# 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 21/22, 1998. The races were held at the Menara district in Marrakech, Morocco. Reports of the event were given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF.
Complete results for senior men, for senior men's teams, for men's short race, for men's short race teams, for junior men, for junior men's teams, senior women, for senior women's teams, for women's short race, for women's short race teams, for junior women, for junior women's teams, medallists, and the results of British athletes who took part were published.

## Medallists

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Individual |||||||
| Senior men (12 km) | Paul Tergat Kenya | 34:01 | Paul Koech Kenya | 34:06 | Assefa Mezegebu Ethiopia | 34:28 |
| Men's short (4 km) | John Kibowen Kenya | 10:43 | Daniel Komen Kenya | 10:46 | Paul Kosgei Kenya | 10:50 |
| Junior men (8 km) | Million Wolde Ethiopia | 22:47 | Richard Limo Kenya | 22:50 | Haylu Mekonnen Ethiopia | 22:51 |
| Senior women (8 km) | Sonia O'Sullivan Ireland | 25:39 | Paula Radcliffe United Kingdom | 25:42 | Gete Wami Ethiopia | 25:49 |
| Women's short (4 km) | Sonia O'Sullivan Ireland | 12:20 | Zahra Ouaziz Morocco | 12:34 | Kutre Dulecha Ethiopia | 12:37 |
| Junior women (6 km) | Yimenashu Taye Ethiopia | 19:32 | Jeruto Kiptum Kenya | 19:34 | Worknesh Kidane Ethiopia | 19:34 |
| Team |||||||
| Senior men | Kenya | 12 | Ethiopia | 57 | Morocco | 60 |
| Men's short | Kenya | 10 | Morocco | 42 | Ethiopia | 60 |
| Junior men | Ethiopia | 16 | Kenya | 20 | Morocco | 66 |
| Senior women | Kenya | 30 | Ethiopia | 37 | United Kingdom | 74 |
| Women's short | Morocco | 57 | Ethiopia | 58 | United States | 68 |
| Junior women | Ethiopia | 16 | Kenya | 20 | Japan | 68 |

## Race results
### Senior men's race (12 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Men's short race (4 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Junior men's race (8 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result
$^†$: Ahmed Baday of Morocco was the original 18th-place finisher in 24:18 min, but was disqualified for age falsification.

### Senior women's race (8 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Women's short race (4 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

### Junior women's race (6 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result
$^†$: Nadia Ejjafini of Morocco was the original 18th-place finisher in 20:43 min, but was disqualified for age falsification affecting the team scores.

## Medal table (unofficial)

* Host nation (Morocco)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Kenya | 5 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Ireland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Morocco* | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Great Britain | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (7 entries) | Totals (7 entries) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 |
* Note: Totals include both individual and team medals, with medals in the team competition counting as one medal.

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 707 athletes from 66 countries. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.
* Algeria (30)
* Andorra (1)
* Argentina (7)
* Armenia (1)
* Australia (15)
* Bahrain (1)
* Belarus (2)
* Belgium (4)
* Botswana (6)
* Brazil (22)
* Burundi (1)
* Canada (28)
* Central African Republic (1)
* Colombia (12)
* Costa Rica (2)
* Côte d'Ivoire (4)
* Croatia (4)
* Ecuador (4)
* Egypt (6)
* Estonia (7)
* Ethiopia (36)
* Finland (12)
* France (31)
* Gabon (6)
* Germany (7)
* Greece (2)
* Hong Kong (1)
* Hungary (7)
* Ireland (12)
* Italy (29)
* Japan (21)
* Kazakhstan (5)
* Kenya (36)
* Lebanon (8)
* Libya (4)
* Mauritius (3)
* Mexico (9)
* Morocco (36)
* Namibia (6)
* Netherlands (8)
* New Zealand (5)
* Palestine (2)
* Papua New Guinea (7)
* Poland (3)
* Portugal (21)
* Romania (12)
* Russia (6)
* Rwanda (12)
* Seychelles (4)
* Slovakia (1)
* South Africa (22)
* Spain (36)
* Sweden (1)
* Switzerland (3)
* Tajikistan (3)
* Tanzania (7)
* Tunisia (4)
* Turkey (9)
* Turkmenistan (8)
* Uganda (5)
* Ukraine (4)
* United Arab Emirates (2)
* United Kingdom (35)
* United States (35)
* Yugoslavia (4)
* Zimbabwe (19)