Daniel Ebenyo/HANDOUT
World Cross Country bronze medallist Daniel Ebenyo will be the headline act at the penultimate leg of the second season of the Betika BingwaFest, set for the Mumias Sports Complex over the weekend.
The Western Region edition of the competition has drawn over 500 athletes, all chasing glory and lucrative rewards. Ebenyo is primed for a demanding distance double in Mumias, lining up for both the 10,000m and 5,000m races.
Victory in both events carries a mouth-watering combined prize of Sh550,000, with Sh300,000 on offer for the 10,000m winner and Sh250,000 for the 5,000m champion. The 30-year-old enters the fray fresh from a solid start to his 2026 campaign at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, on January 10. 
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In Florida, Ebenyo stopped the clock at 28:45 to clinch bronze in the senior men’s 10km race, finishing behind Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo (28:18) and Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi (28:36). Further boosting his confidence, Ebenyo arrives in Mumias buoyed by a string of strong results from an impressive 2025 season. 
He dominantly opened the year by winning the National Cross Country Championships in Eldoret in 30:48 before stamping his authority at the Sirikwa Classic, where he clocked 29:57. He experienced a brief dip in form at the Seoul Marathon, finishing 10th in 2:10:21, but bounced back strongly with a second-place finish at the Boilermaker 10K in 28:23. 
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His second marathon appearance of the year saw him place 13th at the Chicago Marathon in 2:07:52 before rounding off the season with a solid performance at the National Cross Country Championships, winning the senior men’s 10km race in 30:12.
Ebenyo’s pedigree over the 25-lap distance includes a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where he clocked 27:52.60 and another silver from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, earned in 27:11.26.
Over 5,000m, Ebenyo boasts a personal best of 12:54.90, recorded during his fifth-place finish at the 2022 Brussels Diamond League.
Betika's head of branding,  Eric Mwiti, highlighted the growing excitement ahead of an action-packed weekend in Western Kenya.
“We are excited to be in Western this weekend as we near the end of the second season,” Mwiti said.  “This is a region that remains a hub for top talents, and we are here to give those talents a chance to be seen, while at the same time putting them on the same stage against some of the best talents, especially in athletics."
He added, “We look forward to an entertaining weekend as we look for the Western Bingwa's.”
A total prize pool of Sh17 million will be up for grabs across team sports (football, rugby and 3×3 basketball) as well as athletics. 
Football action kicked off on Monday, January 19, across various venues, while rugby and basketball are set to tip off on Friday at the Bull Ring and Mumias Sports Complex, respectively. All team sports will then converge at the Mumias Sports Complex on Sunday for the grand finals showdown. 
Winners in football and rugby, both men and women, will pocket Sh1 million each, while the victorious 3×3 basketball teams will walk away Sh500,000 richer.