Winfred Yavi and Rodrigue Kwizera Triumph at the Cross Itálica in Seville
Reigning Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain and Rodrigue Kwizera of Burundi claimed top honors at the Cross Internacional de Itálica in Santiponce, on the outskirts of Seville — a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event.
Women’s Race
Yavi dominated the 9.2 km women’s race, crossing the line in 28:56, well ahead of Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan (30:36) and Likina Amebaw of Ethiopia (30:37).
Jepkemei, runner-up in last year’s edition, took the early lead, shadowed by Yavi, Amebaw, and Celestine Jepkosgei Biwott. The quartet quickly broke away from a chasing group that included Portugal’s Mariana Machado, Spain’s Isabel Barreiro, and María Forero Pérez, the European U23 cross country silver medalist.
Jepkemei led through the first 2.3 km lap in 7:19. Biwott began to lose contact, while the chasing pack trailed 33 seconds behind.
The leading trio — Yavi, Jepkemei, and Amebaw — increased the pace on the second lap, clocking 7:15, while the Spanish duo of Forero and Barreiro were more than a minute adrift.
Yavi surged at the start of the third lap, leaving Jepkemei struggling to maintain contact. The race evolved into a head-to-head battle between Yavi and Amebaw, who completed the penultimate lap in 7:15. Jepkemei followed four seconds behind at the bell.
With 200 meters remaining, Yavi launched a decisive kick to pull clear of Amebaw, closing her final lap in a blistering 6:58.
In a thrilling finish, Jepkemei edged Amebaw by one second to claim second place in 30:36, with Amebaw third in 30:37.
Biwott finished fourth (30:41), while Forero impressed as top Spaniard in fifth (31:07), ahead of Barreiro (31:26) and Machado (31:30).
Winfred Yavi: “I’m so happy to win on my debut at Itálica. I feel strong now and look forward to competing at the Islamic Games in Riyadh next week.”
Men’s Race
The men’s race unfolded at a measured pace early on, with world U20 5000m champion Andrew Alamisi and Titus Kibet leading through the first kilometer. Rodrigue Kwizera moved to the front around the four-minute mark, as a lead group of ten — including Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Aaron Las Heras, Yahya Aouina, Alamisi, and Dennis Kipkoech — completed the opening lap in 6:28.
Kwizera continued to dictate the tempo through the second lap (6:34), with only Alamisi and Kipkoech able to match his rhythm in the later stages.
With one kilometer to go, Alamisi briefly surged ahead, closely followed by Kipkoech and Kwizera. On the downhill section, Kwizera made his decisive move with 500 meters remaining, breaking away to seal victory.
Kwizera crossed the line in 26:10, taking his second career win in Seville (after 2021). Alamisi finished a close second with the same time, while Kipkoech was third in 26:11. Kibet placed fourth (26:23), narrowly ahead of Ndikumwenayo (26:26).
Rodrigue Kwizera: “I’m honored to win here again after my victory in 2021. The new course was tougher, with some challenging hills. Even though I led much of the race, I saved energy for the final section. I knew I had a good change of pace and used it with 500 meters to go — it was just enough, though the Kenyan boys pushed me hard.”
