Llodio, Spain – Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and Kenya’s Linet Masai captured top spots in style at the 25th ‘Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’ held today (30) on a cold and rainy day for weather.
In doing so, Bekele became the first athlete to win the event three times, while the manner of Masai’s victory – she built a full minute advantage over her closest opponent – suggests Llodio’s spectators have just witnessed an athlete born to challenge for world distance running honours in the years to come.
MEN – Bekele succeeds, Komon unable to overcome the mud
The first remarkable movement of the 9.4km men’s race came when Leonard Komon of Kenya managed to reduce the leading group to just seven units after a change of speed. However, the leader of the reigning World silver medallist from Edinburgh was to be short-lived and the 20-year-old soon began to falter on Llodio’s muddy surface once Spain’s Ethiopian born Alemayehu Bezabeh took charge of the race.
At the halfway point, the Spaniard was making most of the pace duties with Bekele consistently staying two metres behind the leader.
By then, the 2007 World Junior XC silver medallist Vicent Chepkor was running four seconds behind the leading duo, while Komon’s chances of winning had vanished as he travelled another ten seconds adrift alongside his fellow Kenyan Mike Kiptoo and Spain’s Ayad Lamdassem.
Shortly before the bell (2km to go) Bezabeh’s dream of succeeding in front of his new home crowd also disappeared as he fell on a muddy section of the circuit, losing valuable seconds before regaining his balance, and was overtaken by Chepkor. Neither man managed to threaten Bekele again.
At the finish line, the reigning World Indoor 3000m champion, Bekele had a seven-second margin over Chepkor, himself 100m clear of Bezabeh, who at least kept Kiptoo at bay and made the minor podium position. As for a tired Komon, he had to be satisfied with a 8th place over one minute behind Bekele in his fourth consecutive appearance on Spanish soil in November.
Thinking of the next European XC Champs to be held in Brussels on 14 December, Bezabeh cemented his medal ambitions as he defeated, among others, Sweden’s reigning silver medallist in Mustafa Mohamed who finished in fifth, ten seconds behind the Spaniard.
WOMEN – Masai destroys any opposition
The women’s 7.36km contest featured two top-ten athletes from this year’s World XC Championships in the guise of Kenya’s Linet Masai and Margaret Muriuki Wangari, who placed third and eight respectively in Edinburgh.
The still 18-year-old Masai provided ample evidence that her bronze medal in Edinburgh was no fluke and from the second kilometre she was in full command of the event thanks to an injection of terrific pace which proved simply unaffordable for the rest.
The Beijing Olympic 10,000m fourth placer built a massive margin of 20 seconds before halfway on Portugal’s Ines Monteiro, herself ten seconds clear of Margaret Muriuki Wangari, while Hungary’s Aniko Kalovics ran in fourth.
The remaining laps just confirmed Masai’s overwhelming authority as her advantage become bigger and bigger to reach the amazing figure of 40 seconds at the bell on Monteiro, a brilliant winner at the opening IAAF permit in Oeiras earlier this month.
There were not major changes in the closing 2km loop and the 2007 World Junior Cross Country champion extended her winning gap to one full minute (25:12-26:12) on the in-form runner-up Portuguese who defeated Margaret Muriuki Wangari by the handsome margin of 29 seconds.
Masai is the sister of 2005 African Junior 5000m and 10,000 champion Moses Masai and has no relation to three-time World short course cross country champion Edith Masai.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
RESULTS
Men (9.4km)
1. Tariku Bekele (Eth) 29:31
2. Vicent Chepkor (Ken) 29:38
3. Alemayehu Bezabeh (Esp) 29:53
4. Mark Kiptoo (Ken) 30:01
5. Mohamed Mustafa (Swe) 30:03
6. Ayad Lamdassem (Esp) 30:15
7. Stephane Joly (Sui) 30:28
8. Leonard Komon (Ken) 30:32
9. Javier Guerra (Esp) 30:44
10. Franscisco Javier Alves (Esp) 30:55
An Ethiopian team comprised mostly of teenagers outside their home country for the first time defeated defending champion Japan to win the 2008 International Chiba Ekiden in the event’s second year featuring mixed-gender teams. The Ethiopian team covered the six stage, 42.195 km course in a record time of 2:05:27, taking four of the six stage best titles and setting two individual stage records. Japan was 2nd in 2:06:39.
