Cross country senior women's race prize money
Agnes Jebet Ngetich won the senior women's race at the 2026 World Cross Country Championships in 31:28 and took $30,000. The money runs six deep, $3,000 for 6th, and that $70,000 is the runners' own. A second ladder worth $70,000 pays the team standing, and that one is the federation's.
90 runners started in Tallahassee and 89 finished, from 28 countries. 13 teams were scored and six were paid. The race has been held twice, in Tallahassee 2026 and Belgrade 2024, and has paid $280,000 in all. The card is the same at both: $70,000 to the runners and $70,000 to the federations, every time. The championships put up $310,000 across the five races on the programme.
The 2026 race
Tallahassee, 10 January 2026
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | TIME | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agnes Jebet Ngetich | Kenya | 31:28 | $30,000 |
| 2 | Joy Cheptoyek | Uganda | 32:10 | $15,000 |
| 3 | Senayet Getachew | Ethiopia | 32:13 | $10,000 |
| 4 | Asayech Ayichew | Ethiopia | 32:44 | $7,000 |
| 5 | Aleshign Baweke | Ethiopia | 32:49 | $5,000 |
| 6 | Rispa Cherop | Uganda | 32:52 | $3,000 |
| 7 | Alem Tsadik | Ethiopia | 33:00 | — |
| 8 | Maurine Jepkoech Chebor | Kenya | 33:06 | — |
| 9 | Sarah Chelangat | Uganda | 33:20 | — |
| 10 | Ednah Kurgat | United States | 33:28 | — |
| 90 | started | 89 finished | — | $70,000 |
| POS | COUNTRY | POINTS | THE FOUR WHO SCORED | TO THE FEDERATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia | 19 | Senayet Getachew 3rd, Asayech Ayichew 4th, Aleshign Baweke 5th, Alem Tsadik 7th | $20,000 |
| 2 | Kenya | 36 | Agnes Jebet Ngetich 1st, Maurine Jepkoech Chebor 8th, Caren Chebet 11th, Rebecca Mwangi 16th | $16,000 |
| 3 | Uganda | 37 | Joy Cheptoyek 2nd, Rispa Cherop 6th, Sarah Chelangat 9th, Rebecca Chelangat 20th | $12,000 |
| 4 | United States | 83 | Ednah Kurgat 10th, Karissa Schweizer 17th, Katie Izzo 24th, Grace Hartman 32nd | $10,000 |
| 5 | Australia | 103 | Lauren Ryan 13th, Leanne Pompeani 15th, Maudie Skyring 36th, Bronte Oates 39th | $8,000 |
| 6 | Spain | 123 | María Forero 14th, Idaira Prieto 28th, Carolina Robles 30th, Angela Viciosa 51st | $4,000 |
| 7 | Great Britain | 130 | Megan Keith 25th, Poppy Tank 29th, Phoebe Anderson 35th, Verity Ockenden 41st | — |
| 8 | Canada | 158 | Chloe Thomas 31st, Makenna Fitzgerald 38th, Grace Fetherstonhaugh 42nd, Ceili Mccabe 47th | — |
| 13 | teams scored | — | 28 countries ran | $70,000 |
Agnes Jebet Ngetich took $30,000 for the win and the first six home shared $70,000. The team standing went to Ethiopia on 19 points, worth $20,000, and the six paid teams took $70,000 between them. The race and the standing went to different countries: a team title is won by four runners and an individual title by one.
The 2024 race
Belgrade, 30 March 2024
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | TIME | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beatrice Chebet | Kenya | 31:05 | $30,000 |
| 2 | Lilian Kasait Rengeruk | Kenya | 31:08 | $15,000 |
| 3 | Margaret Kipkemboi | Kenya | 31:09 | $10,000 |
| 4 | Agnes Jebet Ngetich | Kenya | 31:27 | $7,000 |
| 5 | Sarah Chelangat | Uganda | 32:00 | $5,000 |
| 6 | Daisy Jepkemei | Kazakhstan | 32:04 | $3,000 |
| 7 | Bertukan Welde | Ethiopia | 32:14 | — |
| 8 | Loice Chekwemoi | Uganda | 32:24 | — |
| 9 | Mebrat Gidey | Ethiopia | 32:27 | — |
| 10 | Tadelech Bekele | Ethiopia | 32:29 | — |
| 91 | started | 80 finished | — | $70,000 |
| POS | COUNTRY | POINTS | THE FOUR WHO SCORED | TO THE FEDERATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya | 10 | Beatrice Chebet 1st, Lilian Kasait Rengeruk 2nd, Margaret Kipkemboi 3rd, Agnes Jebet Ngetich 4th | $20,000 |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 37 | Bertukan Welde 7th, Mebrat Gidey 9th, Tadelech Bekele 10th, Sisay Meseret Gola 11th | $16,000 |
| 3 | Uganda | 40 | Sarah Chelangat 5th, Loice Chekwemoi 8th, Rachael Zena Chebet 12th, Annet Chemengich Chelangat 15th | $12,000 |
| 4 | United States | 103 | Weini Kelati Frezghi 14th, Allie Ostrander 27th, Abby Nichols 30th, Emma Grace Hurley 32nd | $10,000 |
| 5 | Spain | 114 | Carolina Robles 21st, Irene Sánchez-Escribano 23rd, Majida Maayouf 34th, Isabel Barreiro 36th | $8,000 |
| 6 | Japan | 126 | Miku Sakai 20th, Erika Tanoura 24th, Azusa Mihara 26th, Momoka Kawaguchi 56th | $4,000 |
| 7 | South Africa | 137 | Kyla Jacobs 25th, Glenrose Xaba 29th, Cacisile Sosibo 37th, Karabo Mailula 46th | — |
| 8 | Canada | 162 | Glynis Sim 35th, Leslie Sexton 39th, Katelyn Ayers 41st, Kate Bazeley 47th | — |
| 10 | teams scored | — | 32 countries ran | $70,000 |
Beatrice Chebet took $30,000 for the win and the first six home shared $70,000. The team standing went to Kenya on 10 points, worth $20,000, and the six paid teams took $70,000 between them.
