Patrick Kipng’enoThe World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup could end in an anticlimax this weekend after a visa hitch left several leading Kenyan runners stranded ahead of the Grand Finale in Canada.
Current women’s leader Ruth Gitonga, second-placed Joyce Njeru and men’s runner-up Richard Atuya are among the Kenyans who have yet to secure Canadian visas for the final in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.
The 13th edition of the Defi des Couleurs will feature the MSA Vertical, a 5km race on Saturday, followed by the 11km MSA Classic Up and Down on Sunday. “I applied for the visa, and I’m still waiting. I’m crossing my fingers,” said Njeru, a two-time World Cup winner.
The visa problems have also affected several Run2gether On Trail athletes, including Michael Saoli, Patrick Kipng’eno and Elijah Kariuki. Men’s leader Philemon Ombogo Kiriago is also unlikely to travel for the finale despite holding a Canadian visa.
Kiriago, the reigning World Mountain and Trail Running (up and down) champion, leads the standings with 304 points, 14 ahead of Atuya. Saoli is third on 223 points, followed by Kipng’eno on 220.
Paul Machoka is fifth with 184 points, Ephantus Njeri seventh on 172, and Kariuki eighth with 169. With Atuya, Saoli, Kipng’eno and Kariuki still waiting for visas, Kiriago is set to retain the World Cup title.
In the women’s standings, Gitonga leads on 384 points, with Njeru second on 310 and Great Britain’s Kirsty Dickson third on 217. Gitonga and Njeru are expected to retain their positions even if they miss the finale.
Gitonga has been particularly dominant, winning every classic race she has contested at Sāo Brás Cross, Grossglockner and Vauban, while also collecting podium finishes in uphill races. Other Kenyans in the women’s top 10 include Miriam Chepkirui, the youngest woman in the World Cup, who is fifth on 177 points, and Gloria Chebet, seventh with 147.
The World Mountain Running Cup features 16 races across 10 countries on four continents. Should the Kenyans fail to obtain their visas in time, attention will shift to the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) Grand Finale, the Muju Trail, scheduled for October 24 and 25 at Deogyusan National Park in Muju County, South Korea. It will be the first time the GTWS Grand Finale is held in South Korea.
