World under-20 cross country champion Beatrice Chebet and Leonard Bet finished second at Cinque Mulini — the second leg of the World Athletics Cross Country Permit series — on Sunday in San Vittore Olona Italy.
Chebet finished second in the women's 6.2-kilometre race clocking 18:56 with compatriot Sheila Chelangat completing the podium positions in 19:24
Ethiopian Tsehay Gemechu took the top honours with a well-calculated race by posting 18:53.
Gemechu, fellow Ethiopian Alemitu Tariku, Chelangat and Chebet pulled away from Burundi’s Francine Niyomukunzi in the early stages and completed the first lap in 6:45.
Chebet, Gemechu and Chelangat stepped up the pace on the second lap, opening up an 11-second gap on Tariku. Chelangat was the next to drift back, leaving Chebet and Gemechu to battle it out on the final lap.
Chebet led for most of the final lap, but Gemechu launched her kick in the final straight to take a three-second win in 18:53.
In the men's category, Bett, who won the race last year split the Ethiopians to finish second in the men's 10.2km race by posting 28:58 with Nibrit Melak topping the race in 28;57 as world 5,000 m champion Muktar Edris finished third in 28:59 in a dramatic late sprint.
Bett led a nine-man lead group that included Melak, Edris, Uganda’s Samuel Kibet and Hosea Kiplangat, Italian marathon record-holder Eyob Faniel, Marouan Razine, Yohannes Chiappinelli and Oscar Chelimo.
The lead pack was whittled down to seven runners during the second lap as Bett took the initiative, going through the second lap mark in 12:14, closely followed by Melak, Kibet, Edris, Kiplangat, Chiappinelli and Chelimo.
The pace increased on the fourth lap when Melak, Bett, Kiplangat, Edris broke away from Kibet with the leading quartet going through 8km in 23:30.
