Reuters

19 March 2000Moroccan-born Belgian Mohammed Mourhit
ruined Kenyan Paul Tergat's dream of a unique six consecutive world cross country titles
on Sunday with an upset win in the men's long course event.

Mourhit, a Belgian citizen since 1997, stayed with the
leading Kenyans throughout the 12.3 km race and produced a sudden and unexpected sprint in
the final straight to become the first non-Kenyan to win the event since Moroccan Khalid
Skah nine years ago.

Assefa Mezgebu of Ethiopia added to the Kenyan misery by
taking second place ahead of Tergat.

Mourhit, 29, represented his adopted country for the first
time in the 1997 World Cross Country Championships where he finished fifth.

A back injury severely restricted his 1998 season but he
returned the following year to take seventh place in the long course event.

&quot;I feel very happy,&quot; said Mourhit who clocked an
unofficial 35 minutes exactly. &quot;It's my first world title.&quot;

Belgium's Mohammed Mourhit wins the men's long course Cross Country title in Vilamoura...

Belgian Mourhit upsets Tergat

Men's Short Course Race

18 March 2000 - Vilamoura, Portugal - Before this race,
talk was of whether two in-form Ethiopians, Million Wolde and Hailu Mekkonen, could become
the first World Junior champions to win a Senior individual title. Yet, on a glorious
spring day in Vilamoura (22 degrees), we witnessed another incredible demonstration of
Kenyan power, as John Kibowen, injured for all of 1999, out-sprinted his team mates Paul
Koskei and Sammy Kipketer to win his second short course title.

The Kenyan team seized the initiative from the gun,
sprinting hard down the lush grass expanse of the starting straight. Once into their
stride, they made a mockery of the steep sided hills installed on the course. Bounding up
them, the Kenyans simply used the downward slope to increase their speed. By 1km, reached
in 2:33, it was clear that it would be the Moroccans Said El Wardi and Ali Ezzine, rather
than Ethiopians, who would pose the Kenyans the greatest threat. 

Yet by the halfway point, even the brave Moroccans were
struggling in the slipstream as Paul Koskei, who has been a silver and bronze medallist in
the past editions of this event, kicked hard in a bid for glory. Once it was clear that
the three medals were in the bag, the gloves came off and it was every Kenyan for himself.
Although Koskei seemed destined for gold, Kibowen had not lost touch and, after a terrific
sprint over the last 150 metres, edged past into the lead, right in front of the main
stand. To the echoes of applause, Kibowen crossed the line with a smile on his face. His
winning time was 11:11, just 1 second ahead of Sammy Kipketer, with Kosgei third in 11:15.

&quot;It feels great to have come back after two years. But
it was very tough today. I have encountered a lot of difficulties in training before
getting to this point but I'm through with all that now. Mostly, I am very, very grateful.
It is good to be able to come back like this. I am very happy for those fans who have not
lost faith in me.&quot;


First European home was Sergey Lebed of the Ukraine in 10th
place (11:36). Mekonnen made up a lot of ground in the last third of the race to finish 6th
with Wolde a disappointing 15th, beaten by his team mates Abiyote Abate and
Dagne Alemu. It emerged later that both Mekonnen and Wolde fell heavily just after the
start, which not only affected their performance but unnerved their team-mates who were
running alongside.

Not surprisingly, Kenya took first place in the team
contest, followed by Ethiopia and Morocco.

Kenya dominated the men's short course race in Vilamoura

Kenya victorious in men's short course race

Experience
counts for Cheruiyot

Report from Junior Women Race

18 March 2000 - Vilamoura, Portugal - Vivian Cheruiyot was the youngest member of the
Kenyan team when she first appeared at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1998
and she used all the experience gained after competing in Marrakech and then Belfast to
strike gold in Vilamoura.

Although she took the silver medal last year, Cheruiyot had been overlooked in the
pre-race predictions with most of the pundits opting for last year's defending champion
Werknesh Kidane, of Ethiopia, or Cheruiyot's compatriot Alice Timbilili -- who last year
was not only the Kenyan senior 10,000 champion on the track but won the IAAF World Youth
3,000 title. 

With the pressure off Cheruiyot prospered, gauging her race to perfection with a
finishing surge that left Timbilili and another Kenyan Viola Kibiwot having to settle for
the silver and bronze medals respectively.

