A stern test indeed for the 453 elite runners from 48 nations who have gathered for an event that involves men's and women's races at senior and under-20 level as well as a mixed relay.

The senior men's podium finishers from the last edition in Aarhus in 2019 will meet again as defending champion Joshua Cheptegei and fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who took silver, take on Kenya's two-time winner Geoffrey Kamworor.

At 26, Cheptegei - who went for broke when this event was held in his native Kampala in 2017 but lost the lead on the final lap and staggered home 30th - has two world 10,000 metres titles and an Olympic 5,000m gold medal, as well as holding the world record in both events.

But Bathurst will offer him the opportunity to further adorn his CV by joining Kamworor, Kenya's Paul Tergat and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele as a back-to-back winner of the event.

Kamworor will be joined on the Kenyan team by world half marathon silver medallist Kibiwott Kandie and Diamond League champion Nicholas Kipkorir, while Ethiopia’s greatest strength comes in the form of Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega and world 5 kilometres record-holder Berihu Aregawi.

Kiplimo missed the senior title by just four seconds in Aarhus, but since then the 22-year-old has won the world half marathon title in 2020 as well as Olympic and world bronze in the 10,000m, and last year he completed a 5000m and 10,000m double at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

However the 30-year-old Kamworor, who had his leg broken in 2020 when a motorbike crashed into him, and who missed the Olympics with an ankle injury, has recovered form and fitness and will be in search of a third title.

Meanwhile Ethiopia’s 5,000 and 10,000 metres world record holder Letesenbet Gidey will be seeking a cross country gold to add to the 10,000m title she won at last summer's World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

The 24-year-old won back-to-back under-20 titles in 2015 and 2017 and finished third in the senior women's race in 2019 as well as earning gold in the team competition.

Eritrea's 21-year-old Rahel Daniel will have strong hopes of reaching the podium having dominated the World Athletics Cross Country Tour with her three victories last month.

Kenya’s traditional strong challenge will be headed by Beatrice Chebet, the world 5,000m silver medallist, and the 2010 and 2013 world cross-country champion Emily Chebet.

While the mixed team relay is considered the best medal chance of the host nation, Australia will also be seeking to make an impact on the team standings in the senior men’s race, as will Ethiopia, who won the event in 2015 and 2017.

Kenya’s 18-year-old Faith Cherotich, who was an unheralded winner of the steeplechase at the 2021 World under-20 Championships and retained her title last year, will fancy her chances of earning another gold in the women’s under-20 race.

In the men's under-20 race, either Ishmael Kirui and Reynold Cheruiyot look capable of earning Kenya its first victory in more than a decade.

The mixed relay starts the Championships off, with Kenya and Ethiopia, who have claimed one title apiece since this 4x2km event was introduced in 2017, are facing a potentially strong challenge from the hosts.

A total of 15 teams are entered for the mixed relay in Bathurst, where two women and two men will each run a loop of around 2km - the first and last laps being slightly longer than the others - for each squad.

Racing in man-woman-man-woman format, athletes will wear or carry a wristband that they will transfer to their team-mates in the takeover zone.

Steeplechase specialists Mekides Abebe and Getnet Wale head the Ethiopian squad that will be seeking a successful defence of the nation’s gold gained four years ago.

Abebe, who won world steeplechase bronze in Oregon, and world and Olympic fourth-place finisher Wale will be joined by world U20 1500m champion Birke Haylom and national 1500m champion Adehena Kasaye.

Women’s 3,000m steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech has the benefit of experience, having anchored her team to mixed relay gold in Kampala six years ago.

Chepkoech, who won the world steeplechase title in Doha in 2019, also finished seventh in the individual senior women’s race at the World Cross Country Championships that year in Aarhus.

The mixed relay is considered Australia’s biggest medal hope on home soil and the quartet features Olympic and world finalists.

Oliver Hoare reached the Olympic final in Tokyo and last year took the men's 1500m title at the Commonwealth Games, while Abbey Caldwell also achieved medal success in Birmingham, finishing third in the women’s 1500m.

They team up with Olympic and world 1500m finalist Jessica Hull and Olympic seventh-place finisher Stewart McSweyn.