Hellen Obiri Skipping the IAAF World Cross Country Championships to Focus on Track Season

By Adam Kopet

Xinhua reports Hellen Obiri will skip the IAAF World Cross Country Championships this year.

The defending IAAF World Outdoor champion and two-time Diamond League champion at 5,000 meters is focused on retaining her titles in 2019.

In past years, Obiri has competed in cross country for her native Kenya, however, this year she plans to compete on the roads and on the track, exclusively.

Obiri's last race was the San Silvestre 10-kilometer road race in Madrid on New Year's Eve. She finished second in a non-legal time of 29:59.

Joining Obiri in skipping the World Cross Country Championships is fellow Kenyan Bedan Karoki. He finished second at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. However, Karoki is now focused on the marathon.

He plans to race the Houston Half Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon this year and hopes to be selected for the Kenyan team for the 2019 IAAF World Outdoor Championships.