# 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 23/24, 2002. The races were held at the Leopardstown Racecourse, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, near Dublin, Ireland. Reports of the event were given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF.
New scores for team results were introduced.
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 (11.998 km) | Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia | 34:52 | John Yuda Tanzania | 34:58 | Wilberforce Talel Kenya | 35:20 |
| Men's short (4.208 km) | Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia | 12:11 | Luke Kipkosgei Kenya | 12:18 | Haylu Mekonnen Ethiopia | 12:20 |
| Junior men (7.974 km) | Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam Ethiopia | 23:18 | Abel Cheruiyot Kenya | 23:19 | Boniface Kiprop Uganda | 23:28 |
| Senior women (7.974 km) | Paula Radcliffe United Kingdom | 26:55 | Deena Drossin United States | 27:04 | Colleen de Reuck United States | 27:17 |
| Women's short (4.208 km) | Edith Masai Kenya | 13:30 | Worknesh Kidane Ethiopia | 13:36 | Isabella Ochichi Kenya | 13:39 |
| Junior women (5.962 km) | Viola Kibiwott Kenya | 20:13 | Tirunesh Dibaba Ethiopia | 20:14 | Vivian Cheruiyot Kenya | 20:22 |
| Team |||||||
| Senior men | Kenya | 18 | Ethiopia | 43 | Morocco | 58 |
| Men's short | Kenya | 20 | Ethiopia | 32 | Spain | 57 |
| Junior men | Kenya | 18 | Ethiopia | 24 | Uganda | 37 |
| Senior women | Ethiopia | 28 | United States | 38 | Kenya | 41 |
| Women's short | Ethiopia | 32 | Kenya | 34 | Ireland | 85 |
| Junior women | Kenya | 13 | Ethiopia | 24 | Japan | 63 |

## Race results
### Senior men's race (11.998 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

### Men's short race (4.208 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

### Junior men's race (7.974 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

### Senior women's race (7.974 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

### Women's short race (4.208 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

### Junior women's race (5.962 km)

* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result (n/s: nonscorer)

## Medal table (unofficial)

* Host nation (Ireland)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Kenya | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 5 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | United States | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Tanzania | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Uganda | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Morocco | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | Totals (9 entries) | 12 | 12 | 11 | 35 |
* Note: Totals include both individual and team medals, with medals in the team competition counting as one medal.

## Participation

According to an unofficial count, 664 athletes from 59 countries participated. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published. The announced athletes from Angola, Nigeria, Palestine, and Sierra Leone did not show.
* Algeria (30)
* Andorra (3)
* Argentina (5)
* Australia (19)
* Austria (1)
* Belarus (4)
* Belgium (27)
* Brazil (2)
* Burundi (4)
* Canada (34)
* Cayman Islands (2)
* Chile (5)
* DR Congo (1)
* Croatia (1)
* Egypt (3)
* Eritrea (15)
* Ethiopia (35)
* France (26)
* Gibraltar (4)
* Ireland (36)
* Italy (31)
* Japan (27)
* Kazakhstan (2)
* Kenya (35)
* Kyrgyzstan (4)
* Lesotho (2)
* Mexico (11)
* Morocco (23)
* Netherlands (6)
* New Zealand (8)
* Peru (1)
* Poland (1)
* Portugal (22)
* Romania (5)
* Russia (15)
* Rwanda (4)
* Seychelles (2)
* Slovakia (2)
* Slovenia (1)
* South Africa (14)
* Spain (36)
* Sri Lanka (6)
* Sudan (5)
* Eswatini (2)
* Sweden (2)
* Switzerland (2)
* Tajikistan (2)
* Tanzania (13)
* Tunisia (6)
* Turkey (3)
* Turkmenistan (2)
* Uganda (4)
* Ukraine (8)
* United Kingdom (36)
* United States (36)
* Uzbekistan (16)
* Yugoslavia (3)
* Zambia (6)
* Zimbabwe (3)