&quot;I've been training very well at the a training camp at Kaptagat, where I've been
since January -- I was beaten by Kidane last year but before the race I was dreaming I was
going to win,&quot; Cheruiyot said.

Timbilili -- the unofficial spokesman for the trio of Kenyan juniors -- admitted that
although she had been consistently beaten by Cheruiyot in their highly-competitive
training sessions and soi was not disappointed with the silver medal despite the high
level of expectations placed on her young shoulders.

The victory on the Algarve finally gave Cheruiyot her first ever gold medal to hang
around her neck after her own silver medal from last year and two team silver medals.

&quot;I can go to at least two more world cross country championships as a junior so
know I would like two more gold medals,&quot; Cheruiyot added boldly.

Audacious early bids for glory were made by Uganda's Catherine Webombesa, who was to
drift back to 58th, and South Africa's Yolandi Neuhaus, who fared better and came home
16th, but it was Japan's Rina Fujioka who lead the field at the end of the first circuit
of three circuits. Behind Fujioka, a phalanx of five Kenyans was amassing, joined by two
Ethiopian runners and another Ugandan.

On the second circuit the Kenyans took control and although it was Fridah
Domongole&nbsp;Chepkemei who nominally had the lead on the second circuit there was
nothing to choose between her and the rest of the team.

On the final lap it was every woman for herself and over the final Kilometre Cheruiyot
kicked hard to leave Timbilili and their compatriots trailing in her wake.

The clean sweep of the individual medals meant that Kenya comfortably regained the team
title they have won nine of the 12 years the junior women's race has been run but which
they have ceded to Ethiopia for the last two years.

&quot;For us it was very important to take the team title back. There is great pride in
Kenya in winning the team competitions and we had been aiming to get back this particular
honour,&quot; Timbilili added.

To emphasis their continent's domination of long distance running, especially in the
junior ranks, Africans occupied all the top ten places.

Kenya cleansweep medals and regain team title in Junior Women's race

Experience counts for Cheruiyot

Tulu
regains World Cross Crown

18 March 2000 - Vilamoura, Portugal - Derartu Tulu
reclaimed her crown as the sport's finest female distance runner as she pulled off a
stunning victory in the World Cross Country Championships here. 

The Ethiopian, the Olympic 10,000 metres champion in 1992
and the winner of this title in 1997, triumphed over her team-mate and the defending
champion Gete Wami in a thrilling sprint finish to the end of the 8 kilometres race.

As the temperature reached 22 degrees for this high noon
showdown, Tulu beat her friend with a fierce kick down the finishing straight of this
course which was run around the rolling greenery of the Algarve. It made nonsense of her
claim that she was concerned that the pace would be too&nbsp; fast for her.

&quot;I was worried they would be to quick,&quot; Tulu
said. &quot;I thought I could finish in the top five but I didn't think I could win
it.&quot;

From the gun the pace was fierce as the Kenyans, led by
Lydia Cheromei, threw down the gauntlet to their Ethiopian rivals, Ireland's 1998 champion
Sonia O'Sullivan and Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who had finished second, second and third
in the last three editions of this event.

Surprisingly, the first to fall off the leading group after
four kilometres was O'Sullivan, returning to major international competition for the first 
time since giving birth to her daughter Cairia last July. Much had been written about how
motherhood makes runners stronger and more was expected from O'Sullivan than the seventh
she eventually finished.

&quot;I could have stayed at home but I had to find out
where I am,&quot; she said. &quot;Now I have to go away and work on it. At the end of the
day I think it was a lap too far.&quot;

Instead it was Tulu, another mother having had a baby in
1998, who was to win. She stayed in the middle of the group while Cheromei and Susan
&nbsp; Chepkemei wound the pace up, forcing Radcliffe to drop back in the final kilometre.

Tulu waited until she had breasted the man made hill for
the last time before making her winning effort. It was covered by Wami, who led coming
into the long home straight only to see Tulu, her long hair extensions trailing behind
her, sprint past again.

Chepkemei finished third while Cheromei held off Radcliffe
for fourth. The Briton had put so much effort into her race that she collapsed over the
finish line and needed medical attention for several minutes. 

