Former world 5,000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono will be chasing her first win of the 2025 season when she lines up for the second edition of the Betika BingwaFest this Saturday at Afraha Stadium, Nakuru.
The week-long multi-sport event, which kicked off on Monday, will climax on Sunday with a Sh17 million prize pot at stake across team and individual disciplines.
Cherono has confirmed she will double up in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m as she hunts a long-overdue victory. "I will be taking part in the 5,000m and the 10,000m races, and I look forward to it," Cherono said.
She highlighted the Bigwa Fest as a platform for athletes to fine-tune their form. “We are happy that BingwaFest is coming back for the second season. This is a tournament that has valued athletics as much as the other sports, and it is a good platform for us athletes to not only help us stay in shape but also earn some money."
The 2013 Moscow World Championships silver medallist has endured a mixed bag of results since opening her 2025 campaign. She kicked off with a seventh-place finish in the 2km loop at the National Cross Country Championships (7:18), before placing second in the 5,000m at the sixth AK weekend meet in 15:45.50 behind Cynthia Chepkirui (15:44.81).
At the Kip Keino Classic, Cherono clocked 15:28.87 for fifth, then switched to the roads for the Boston 10K, finishing 11th in 32:59. Her most recent outing came at the National Championships in June, where she faded to fifth in the 5,000m (15:51.12).
Rebecca Mwangi (15:39.78), Cynthia Chepkirui (15:40.83) and Faith Chebet (15:45.62) claimed the podium in that race. In the 25-lap contest, Cherono will battle in-form Maurine Jepkoech, the defending BingwaFest 10,000m champion, who is fresh from a busy and largely productive 2025 season.
Jepkoech was runner-up at the National Cross Country Championships (34:33) before winning the Nijmegen 5km in 15:01and placing third in Tokyo 5k (14:40),
Jepkoech will be hoping for improved results following a subpar 15th-place finish in the 5,000m in her most recent track outing at the Prefontaine Classic on July 5, where she clocked 14:50.68. Athletics at BingwaFest will have more than Sh6 million in prize money on offer. In the 10,000m, winners will pocket Sh300,000, with Sh250,000 and Sh200,000 going to second and third place, respectively.
Fourth and fifth will take home Sh100,000 and Sh75,000. The 5,000m champions will earn Sh250,000, runners-up Sh150,000, third place Sh100,000, with Sh50,000 and Sh30,000 reserved for fourth and fifth. For the 100m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m, the top three will receive Sh150,000, Sh100,000 and Sh60,000, while fourth and fifth get Sh30,000 and Sh20,000.
