Sileshi Sihine wins the 2004 Great North Cross (© Mark Shearman)
Ethiopian teenagers took the honours in today’s Great North Cross Country - IAAF Permit - meeting, beating world class fields over a muddy course in the north east of England.
Sileshi Sihine, who turns 21 later this month, kicked away from Kenya's World 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge in a race that saw World half and marathon record-holder Paul Tergat beaten as much by the conditions as the opposition.
The women’s race also came down to the closing stages as two late additions to the elite field dominated proceedings, Tirunesh Dibaba getting the better of European cross country silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse.
Sihine, the World 10,000m bronze medallist in Paris behind compatriots Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie, pushed the early pace and found Kipchoge was his nearest rival, with the pair finally pulling well clear of Tergat on the fifth of seven laps.
Going into the final lap Sihine kicked ahead but Kipchoge, eyeing the senior World cross long race in Brussels next march rather than the junior gold, responded in the final half mile in yet another Kenyan v Ethiopia battle.
The final climb, with 200m remaining, proved the decisive point as Sihine surged ahead and continued to kick once he reached the top to pull clear of his fellow teenager.
Sihine's compatriot Bekele has won this race for the last two years and on each occasion went on to win the World cross titles, and Sihine hopes to follow in his compatriot's footsteps. First he will take on his Ethiopian team-mate indoors in Birmingham next month and he goes there full of confidence.
“It was my plan to go out hard and push the pace and I was really surprised only Kipchoge went with me," said Sihine. "I wanted to make it a hard race and I am very pleased to have won against such a good field.”
Tergat rules out Brussels World Cross run...
Tergat, five time winner of the World Cross Country title, has now ruled out thoughts of chasing a sixth gold in Brussels next March and will end his cross country campaign in Belfast next Saturday. He admitted: “There was too much mud and I just couldn’t run on it. There was one corner where I found it difficult just to stay on my feet and I was losing ground on the leaders, but I am happy enough with my fitness it was just the conditions I struggled with.”
'Stand-in' Dibaba shows fine form
Dibaba, cousin of double Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu, was only called in as a late replacement for World Cross Country long course champion Werknesh Kidane who is nursing a knee injury. Yet despite no specific preparation for the race the reigning World senior 5000m track champion and junior Cross Country champion was able to kick away from Abeylegesse - another late addition to the field - and had opened a four seconds gap by the finish.
Britain's Liz Yelling, whose sister-in-law Hayley missed the race to celebrate her 30th birthday, was the early leader until the overseas challengers took over at the front.
Canadian cross country champion Emilie Mondor took the race to the Africans early into the third of five laps but it was Abeylegesse who surged halfway round the circuit and it was only Dibaba who could really respond, immediately kicking to cover the attack.
From then on it always seemed to be between the pair, despite the valiant efforts of Kenyan Susan Chepkemei, and when it came down to the finishing straight the Dibaba always had the upper hand over her former compatriot Abeylegesse, who now represents Turkey.
“I am very pleased to win,” Dibaba said. “I didn’t find the mud too bad although it would have been nice to run faster. Now I will run 5000m at the Boston Indoor Games and then run the World Cross Country Championships, and if I am selected for the World Indoors I will also do that.”
Bob Frank for the IAAF
Results
Men
1 Sileshi Sihine (ETH) 26:15
2 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 26:21
3 Paul Tergat (KEN) 26:41
4 Zersenay Tadessa (ERI) 26:51
5 John Kibowen (KEN) 28:11
Women
1 Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) 21:01
2 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 21:05
3 Susan Chepkemei (KEN) 21:11
4 Emelie Mondor (CAN) 21:20
5 Derartu Tulu (ETH) 21:30
Men’s short race (3.7km)
1 Ben Whitby (GBR) 11:36
2 Ridouan Essaadi (BEL) 11:37
3 Mike East (GBR) 11:38
4 Stuart Stokes (GBR) 11:39
5 Andy Graffin (GBR) 11:42
