Grace Nawowuna faces battle to defend Allonnes Cross Country title as Uganda's Sarah Chelangat eyes first crown in France

will look to successfully defend her title at Allonnes Cross Country in France on November 17 but faces stiff opposition on the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting.

Nawowuna, who finished fourth at the Championships, was a convincing winner in Allonnes last year, crossing the line 30 seconds ahead of her opponents.

Nageeye went toe-to-toe with Chebet before outckicking him in the final 400 meters to win the race in 2:07:39.

This year’s race has been increased from 6.98km to 7.61km, which could play into the Kenyan’s hands, given she excels over 10,000m on the track as shown by her PB of 29:47.42 and recently made a promising half marathon debut of 1:07:16.

She’ll be looking for her first victory in a Cross Country Tour race this year, following a third-place finish in Elgoibar back in January and a runner-up spot in last month.

will be aiming to become the first Ugandan woman to win in Allonnes. She holds national records for 3000m (8:32.53), 5000m (14:40.88), 10,000m (30:24.04) and the half marathon (1:07:59), and finished sixth at this year’s World Cross, all of which suggests she’ll be Nawowuna’s toughest opposition.

Nawowuna faces competition from Burundian Francine Niyomukunzi who is in fine form

Norah Jeruto, the 2022 world steeplechase champion, will also be no push-over. The Kazakh runner will be making her first cross-country appearance since 2021 when she won in Seville.

Fellow steeplechaser Marwa Bouzayani, is also in the line-up. The Tunisian record-holder is a two-time world finalist at her specialist discipline, but also possesses the versatility to perform well at cross country.

France’s 2013 European cross-country champion Sophie Duarte, French half marathon record-holder Mekdes Woldu, Portuguese half marathon specialist Monica Silva, and Algeria’s Nawal Yahi are also in the line-up.