Despite an aggressive surge from a competitor at the mid-way point, Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor fought back to claim his second consecutive IAAF World Cross Country Championship Sunday in Kampala, Uganda.

The victory was hard fought as Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei shot to the front and established a quickened pace just after the halfway point. At first, Kamworor followed Cheptegei but quickly fell back and trailed 10 seconds behind through the following lap and a half. 

Heading into the final 2K loop, Cheptegei paid for his surge and began to slow his pace. Meanwhile, Kamworor experienced a sudden burst of energy to overtake the Ugandan competitor on his home course. With 600 meters remaining, Kamworor powered into the homestretch to become the first back-to-back senior men's winner since 2006. The Kenyan covered the 10K course in 28:24. 

Congratulations to #Kenya's Kamworor for defending title! Another #Gold for @athletics_kenya. Photos by; @JoshWama #iaafkampala2017 pic.twitter.com/ugRWVHJIIs

— iaafkampala2017 (@iaafkampala2017) March 26, 2017

He was followed by Kenya's Leonard Kiplimo Barsoton for silver and Ethiopia's Abadi Hadis for bronze. 

Kamworor's winning performance catapulted Kenya to a runner-up finish behind Ethiopia who won the team race by one point over the distance running rivals. 

Although Cheptegei struggled to make it to the finish line once Kamworor passed him, the Ugandan athlete still managed to finish 30th overall. The performance contributed to a third-place team finish. Eritrea followed for fourth and the United States claimed fifth. 

Team USA was led by Sam Chelanga who finished 11th in 29:13. Olympians Leonard Korir and Shadrack Kipchirchir followed in 20th and 21st, respectively, while Stanley Kebenei closed a few seconds later in 26th.

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