&quot;When Sonia got dropped I thought that was the
injection of pace but there was another two or three after that,&quot; said Radcliffe.
&quot;It was easily the hardest World Cross I've run in.&quot;

Ethiopia, with Merima Denboba finishing eighth and Ayelech
Worku ninth, retained their team title with Kenya again finishing second. But the big
surprise was that the United States, inspired by great runs from Deena Drossin in 12th and
Jennifer Rhines 13th, took the bronze - their first medal since Boston 1992.

[Duncan Mackay in the athletics correpsondent for The
Guardian in the United Kingdom]

Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia confirmed certain pundits when she won her third World X title in Vilamoura today

Tulu regains World Cross Crown

Derartu Tulu won perhaps the most memorable women's distance race in history at the
Olympic Games in 1992. Her duel with Elana Meyer, who was running for South Africa in that
country's first major appearance after the end of Apartheid, captured the attention of the
world. Tulu's victory, and the sporting embrace of black and white athlete after the
finish, was highly symbolic of a new era for Africa.

Since then, Tulu's biggest sporting achievement came when she won the World Cross
Country title in Turin in 1997 &#133;


Derartu, a lot of people may be surprised that you beat Gete Wami, who was so
impressive last year. How do you explain your success?

You have to remember that I missed the last two editions of the World Championships.
After I won in Turin I tried to run the Boston Marathon and got injured. My doctor then
advised me to take a long break so I decided to start a family.


Did this race go to plan?

I knew that there were very strong athletes in this event - like Wami, Cheriyot,
Radcliffe and O'Sullivan - so I was worried at first that the pace may be too fast. But I
thought that if I could sttay with the leaders I would finish in the top 5.


Was your training geared to this race?

Not really. In fact, I am currently training for the marathon so I have a lot of
endurance. This is why I was able to be stronger than Wami at the finish. I plan to race
the Lisbon Half Marathon next weekend and the London Marathon in April. I am keeping an
open mind about Sydney.


Were the hills as tough as they looked?

Actually, We are always training on hills in Ethiopia so I liked running up the ones
here.

interview with Derartu Tulu after her victory in women's long race in Vilamoura

Tulu back with a vengeance

Freeman's year
falls into place

17 March 2000 - It has taken an unusual set of
circumstances to bring the British junior Henrietta Freeman to Vilamoura. The 16 year-old
from Kent was not even thinking about these championships at the start of the winter.
Instead, she was planning to step up her training as a triathlete in anticipation of the
European Junior Championships of that sport in Holland in June.

To that end, she set off on a three-week British squad
training visit to South Africa at the end of January. During the first week, Freeman took
part in a &quot;group bike ride&quot; - along the streets of Cape Town - when disaster
struck.

&quot;We were travelling at about 25 miles per hour,&quot;
she explained, &quot;when the bike about half a metre in front of me got caught on the
edge of a disused rail track which appeared in the road from nowhere. The next thing I
knew I was flying over my handlebars and went &#145;thud&#146; in the middle of the
road.&quot;

Freeman required 25 stitches for a gashed chin but
miraculously avoided any further serious injury ... her riding helmet had been cracked in
two, &quot;which meant I must have hit the ground with great force.&quot; Freeman was
immediately flown back to the UK, her head bandaged from top to bottom. &quot;It looked a
lot worse than it was,&quot; she said, cheerfully.

Indeed triathlon&#146;s loss was athletics&#146; gain.
Because Freeman was now free to contest the UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships,
the trial race for these World Championships. She placed second and gained an automatic
selection for Vilamoura, her international début. Soreness from the crash hampered her
swimming and cycling training, but her running went from strength to strength. On February
26 she won the prestigious English under-17 cross country title.

Interestingly, Freeman - whose father Andrew was an
international swimmer &#150; won&#146;t be the only noted triathlete on the starting line
for the junior women&#146;s race on Saturday. Nicola Spirig, the reigning European Junior
Triathlon Champion, will be running for Switzerland. In fact, she will be among the
favourites, having won a silver at the European Cross Country Championships in Velenje
last December.

&quot;I&#146;ve never met her,&quot; said Freeman,
&quot;but obviously she&#146;s someone that everyone in the triathlon world looks up
to.&quot;

Freeman - who was born in the same town (Pembury) as Kelly
Holmes - will keep the three-discipline sport as her priority for the summer. This will
mean missing the major events of the track season. However, there will be time to get
ready for the European Cross Country Championships in Malmö nine months from now.

