Hilda Kibet of the Netherlands.

The 2008 SPAR European Cross Country Championships gold medallist Hilda Kibet has announced that she will contest the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on 28 March.

Kibet, from the Netherlands, was Europe's leading finisher in the senior women's race 12 months ago in Jordan, when she came home sixth.

"I wasn't in the form I wanted to be in last December so I decided, sadly, not to defend my European title in Dublin," said the 28-year-old Dutch runner.

"However, I have been training recently in Kenya and that has been going well. I tested my form in a Half Marathon in February (when she ran a personal best of 68.39 in Ras Al Khaimah) and I was pleased with the outcome," she added.

Kibet will be her country's only representative at the Championships.