Abeylegesse leads the field in Elgoibar (© Iñigo Gallaga)
Elgóibar, Spain24yearold Kenyan Abraham Chebii clinched a thrilling sprint victory at the 'LXI Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza held today.
In winning Chebii defeated the two pre-race favourites, his fellow countryman and reigning World 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge and Uganda's Boniface Kiprop.
The finish was so close that only one second covered the first three at the line. It was Kiprop, fresh from a convincing win in
Amorebieta last weekend, who made most of the front running but the Kenyan pair always remained at his shoulder.
At halfway the race took its predicted form with only Kiprop,
Kipchoge, Chebii and Ethiopia's Mulugeta Wondimu in the vanguard, while Spain's José Manuel Martínez and Juan Carlos de la Ossa, silver at the Europeans in Edinburgh earlier in the season, fought hard with Ukraine's Yevgeny Bozhko to be the first European home.
With lap splits of 5:40, 5:59 and 6:05, Kipchoge took the lead for the first time with 23 minutes on the clock, but he didn't increase the pace. Yet, at the bell this quartet had built up a 22-second gap over Wondimu.
For most of the last lap the first four constantly eyed each other trying not to be surprised by a sudden kick by anyone of them. Entering the last 200m Chebii, who took fifth place at the Worlds in Paris over 5000m, showed an impressive burst of finishing speed and left the two teenagers behind, grabbing his third win in four years (2001/02/04) here in Elgóibar. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele won last year.
For his part, Kipchoge kept his supremacy over Uganda's Boniface Kiprop. Kipchoge had also beaten the Ugandan at the World Junior Cross Country Championships last year in Lausanne when they came 1-2.
In the European battle Bozhko was successful with a sixth place, overall 48 seconds adrift of Chebii.
A delighted Chebii said: "All the talk was about Kipchoge and Kiprop but I was the winner in the end. I'm not surprised since it's not the first time I have beaten Kipchoge. I'll run next in Seville next Sunday, before returning to Kenya to build up for the Worlds in Brussels, where I'll compete in the short race".
Kipchoge said "I'm happy with my two-race European tour although I couldn't take the win in Newcastle (he was beaten by Sileshi Sihine) nor today. I won't compete again until the Kenyan trials and then I'll go straight to the Worlds in Brussels where I'll be contesting the long race", confirmed the World 5000m champion.
Asked about his chances of beating Bekele there, Kipchoge said "I don't know if I'll be able to beat Bekele, anyway my primary goal this year is the Athens Olympics. I hope to become the best 5000m runner in the world".
What kind of times will you be targeting this summer on the track? "I want to break the 12:50m barrier".
Turkish victory ahead of former compatriots
The women's race witnessed a convincing win by Elvan Abeylegesse, the current European Cross Country silver medallist.
The race started up slowly and the key moment came when the 21-year-old Turk, who was born an Ethiopian, made her move in the fourth kilometre and pulled away effortlessly from the Ethiopian pair of Mestewat Tufa and Merima Denboba.
At the tape Abeylegesse won by the handsome margin of 12 seconds over Tufa, while Denboba fought hard to hold off Kenya's Pamela Amisamuk's desperate late burst and the two were given the same time 18 seconds behind the winner.
Abeylegesse, who like Chebii finished 5th over 5000m at last summer's World championships, said: "To be honest it has been an easy win for me. I'm in very good form but I've yet to decide if I will contest the World cross in Brussels. If I do possibly I would double long and short races but my only real target for this year is the Athens Olympics. I don't know if I'll be running the 5000m or the 10,000 in Athens."
Results
Men (10,130 course)
1 Abraham Chebii (Ken) 30:14
2 Eliud Kipchoge (Ken) 30:14
3 Boniface Kiprop (Uga) 30:15
4 Mulugeta Wondimu (Eth) 30:22
5 Bernard Chepkok (Ken)30:53
6 Yevgeny Bozhko (Ukr) 31:02
7 Chema Martínez (Esp) 31:06
8 Juan Carlos de la Ossa (Esp) 31:07
9 Driss Lakhouaja (Mar) 31:29
10 Kamel Ziani (Esp) 31:33
Women (6070m course)
1 Elvan Abeylegesse (Tur) 20:39
2 Mestewat Tufa (Eth) 20:51
3 Merima Denboba (Eth) 20:57
4 Pamela Amisamuk (Ken) 20:57
5 Catherine Chikwakwa (Mal) 21:22
6 Pamela Kipchoge (Ken) 21:32
7 Rakiya Maraoui (Fra) 21:44
8 Claudia Pereira (Por) 21:50
9 Teresa Recio (Esp) 21:57
10 Beatriz Santiago (Esp) 22:17