&quot;It&#146;s all worked out beautifully well,&quot; she
reflected, &quot;and we live in hope that the summer will fall into place as well.&quot;

It has taken an unusual set of circumstances to bring the British junior Henrietta Freeman to Vilamoura...

Freeman's year falls into place

Tulu
could pose biggest threat to Wami 
Sabrina Yohannes (Reuters) 
17 March 2000 - Vilamoura, Portugal&nbsp; - Former champion Derartu Tulu could pose the
biggest threat to Gete Wami's prospects of retaining the world cross country women's long
course title on Saturday.

Tulu, the first Ethiopian woman to win an Olympic title
when she took the 10,000 metres gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, won the event in 1995
and 1997. She finished fourth in Cape Town in 1996 when her shoe was kicked off during the
race. She did not run in Belfast last year, where the Ethiopian team headed by Wami
regained the women's team title, because of a knee injury. 
 
&quot;I've been training for about a year and three months now,&quot; she said. &quot;But
it is now that I will really see what kind of shape I'm in.&quot; 
 
Tulu finished fifth in her marathon debut in Boston three years ago and plans to compete
in the London marathon on April 16 with the aim of qualifying to run either the marathon
or the 10,000 at the Sydney Olympics. &quot;My training has been mostly for the
marathon,&quot; she said. &quot;Before the Ethiopian trials I had no plans to run cross
country this year.&quot; 
 
Wami, who overtook Tulu to win the bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics 10,000 metres
final, finished behind her team mate at last month's trials. The race came shortly after
Wami dropped out of the Nairobi cross country challenge through injury. &quot;It wasn't
too serious,&quot; she said. &quot;There was some pushing and someone's spikes dug into my
ankle.&quot; 
 
Wami is familiar with the fast, flat Vilamoura course where she recorded one of her three
cross challenge victories this season. &quot;The weather is good, too,&quot; she said.
&quot;It's sunny, like Addis Ababa.&quot; 
 
The women responsible for the team honours last year include Merima Worku, who snatched
silver from Briton Paula Radcliffe in the closing stretch, and Ayelech Worku, fourth in
this year's cross challenge standings. Both may figure prominently this year, although
Radcliffe and Kenyan Lydia Cheromei present more serious challenges. 
 
So, too, does Tulu. &quot;It's not just her,&quot; said Wami. &quot;Once a competitor puts
on a pair of shorts and enters the race you never know what can 
happen. It's everyone that you are up against. None of them is to be taken lightly.&quot;

97 World Cross Champion Derartu Tulu could be biggest threat for compatriot Gete Wami in women's long course

Tulu could pose biggest threat to Wami

Wami wants to make it two in
a row

17 March 2000 - Ethiopia has made an
extraordinary contribution to the development of the World Cross Country Championships
since the country's first appearance nearly two decades ago in 1981. Yet no runner from
the vast East African country has ever managed to win an individual title in consecutive
years.

Stars such as Mohammed Kedir, Derartu Tulu
and Assefa Mezegebu were unable to repeat their wins, but tomorrow the diminutive Gete
Wami hopes to make history by winning gold in the women's 8km race for the second year on
the trot.

&quot;This year I have run fewer races. My
season has been shortened because I got married in November,&quot; Wami said.

&quot;I intended to start my season at the
Brussels IAAF World Cross Challenge meeting back in December but I had to pull out of that
because there were still so many family and friends to see,&quot; she added.

Nevertheless, Wami is still cautiously
optimistic that she can create her own little piece of Ethiopian athletics history in
Vilamoura.

She was unbeaten on the international
circuit this winter - until she tripped and failed to finish at the IAAF Cross Challenge
in Nairobi - and has victories in Cross Challenge races in Seville, Durham and Vilamoura
under her belt.

Wami would never equate winning a second
consecutive world cross country title - her third in total after her first triumph in 1996
- is the equal of the Olympic triumphs of her compatriots Abebe Bikila or Miruts Yifter,
or the stunning performances in the last decade by Haile Gebrselassie.

&quot;However if I win it will get noticed
in Ethiopia so I will be very happy,&quot; she said modestly.

She has already made it plain to her
rivals, including Britain's Paula Radcliffe who finished behind her in Belfast and Seville
last year and who also came home twice behind her this winter, that she has little
intention of changing the racing tactics she shares with Gabriela Szabo.