Forecast rain began just moments before the start of the ekiden, with conditions deteriorating to a steady downpour and gusting wind by race’s end. Ethiopia’s Ali Abdosh ran 13:34 to open a 7-second gap on Japan’s Yusei Nakao over the 5 km 1st stage, but Japanese women’s 1500 m record holder Yuriko Kobayashi made up the difference on the 5 km 2nd stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Sule Utura and clocking 15:08 to break 5000 m national record holder Kayoko Fukushi’s stage record… More report and videos here
Many foreigners who have come to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and taken part in various road races including the Great Ethiopian Run, an annual international 10km road race, will tell you that it is not just any other race.
Apart from the unique atmosphere created by the mass participation field, which are all clad in the same-coloured T-shirt, the city, which is located at 2400m above sea level, does make both training and running races 5km and upwards a very difficult endurance exercise.
There is little surprise therefore that the winners of the men’s and women’s races in the last seven years of Africa’s largest road race have all been Ethiopian. In fact, Kenyans Nathan Naibei (men’s race in 2005) and Caroline Chepkurui (women’s race in 2006) are the only non-Ethiopians to have earned a top three finish.
This year’s field will again feature a host of young Ethiopian runners hungry to launch themselves onto the international stage and preserve Ethiopian dominance of the race.
Merga, Gebremariam against Farah and Co. – Men’s race
The elite men’s field sees the return of former champions Gebregziabher Gebremariam (2002) and Deriba Merga (2007), a host of young Ethiopians, and perhaps the strongest foreign challenge in the history of the race.
In 2002, Gebremariam, who was coming off his final junior year, beat another then little-known Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine in one of the most exciting races in the history of the Great Ethiopian Run. That performance came on the back of a World junior cross country title in Lausanne, Switzerland and a World junior 10,000m title in Kingston, Jamaica.
While his conquests have gone on to collect four Olympic, 10 world championship, and many other major championship medals between them, Gebremariam’s career hasn’t quite lived up to expectation with double silver in the 2004 World Cross Country Championships and an African 10,000m title earlier this year on home soil being his better-known achievements in a five-year senior career.
However, Gebremariam has already proven that he is a force to be reckoned on the domestic circuit with and his three-year experience – he also finished second in 2003, but failed to finish in the top ten in 2001 – could be an advantage against his relatively-younger compatriots.
Like Gebremariam, Deriba Merga, who was the winner in 2006, makes a return to the Great Ethiopian Run. Since his run-away victory two years ago, Merga added an All-African Games half marathon title in 2007; finished fourth in the 2007 World Half Marathon Championships; and was just beaten out of a podium finish in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon by compatriot Tsegaye Kebede.
But Merga is an athlete on form having won the 2008 Aircom New Delhi Half Marathon in India in 59:16, a PB. He will be using the 10km in Addis Ababa as a speed test for a spring Marathon.
Other top Ethiopian challengers include Ayele Abshiro, who beat Kenenisa Bekele at the Seven Hills 15km in Njimegen last Sunday; 2006 runner-up Tadesse Tola; Lille Half Marathon winner Tilahun Mnashu; 2008 Seoul Marathon winner Solomon Molla and his runner-up Chala Lemi; and African 10,000m bronze medallist Eshetu Wondimu.
Unlike previous years, there is no shortage of foreign challengers to the Ethiopian dominance in the Great Ethiopian Run. Leading the foreign challenge is Britain’s European Cross Country Champion Mo Farah. The 26-year old Somali-born runner has given himself the best chance of countering the Ethiopian challenge by spending around six weeks in Addis Ababa to prepare for the race.
“My training is going well,” remarked Britain’s number one distance runner. “Being in Ethiopia among the world’s best runners has been a big experience for me. I am looking forward to competing on Sunday.”
He will be joined by training partners – Swedish steeplechaser Mustafa Mohammed, Frenchman Jean-Marc Leandro – while the presence of Kenyan duo of Gilbert Yego and Raymond Tanui will also make the race another battle between Ethiopia and Kenya.
Tufa the overwhelming favourite in women’s contest
Unlike the competitive men’s field, the women’s field is expected to be dominated by All-African 10,000m champion Mestawet Tufa who is in the form of her life after missing the World 15km record in Njimegen last weekend by just two seconds.
Her strongest challenge is expected to come from Asselefech Mergia, who finished third in last year’s race, but won the New Delhi Half Marathon two weeks ago. Atsede Habtamu, who finished second in last year’s New Delhi Half Marathon and is the second fastest Ethiopian over the Half Marathon, will also be a factor, while last year’s winner Wude Ayalew is another top name in the field.
The foreign challenge comes from the Kenyan duo of Valentine Kipketer and Joyce Kandia.
Kluft, once again, leads VIP Guest List
Three-time world Heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft is back in Ethiopia as a VIP Guest which includes 1987 world 110m silver medalist John Regis, who is now a race director for the British Grand Prix in London (Crystal Palace) and Peter Connerton, race director for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, which of course will be Great Ethiopian Run Race Director Haile Gebrselassie’s next full marathon race in January 2009.