What each place is worth
Two ladders of the same size, paid to two different people
| PLACE | THE RUNNER GETS | THE FEDERATION GETS |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $30,000 | $20,000 |
| 2nd | $15,000 | $16,000 |
| 3rd | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| 4th | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| 5th | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| 6th | $3,000 | $4,000 |
| The race | $70,000 | $70,000 |
The two ladders are worth the same $70,000 and they are not the same shape. The individual card puts 43% of its money on the winner; the team card puts 29% on the winning country and pays 6th $4,000. Winning the race is worth 1.5 times what winning the standing is, and the standing takes four runners to win. Neither ladder reaches past 6th, so 83 of the 89 who finished in Tallahassee were paid nothing at all, and so were seven of the 13 teams that were scored.
What each country took from this race
$280,000 across the two championships
| # | COUNTRY | TO ITS RUNNERS | TO THE FEDERATION | TEAM TITLES | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya | $92,000 | $36,000 | 1 | $128,000 |
| 2 | Ethiopia | $22,000 | $36,000 | 1 | $58,000 |
| 3 | Uganda | $23,000 | $24,000 | — | $47,000 |
| 4 | United States | — | $20,000 | — | $20,000 |
| 5 | Spain | — | $12,000 | — | $12,000 |
| 6 | Australia | — | $8,000 | — | $8,000 |
| 7 | Japan | — | $4,000 | — | $4,000 |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | $3,000 | — | — | $3,000 |
| 8 | countries paid | $140,000 | $140,000 | 2 | $280,000 |
Kenya has taken $128,000 of the $280,000 this race has paid, 45.7% of it. The two money columns are kept apart because they are not the same money: one is paid to a runner and is theirs, the other to a national federation. Four of the eight countries here hold federation money and nothing else: they put four runners in the first six teams without putting one in the first six of the race.
Everyone who ran the senior women's race
All 162 of them, across the two championships
- Agnes Jebet Ngetich
- Joy Cheptoyek
- Senayet Getachew
- Asayech Ayichew
- Aleshign Baweke
- Rispa Cherop
- Alem Tsadik
- Maurine Jepkoech Chebor
- Sarah Chelangat
- Ednah Kurgat
- Caren Chebet
- Shure Demise
- Lauren Ryan
- María Forero
- Leanne Pompeani
- Rebecca Mwangi
- Karissa Schweizer
- Sarah Lahti
- Hannah Gapes
- Rebecca Chelangat
- Niamh Allen
- Joyline Chepkemoi
- Fiona Everard
- Katie Izzo
- Megan Keith
- Lemlem Nibret
- Martha Chemutai
- Idaira Prieto
- Poppy Tank
- Carolina Robles
- Chloe Thomas
- Grace Hartman
- Emily Venters
- Glenrose Xaba
- Phoebe Anderson
- Maudie Skyring
- Brenda Jepchumba Kenei
- Makenna Fitzgerald
- Bronte Oates
- Weini Kelati Frezghi
- Verity Ockenden
- Grace Fetherstonhaugh
- Kyla Jacobs
- Holly Campbell
- Cacisile Sosibo
- Sheyla Eulogio Paucar
- Ceili Mccabe
- Wakana Itsuki
- Kereen Chemusto
- Karabo Mailula
- Angela Viciosa
- Sabrina Salcedo García
- Momoka Kawaguchi
- Caitlin Adams
- Cian Oldknow
- Juliana Sakat
- Florence Caron
- Sophie Hicks
- Glynis Sim
- Sora Shinozakura
- Qingqing Li
- Katrina Andrew
- Liis-Grete Hussar
- Layla Almasri
- Benita Parra Sánchez
- Zarita Suárez
- Zanele Maisa
- Arian Iveth Chia Hernández
- Yuan Li
- Panpan Wang
- Caroline Fungisai Mhandu
- Marta Vazquez
- Maribel Ayquipa
- Shuanglu Pan
- Liz Anani Durand
- Yuxuan Chen
- Vanessa Ying Zhuang Lee
- Nicole Low
- Louise Grosgogeat
- Nathania Tan
- Xuan Jie Ng
- Rachel Conhoff
- Monica Kalua
- Nada El Kurdi
- Nour Al Ghoussaini
- Faith Zhen Ford
- Karine Shraim
- Yangyang Wu
- Jennifer Tomazou
- Answer Brandietta Tasara
- Beatrice Chebet
- Lilian Kasait Rengeruk
- Margaret Kipkemboi
- Daisy Jepkemei
- Bertukan Welde
- Loice Chekwemoi
- Mebrat Gidey
- Tadelech Bekele
- Sisay Meseret Gola
- Rachael Zena Chebet
- Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal
- Annet Chemengich Chelangat
- Cintia Chepngeno
- Abbie Donnelly
- Girmawit Gebrzihair
- Miku Sakai
- Bekelech Teku
- Irene Sánchez-Escribano
- Erika Tanoura
- Azusa Mihara
- Allie Ostrander
- Paige Campbell
- Abby Nichols
- Aydee Loayza
- Emma Grace Hurley
- . Seema