Vanquished opponents have criticised her
tendency for letting them do the pace making until she unleashes a devastating sprint
finish over the last few hundred metres.

&quot;But it's what works well for me and
everybody is in a race to win,&quot; she comments, in a matter of fact tone.

There are no hidden secrets, no tricks to
her running, either in races or preparing for them. In training she is notorious for her
tough sessions, which often leave male companions wilting. Her nickname among the top
Ethiopians is &quot;glue&quot;: because she has a habit of sticking closely to the men
when they are out running - whether in the Netherlands, where she lives during the
European circuit, or back home in the hills close to Addis Ababa, where the Ethiopian
national squad usually train.

She is not afraid of pushing herself to the
limits because she knows the sport has become a passport to prosperity and fame for a
woman from a modest farming family.

&quot;There is no doubt that I'd be working
on the farm as well if I had not been a runner. Running is tough at times but working on a
farm in Ethiopia would have been far, far, tougher for me,&quot; Wami reflects.

Ethiopia's Gete Wami is determined to retain her title at this year's edition of the World Cross Country Championships.

Wami wants to make it two in a row

17 March 2000If Paul Tergat manages to triumph on
Vilamoura's sun-baked course on Sunday, the tall, elegant Kenyan will have written perhaps
the most astounding chapter in an already marvellous history. 
 
A win here would be Tergat's sixth consecutive victory in what is widely regarded as the
world's most competitive distance race. 
Tergat's domination of the World Cross Country Championships - winning the individual
title each year since 1995, and team gold medals with Kenya each year since 1993 - has
seen off memorable challenges from Salah Hissou and even Haile Gebrselassie. 
 
The Ethiopian multiple world record-holder on the track has not returned to these
championships since 1996. Then, in Cape Town, he said that the phalanx of Kenyans at the
head of the lead group - operating almost like team riders of a cycling peloton - made it
impossible for an individual from another country to survive repeated, surging attacks. 
 
On the track, Tergat has been somewhat overshadowed by Gebrselassie, the Kenyan finishing
runner-up at the 1997 and 1999 IAAF World Championships, and the 1996 Olympic Games. 
 
But Tergat's pedigree is still impressive, including a 10,000m world record (27:27.85) and
half-marathon world best (59:17). These results have encouraged him to believe that his
future may lie with the marathon, after the Olympic Games in Sydney later this year. 
But first, Vilamoura, and the challenge of maintaining his win streak. 
 
Tergat and the rest of the Kenyan men's team - which holds one of world sport's most
impressive win streaks in this competition - have been training for the event by chasing
after a local school bus. 
 
&quot;The course in Vilamoura is a very fast one,&quot; Dan Muchoki, the head coach, said.
&quot;That is why we have been racing against the school bus: to build up our speed.&quot;
 
 
And all reports out of the Kenyan camp at Embu suggest that Tergat, the 30-year-old air
force sergeant, is the one that has been really motoring. 
 
&quot;I can never say I am going to win this title again,&quot; Tergat said. &quot;All I
can say is that I am going to try.&quot; 
 
Despite the depth of talent in Kenya, in the national trial race, staged in Nairobi in
February, Tergat was once again a class apart. Nevertheless, his greatest challenge is
still likely to come from within his own team. 
 
Charles Kamathi, the world's fastest 10,000m runner in 1999, is a new talent who, at 21,
could unsettle the reigning champion again, having beaten Tergat twice this season
already, in races in Italy and Portugal. 
 
But Tergat refuses to be intimidated by this. Instead, typically, he is gracious: &quot;I
am about to retire as a track runner and I feel encouraged when I see younger athletes
coming up, following in my footsteps.We still need our flag to fly high.&quot;

If Paul Tergat manages to triumph on Vilamoura's sun-baked course on Sunday, the tall, elegant Kenyan will have written perhaps the most astounding chapter in an already marvellous history.

