Tariku Bekele the commanding winner in Llodio (© Mikel Salanova)
Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and Meselech Melkamu were the commanding victors in the 23rd edition of the ‘Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’, the second leg of the current IAAF Cross Country permit season, which took place today (26) on a nice and sunny day. Despite quite a rainy week the “Ellakuri” circuit was free of mud as the wind had managed to dry the ground on the eve of the event.
Second consecutive win for Bekele
The younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele proved to be in stellar form to grab an undisputed win over Eritrea’s Ali Abdallah. Indeed, the manner of his win suggested he could have run much faster if needed. Bekele had just to use his track pedigree (7:29.11 3000 PB) in the final stages of the 9170m race to win unopposed. His unmatchable turn of speed in the last 250m was enough to kick-off successfully his cross country campaign.
A quality group of up to ten athletes, featuring four Eritreans (Yonas Kifle, Abdallah, Samuel Tsegay and Kidane Tadesse), three Kenyans (Peter Kamais, John Kibowen and Simon Arusei) two Ethiopians (Bekele and Abraham Cherkos Feleke) and Spain’s Juan Carlos De la Ossa, had reached the bell (2100m to go) with winning chances. John Kibowen fell shortly afterwards while Ethiopia’s World Youth 5000 record holder Abraham Cherkos Feleke faded and also lost touch with the leading pack. With 800m left it was Yonas Kifle who injected a faster pace setting up an exciting final stage and only his countryman Abdallah and Tariku Bekele could live with his pace.
The decisive movement came with hardly 250m left when Bekele took advantage of a hill to surge away with more-than-impressive ease to get a winning margin of four seconds built in a matter of a few strides. The tight battle for the runner-up position witnessed how Abdallah kept Kifle at bay, again both separated by one second. The big news for the local crowd was de la Ossa's brilliant performance as the reigning 10,000m bronze medallist displayed a huge improvement over his two previous outings earlier this month to finish seventh, and the first non-African, 18 seconds behind Bekele.
'My brother at the Worlds? I hope he remains at home!'
An extremely pleasant Bekele spoke with the media after his success.
“I’m quite satisfied as I have managed to retain my title here in Llodio," he said. "I felt full of energy throughout the race and honestly winning had not been especially complicated although a win at the IAAF permit circuit is never easy.”
Tariku will turn 20 next 21 February and one month later will likely contest the 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. How difficult will it be to beat the Kenyans, the current team World champions there? “The Kenyan squad is always mighty and this year even more as it will be an advantage for them to perform on home soil,” the World Junior 5000m champion said.
The big moment came when he was asked whether his brother Kenenisa might change his mind regarding his decision made last year that he wouldn't again contest the World Cross Country Championships.
Laughing, the younger Bekele replied: “I hope he remains at home on that occasion, that would give me the chance of becoming World champion in Mombasa. But first I need to gain a spot at the Ethiopian trials, and that’s not an easy task.” Bekele confirmed that he has scheduled upcoming appearances next Sunday in Alcobendas (Spain), and will return to Europe in January to contest two IAAF permit races: Belfast (6 January) and Seville (21 January).
Women – Solo run for Melkamu
Who can stop Meselech Melkamu? This could well have been the question right before the start and the answer at the end of the scheduled 7700m was, "Nobody."
But Hungary’s Aniko Kalovics was confident of her chances and dictated a brisk pace in the opening kilometres in what seemed to be a real challenge for the two Africans in contention today, Melkamu and Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot. The reigning double World bronze medallist Melkamu didn’t panic after Kalovics' frantic early pace, and simply waited for the right moment to catch the Hungarian firstly, and from midway onwards built an impressive winning margin of up to 21 seconds (100m) at the finish line.
A fading Kalovics was overhauled over the last lap by Cheruiyot, who couldn’t repeat in Llodio her overwhelming win from Soria last week. The 23-year-old Kenyan had a three-second gap over the Hungarian while Portugal’s Analia Rosa and Rosa Morato of Spain finished behind Kalovics to complete a classy top-five.
Under the guidance of Dr. Woldemeskel Kostre, the man behind the great achievements of Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, Melkamu is a multi-talented runner able to win on all surfaces, as she also completed the 1-2-3-4 for Ethiopia over 5000m at the last World Championships on the track in Helsinki 2005. She holds a notable 14:37.44 clocking for the distance when taking fifth at the IAAF Golden League meet in Oslo last 2 June and a respectable 8:34.73 3000 PB.
Asked about her chances of improving on her bronze medal at the next World Cross Country Championships, Melkamu said: “Today’s win confirms that I’m on the right path towards Mombasa, but the Ethiopian trials are very tough and I prefer to concentrate on them as a first step to the Worlds.”
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
Leading Results:
Men (9170m course) -
1. Tariku Bekele (Eth)27:08
2. Ali Abdallah (Eri) 27:12
3. Yonas Kifle (Eri) 27:13
4. Kiprono Menjo (Ken) 27:15
5. Samuel Tsegay (Eri) 27:17
6. Simon Arusei (Ken) 27:20
7. Juan Carlos de la Ossa (Esp) 27:26
8. Peter Kamais (Ken) 27:29
9. Kidane Tadesse (Eri) 27:29
10. Abraham Feleke (Eth) 27:35
Women (7700m course) -
1. Meselech Melkamu (Eth) 26:13
2. Vivian Cheruiyot (Ken) 26:34
3. Aniko Kalovics (Hun) 26:37
4. Analia Rosa (Por) 27:10
5. Rosa Morató (Esp) 27:25
6. Yesenia Centeno (Esp) 27:47
7. Hayley Yelling (Gbr) 28:00
8. Irene Pelayo (Esp) 28:04
9. Azucena Díaz (Esp) 28:10
10. Sara Valderas (Esp) 28:16
