Paul Tergat (KEN) seeks leadership of IAAF
World Cross Challenge in the "Cinque Mulini"
5 March 1998- The 66th edition of the "Cinque
Mulini" (Five Mills), one of the most characteristic and
venerable cross country races, will take place on Sunday in San
Vittore Olona (Milan - Italy), and will be the final test for
Paul Tergat prior to the World Cross Country Championships in
Marrakech (21-22 March).
The Kenyan, who holds the world record in the 10,000m and has already won three World Cross Country Championship titles, is in upbeat form, as we can see from his success last weekend in Mombasa over fellow Kenyan Paul Koech, who had previously had the better of him a number of times this season.
The presence of Tergat has increased the enthusiasm of the organisers of the Cinque Mulini, the last event of the World Cross Challenge prior to the World Championships, who are attempting to engage a field at the height of the traditions of the event. This tradition dates back to the Thirties and was the initiative of a local craftsman - Giovanni Malerba - who ran a bicycle repair shop and was a fan of cycle racing and running. In those days, San Vittore Olona was little more than a village at the gates of Milan, on the road for Varese, with an economy based largely on agriculture and flour milling. The mills, driven by the waters of the Olona river, were many and the Cross ran around five of them, hence the name.
The massive development of the post-war era made this area one of the industrial strongholds of Europe, producing everything from heavy machinery to shoes, and the mills were replaced by factories. Only one - the Mulino Meraviglia - still stands and its water wheel will turn on Sunday to remind the competitors of the historical origins of the event.
Tergat will start favourite of this, the 66th edition, and the odds are good that he will take over leadership of the World Cross Challenge Standings in the process. He can expect a challenge from Britons Robert Denmark, Adrian Passey and Christian Stephenson, but the strongest threat is likely to come from South Africa’s Hendrik Ramaala and Abel Chimukoko of Zimbabwe. The organisers have also confirmed the participation of Germany’s past Olympic 5000m champion Dieter Baumann, whilst the Italian team will be headed by Gennaro Di Napoli.
In the women’s event, there is likely to be strong support for the young Swiss champion Anita Weyermann. Unbeaten to date in a cross country, the 1500m bronze medallist in Athens ’97 will have to withstand the onslaught of Romania’s Mariana Chirila and Stela Olteanu and Merima Denboba of Ethiopia. The constest between Chirila and Denboba, either of whom could take over the leadership of the IAAF World Cross Challenge, will be one of the highlights of Sunday’s racing.