Mauritius
all set for Belfast 99
Reynolds Quirin for IAAF
As Paul Tergat prepares to confirm his place in the history books with an attempt at a fifth consecutive world cross country title, Menon Ramsamy, the national champion from the island nation of Mauritius, has set himself a less ambitious target....
Six athletes, Antoinette Edouard, Soondurnam Vardeyen, Menon Ramsamy, Eric Vamben, Jean-Paul Louise and Kevin Musseliah, have been chosen to represent the Republic of Mauritius to the 27th edition of the World Cross Country Championships which will be held in Belfast, Great Britain (27-28 March). The selection was constituted after the national Cross Country Championships, which was held on March 6, at Candos Hill.
Antoinette Edouard and Soondurnam Vardeyen will be at their first participation to the World Cross Country Championships, whereas Menon Ramsamy will be at his sixth participation.
Last year, in Marrakech, he reached the finish line in the 103rd position. "My objective for this year is to do better than 103, and running a sub 38 minutes on 12 kilometres will be something great for me," Menon Ramsamy, the national champion, said.
In Marrakech, only three athletes were present, one woman, Guylène Duval and two men, Sameer Moos and Menon Ramsamy. So, Mauritius could not compete in the team competition.
For this year, things are quite different, as Mauritius will be eligible for the men's team competition, having four athletes engaged in the race.
Unfortunately, Antoinette Edouard who, surprisingly, won the national title over the favourite, Virginie Koomanikooa, and came 17th from the Southern Region Cross Country Championships, will be the only female athlete from Mauritius. While, Soondurnam Vardeyen will take part in the junior event.
