Joseph Ebuya (pictured) and Emily Chebet headed a Kenyan sweep of the individual and team medals at on a day in Poland that stunningly illustrated the strength of African distance running.

Kenya won nine out of the 12 available medals under the individual category, and scooped the top four spots in the team title.

Meanwhile, African nations won every medal available except for the women's team race where the United States took the bronze.

Ebuya became the first Kenyan to win the senior men's 12 kilometres title since Paul Tergat won his fifth and final race in Belfast in 1999.

It was in Budapest in 1994 that Tergat won his first title as Kenya swept all the medals available with Helen Chepngeno taking the senior women.

On this occasion, Chebet won the women's 8km title while Kenya also won both the individual and team junior titles.

Eritrea's Teklemariam Medhin took the early lead in the senior men's race but Ebuya stayed in touch and strode to the front in the closing stages to win in exactly 33 minutes.

Medhin was second six seconds behind.

In the women's race, Chebet (pictured) outsprinted team mate Linet Masai, who had done all the early work on a muddy course, to win in 24min 19sec.

Masai, the world 10,000 meters champion, finished one second behind with Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu in third place, her fifth world cross country bronze medal.

Ethiopia's three-times world champion Tirunesh Dibaba finished out of the medals in fourth place.

Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku won the men's junior race and Mercy Cherono captured the women's junior title.

Tergat and another multiple former champion John Ngugi hailed their teams' performances.

"It is a great day for us Kenyans," Tergat told Reuters.

"I am so excited that they have brought back the senior men's 12km title and all the other titles.

"It has been a long wait and it makes me happy that we fought so gallantly."

Ngugi said the performances showed that Kenyan talent had not been properly harnessed previously.

"It also shows that with proper training Kenyans are still the leading cross country nation," he said.

"My congratulations to them."