- Majida Maayouf
- Isabel Barreiro
- Georgie Grgec
- Leslie Sexton
- Shellcy Ester Sarmiento
- Katelyn Ayers
- Lauren Mcneil
- Alice Goodall
- Cecile Jarousseau
- Laura Maasik
- Kate Bazeley
- Ankita
- Micheline Niyomahoro
- Melissa Duncan
- Mikaela Lucki
- Annika Pfitzinger
- Margarita Hernandez Flores
- Silvia Patricia Ortiz Morocho
- Cailie Logue
- Katie Newlove
- Farida Abaroge
- Danielle Donegan
- Meliza Estefany Casaico
- Lisha Van Onselen
- Anneke Arlidge
- Joan Makary
- Katherine Camp
- Caitlin Mcquilkin-Bell
- Chirine Njeim
- Eliana Silvera Silva
- Esterina Irino Julius
- Perina Lokure Nakang
- Slađana Pejović
- Adi Fulori Masau
- Adrianna Skurosz
- Niamh Brown
- Lauren Heyes
- Tayla Kavanagh
- Katie Camarena
- Anjelina Nadai Lohalith
- Anjali Kumari
- Emmaculate Anyango Achol
- Belinda Chemutai
- Adi Ama Masau
- Loaa Zaarour
- Rajabmo Abdulloeva
Every name here started the race or was named in a team, whether they were paid or not. 14 of the 162 have a page in this section, where their Diamond League earnings are counted to the dollar. The other 148 are here because they ran, which is the whole entry requirement: only six runners in each race went home with a cheque of their own.
Frequently asked questions
How much prize money does the senior women's race pay at the World Cross Country Championships?
Two separate ladders worth $140,000 between them. The runners take $70,000 of it, $30,000 for 1st, $15,000 for 2nd, $10,000 for 3rd, $7,000 for 4th, $5,000 for 5th and $3,000 for 6th, and that money is theirs. The team standing takes the other $70,000, $20,000 down to $4,000 for 6th, and that money is the federation's. Across the two championships the race has paid $280,000.
Who won the 2026 senior women's race and what did they take?
Agnes Jebet Ngetich of Kenya, in 31:28, for $30,000. 90 runners started in Tallahassee and 89 finished. The team standing went to Ethiopia on 19 points, worth $20,000 to the federation, so the winner of the race and the winner of the standing were different countries.
How many places does the senior women's race pay?
Six runners and six teams. 6th in the race is worth $3,000 and 7th is worth nothing, in a race 89 people finished. Six teams are paid out of the 13 that were scored, so a country can be scored, beaten and paid on the same afternoon.
Who gets the team prize money in the senior women's race?
The federation, not the runners. A country's first four home are scored, their finishing places are added together and the lowest total wins, and the $20,000 for the title is paid to the national federation as one cheque. Ethiopia won the 2026 standing with a fourth scorer who finished 7th, a run worth $20,000 to the federation and nothing at all to Alem Tsadik.
Which country has won the most prize money in the senior women's race?
Kenya, on $128,000 of the $280,000 this race has paid out, 45.7% of it. $92,000 of it belongs to four of its runners and $36,000 to the federation. 8 countries have been paid in this race.
How many of these runners have run the senior women's race at both championships?
19 of the 162 named in the race across the two editions. Cross country is a winter championships held every other year, and a field turns over hard between stagings.
Is there a world record bonus in the senior women's race?
There is no such thing. Every cross country course is different, so there is no record to break and no bonus to pay: the card is the ladder and nothing else. A world record on the track at the World Championships adds $100,000 on top of the place money; here a winning run is worth $30,000 whatever the clock says.
Where to next
The rest of the athletics money
World Cross Country prize money holds every race on both programmes, the 65 countries that ran and the $620,000 the two championships put up. World Championships prize money is where the same distance runners are paid on the track, $70,000 for a title, and World Relays prize money is the other championship where the cheque never has a runner's name on it. Diamond League prize money is the circuit most of this field races all summer, and the one place their earnings are their own.