Olympic medalist Obiri says gold win in Denmark, her last in cross country

NAIROBI, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Newly crowned world Cross Country champion Hellen Obiri says she will delay her move to the road race until after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Obiri, who is also the world 5000m champion has also confirmed that she is done with cross country after winning the only medal missing in her collection.

The 29-year-old Kenyan was crowned champion in the 10km senior women's race in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday but said she has no intention of defending her title in 2021.

"My target was to win gold at the world Cross Country championships and I have attained it. It was the only medal missing from my collection. Now that I have got it, I don't think I will be running in it again," said Obiri on Sunday.

Instead, the Olympic 5,000m silver medalist says she will now focus on other races before retiring.

To start with she will have to defend her Diamond League trophy when the 14-leg circuit gets underway in Doha, Qatar in May.

"I will focus on track fields now because I have what I wanted with medals from Olympics, world championships, Africa championships and the cross country. What is important for me is to keep working hard and see where to end," she added.

Obiri ensured the senior women's world Cross Country title stayed in Kenya, completing the tough 10.24km course in 36:14 ahead of Ethiopian challenger Dera Dida.

With her victory, Obiri became the first woman in history to win senior world titles indoors, outdoors and at cross country. The only man to achieve such a feat is the Ethiopian track great Kenenisa Bekele.

Obiri will launch her track season in Shanghai, China running in the shorter 1,500m distance.