Wildschutt and Xaba lead SA charge at World Cross Country Championships in the US

Adriaan Wildschutt achieved the best result by a South African in the senior men's race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, but his time of 29:32 in the 10km was only good enough for 13th place.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo crossed the line in 28:18 to become the fourth man in history to win three consecutive world cross-country titles.

Wildschutt’s achievement improved on the 15th-place finishes by Shadrack Hoff in the senior men's race in Stellenbosch in 1996, and Stephen Mokoka in Punta Umbria, Spain, in 2011.

Wildschutt, who is based in the US and previously competed for Florida State University, led the SA men’s squad to ninth position in the men's team competition.

“It was a nice race; went out really fast. I knew it was going to start fast but it relaxed for about two to four kilometres and then they picked it up again. Really nice to back here competing really hard,” he said. "I would have loved a top 10, but as we all know, it's really tough out here. 

“I'm really excited for the new year. I'm probably going to take it down for a week, travel back to South Africa, get my visa sorted and then probably do a camp somewhere in South Africa. I have a couple of races coming up, but for now I'll just be recovering and then looking forward to the rest of the season.” 

Sanele Masondo was the second South African man to cross the finish line, his time of 30:13 good enough for 33rd place. 

“Overall I think it was a good performance. I think I executed the race really well. I just put myself in it and fought to the finish. It was really tough but that’s how cross county is. I’’m thrilled with the result,” he said.

Glenrose Xaba was the best of the South African finishers in the women’s senior race in 34th place with a time of 34:51. which was 3:23 behind Kenya’s race winner Agnes Jebet. The SA women matched the men’s finish in the team competition, finishing in ninth.

"I'm very happy about my position. I did my best but the course was very tough," Xaba said. "I'm just excited that we did very well and I finished the course with my teammates.”

Earlier in the programme, the team ended sixth in the senior mixed 4x2km relay. The quartet of Luan Munnik, Karabo More, Christopher Swart and Carina Viljoen started well and were in a podium position over the first two legs. Though they lost touch in the second half of the contest, they held on to complete the 8km relay race in 23:04.

In the U20 women’s 6km race, Lara Stander was the best of the South Africans, ending 27th in 21:15 and leading the team to ninth place. Benkosi Maqwara was the top finisher in the junior men’s 8km event, taking 43rd spot in 26:20, with the national team taking10th spot.