The global cross-country championships will resume on Saturday in the odd setting of a country Australian race track after a four-year absence. Still, African dominance will continue unabated in the Bathurst heat.

PHOTO | COURTESY cross-country race finally resumes

Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda had to wait longer than usual to defend the men's title he won over 10 kilometres in Aarhus, Denmark, back in March 2019 due to the biannual championships' two-year delay caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The top three finishers from that race—countryman Cheptegei's and silver medalist Jacob Kiplimo and twice-champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya—return to compete on an entirely new course on the Mount Panorama racetrack's infield.

The 2km circuit's steep terrain includes a sandy "Bondi Beach" and a marshy "Billabong" segment, in addition to passing through a vineyard.

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PHOTO | COURTESY Kenyan cross-country star Kimwaror leads the race

Olympic 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter champion Cheptegei told reporters on Friday, "It's amazing to see the runners who shared the podium in Copenhagen are here running on this fantastic course."

According to the speaker, it will be mind-blowing and memorable for a very long time.

Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, the world 10,000m champion, is the early favourite to win the women's event after placing third in Aarhus four years ago when she was 21.

The two-time under-20 champion, Gidey, will be up against tough competition from his countrymen Gete Alemayehu and Tsigie Gebreselama, as well as the talented Eritrean Rahel Daniel.

PHOTO | COURTESY Sigh to Kenyan cross-country runners as the race finally resumes

Beatrice Chebet, the 2019 under-20 global 5,000-meter winner, is the team captain for a talented Kenyan squad that includes Emily Chebet, the 37-year-old 2010 and 2013 world cross-country champion.

Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, rejected the notion that the course's elements were a gimmick and asserted that the organization had ambitious goals for cross-country.

He claimed this was "perhaps" the most challenging cross-country course ever presented at a world championship.

"We want to use this as a gliding patch for other stuff, like the world cross-country tour, and we'll keep talking to the IOC about making sure it is recognized at some point in the Olympic Games," the statement continued.