Reigning Olympic bronze medalist Tsegaye Kebede, and former Chicago and London Marathon champion Felix Limo lead the list of international entrants for the 62nd Fukuoka Marathon on Sunday, December 7. Reigning Fukuoka champion and course record holder, and Olympic marathon gold medalist, Samuel Wanjiru, is not expected to compete.
The 21 year-old Ethiopian Kebede (he only weighs 50 kg/110 lbs), passed his teammate Deriba Merga in the final kilometer of the Olympic Marathon to get the bronze medal in 2:10:00. His other big accomplishment this year was that he won the Paris International Marathon last April in a personal best 2:06:40, just seven seconds short of Michael Rotich’s course record. This will be his first run at Fukuoka.
Limo, 28, is looking to get his marathon career back on track. He finished a disappointing eighth at London last April in 2:10:34 and was never a factor in the race. Last July he had a sub-par outing at the NYC Half-Marathon presented by NIKE finishing 15th in 1:05:22, citing back trouble. He registered two middling marks in his fall road races: a 29:53 10-K in Scicli on Sept. 28 and a 1:03:11 half-marathon in Newcastle on Oct. 5. Limo won the Flora London Marathon in 2006 in 2:06:39, and was also third there in 2007. He won Chicago in 2005 and set his 2:06:14 personal best when he won Rotterdam in 2004.
Elite athlete coordinator Wataru Ogushi has also invited Spain’s José Manuel Martínez (2:08:09 PB), Russia’s Aleksey Sokolov (2:09:07 NR), Canada’s Jon Brown (2:09:31 PB) and Ukraine’s Yuriy Hychun (2:10:59 PB).
The top Japanese entrants include 2005 IAAF World Championships marathon bronze medalist and the last Japanese to win Fukuoka, Tsuyoshi Ogata (2:08:37 PB); the man who was twice fifth at the IAAF World World Championships marathon, Shigeru Aburaya (2:07:52); Arata Fujiwara (2:08:40); Yuko Matsumiya (2:09:18); Satoshi Irifune (2:09:40); Tomoyuki Sato (2:09:43); and Seiji Kobayashi (2:11:02). There will also be hundreds of other Japanese men from all the major corporate running teams. The event serves as a selection race for the Japanese team for next summer’s IAAF World Championships.
The pacemaking chores will be handled by Noritaka Fujiyama of Japan, Samson Ramadhani of Tanzania, and Jonathan Maiyo and John Kales of Kenya. As always, their goal will be to help the winner break the fastest time ever on the course: 2:06:39.
Fukuoka’s champions include some of the best marathon runners of all time, including Haile Gebreselasie (2006), Gezahenge Abera (1999, 2001 and ’02), Toshihiko Seko (1978, ’79, ’80), Rob deCastella (1981), Frank Shorter (1971, ’72, ’73 and ’74), and Jerome Drayton (1969, ’75 and ’76). A complete race history is available at this link: ARRS.net.
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) – Ethiopia remained under suspension from world soccer’s governing body Tuesday after talks collapsed at FIFA headquarters.
Two rival groups are vying for control of Ethiopia’s national federation. The country was suspended in July and later kicked out of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA said representatives of a {www:faction} led by Ahmed Yassin could not accept that Ashebir Woldegiorgis was rightfully elected to lead the national federation in January.
FIFA said it “regrets that no solution could be found.”
The world body has strict rules protecting elected soccer officials from outside interference. The ban means national teams, officials and referees cannot take part in international soccer.
(ENA) – Bole Sub City Police department in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, arrested one of the suspected assailants who attacked owner and Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter newspapers, Ato Amare Aregawi.
Officer Tadesse Bekelle told Ethiopian News Agenecy (ENA) on Saturday that Amare was attacked on Friday around 5 pm local time while walking around London Café after parking his car.
The police have apprehended one of the assailants while attempting to escape with a Taxi. The police have also detained the taxi driver.
The police have been investigating the case to arrest the remaining suspects.
Llodio, Spain – Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and Kenya’s Linet Masai captured top spots in style at the 25th ‘Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’ held today (30) on a cold and rainy day for weather.
The 21 year-old Ethiopian Kebede (he only weighs 50 kg/110 lbs), passed his teammate Deriba Merga in the final kilometer of the Olympic Marathon to get the bronze medal in 2:10:00. His other big accomplishment this year was that he won the Paris International Marathon last April in a personal best 2:06:40, just seven seconds short of Michael Rotich’s course record. This will be his first run at Fukuoka.