News20 Dec 2002


Bekele the man to watch in Brussels

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Bekele running at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships (© Getty Images)

Double World Cross Country champion Kenenisa Bekele will be the one to beat when the Belgian capital of Brussels stages its traditional pre-Christmas classic on Sunday, 22 December.

The IAAF permit event, the fourth race of the Iris Lotto Crosscup, takes place at Park de Laeken near the Heysel Stadium and is arguably the world’s most prestigious cross country event other than the IAAF World Championships with yet another mouthwatering race lined up.

Bekele arrives in excellent form following a stage record in last month’s Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan. He blasted to a new record of 13:07 for the 5km second stage as Ethiopia stormed to a comprehensive victory over their Kenyans rivals. Bekele is already being compared to his legendary countryman Haile Gebrselassie, the Olympic 10,000m champion, who was third in Brussels the last time the event was won by an Ethiopian – Fita Bayissa.

Strangely for a major cross country event, Europeans have won for the last three years and Sergey Lebid returns to Brussels hoping to repeat his victory of 12 months ago. IAAF World Half-Marathon champion Paul Kosgei will lead a strong Kenyan challenge and meeting organiser Jos Van Roy is anticipating another exciting race.

He says: “All the current big names at cross country are running with the exception of Paula Radcliffe so we have a fabulous field. Kenenisa is the biggest attraction after his great performance to win both the long and short races at the World Championships last year but Sergey will be a tough opponent.”

Lebid arrives in top form after retaining his European title in Medulin, Croatia two weeks ago and the Ukrainian has shown on numerous occasions he has no fears of taking on the Africans.

Wilson Chemweno, winner of the opening two races of the Crosscup, captains the Kenyan army squad that will line-up, while Sweden’s Claes Nyberg – who won the third event in Roeselare – is also in action as are Jaoud Gharib and Vanko Stefko.

The women’s race sees Helena Javornik in action after her surprising success in the European Cross Country Championships. Defending champion Edith Masai will prove a difficult opponent to beat, having won the World Championships short race last winter. Marima Denboba, second to Masai 12 months ago, world 10km record-holder Asmae Leghzaou and Abelech Negussie will provide a world class challenge while the home challenge is led by Fatiha Baouf who has so far won all three races in the series.

Another interesting competitor could be four-times world cross country silver medallist Catherina McKiernan who continues her comeback following injuries and the birth of her first child. The Irish star was second to Albertina Dias nine years ago and third a year later when Derartu Tulu triumphed, and she returned to action in Roselare last month when placing ninth.

At the time she stated her intention to run much better in Brussels as she prepares for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships that will be held in Lausanne in March 2003.

In 2004, the same Brussels course will host the IAAF World Cross Country Championships so it is fitting this race sees two current champions in action, and as usual there will be a large crowd to witness what should be a great event.

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