete the course will receive a score based on their position. The team with the lowest overall score wins.

The women’s 6km race remains unchanged, and leading elite entries for that race will soon be announced.

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