Beyond greatness

There were no complaints about the conditions from the powerful Ethiopian squad, who can be expected to pick up several medals in Vilamoura this weekend. "This is our best team," said team leader Bezabih Wolde. "We are well prepared and everyone is sound. The athletes are very happy. The humidity seems a little higher than in Addis, but the team feel as if they are at home." Saturday could be a monumental day for the East African country, with Worknesh Kidane poised to retain her World Junior title and Haylu Mekonnen among the favourites for the men's short race. "He's a very promising athlete," said Wolde, "and he knows how to attack a race." The final race on the first day of the Championships is the women's long race which will be graced by Ethiopian distance queens Derartu Tulu and Gete Wami. Wolde revealed that Tulu - who beat Wami in the Ethiopian Championships - may decide to run in flat shoes rather than spikes depending the official course inspection. Ethiopia's team chief is just as excited about his team's prospects for Sunday's races, in particular the Junior Men's race. Newcomer Demissie Girma will spearhead his country's challenge. Girma (17) won the Ethiopian Junior Championships and Vilamoura will be his first race abroad. "If he's coached properly I think he can make history," said Wolde. "It is not easy to qualify for these events in Ethiopia, just like in Kenya. I have been to Kenya and things are the same more or less. Everybody from the villages, provinces and regions will come and compete. Thousands of athletes run. When I observed this boy [Girma], I was very impressed. He is well-built for athletics. In the next few months or years, I think we will see his name among the heroes of athletics."

There were no complaints about the conditions from the powerful Ethiopian squad, who can be expected to pick up several medals in Vilamoura this weekend

Ethiopians at home in Vilamoura

&nbsp;

Speech of IAAF President Lamine Diack 
Official Press Conference - 
28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 
Vilamoura, Portugal 
17 March,&nbsp; 2000


It gives me great pleasure to welcome my
friends from the Media to Vilamoura, in the heart of Portugal's beautiful Algarve, for the
28th edition of the World Cross Country Championships.

I am delighted to inform you that, as has
become a habit with our events, we can announce a new record of participation. With the
arrival yesterday of delegations from Bolivia and Estonia, 81 Member Federations of the
IAAF will take part in the weekend's sporting activities. Almost 1000 athletes, from every
continent, will contest the six races. As you all know, as well as the traditional races
for Juniors and Seniors, the IAAF is continuing with the short race format that was
established in 1998 and was an immediate success. On this topic, I am happy to welcome
back Sonia O'Sullivan who was the first ever &quot;double&quot; World Cross Country
Champion, and is returning from giving birth to her first child. You will get a chance to
talk to Sonia, and many other top athletes, including Paul Tergat who is going for a
historic sixth title, later at this Conference.

For me, cross country has tremendous
importance. The world continues to change and to modernise. As urbanisation increases all
over the world, there is less and less space for the sort of carefree physical activity
that many of us took for granted when we were young. Cross country running - on courses
like the beautiful one you will find here in Vilamoura - gives young people a chance to
express themselves in the most elemental way, in full harmony with nature. Perhaps this is
why more and more people are signing up for this World Championships.

Now I would like to pay tribute to my
hosts. Vilamoura is a perfect venue for these World Championships. There is tradition,
thanks to an annual event THE ALMOND BLOSSOM which was founded here in 1977 and is now one
of the most famous international cross country races in the world. There is also
enthusiasm and a perfect course - green and spectacular, surrounded by fields of wild
flowers. Our friends on the Local Organising Committee have made superb efforts to produce
excellent facilities. It is my hope that this course can be made a permanent one - and so
enhance Portugal's cross country tradition which has already produced two World Cross
Country champions Carlos Lopes and Albertina Dias - who were also the last Europeans to
win their respective titles.

The continuing development of Portuguese
athletics, thanks to the dedication of the National Federation, can be seen in the results
of athletes like the Castro brothers, Antonio Pinto, Paulo Guerra, Rui Silva, Carlos
Calado, Conceicao Ferreira, Fernanda Ribeiro and Carla Sacramento but also from the fact
that next year, Lisbon will be hosting the next edition of the World Indoor Championships.
This is a sign of the respect in which the IAAF holds this country.

For the future, the IAAF Council, has
decided to further strengthen the World Cross Country Championships by introducing
competition awards for the teams.

For now, it remains for me to wish all the
athletes a successful Championships. I hope they will help you to write many, many great
stories. 
end

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

the text of the press conference of IAAF President Lamine Diack on eve of 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships

Press Conference of IAAF President Lamine Diack for 28th World Cross Country Champs

UK Athletics Press Release

16 March 2000 - The majority of the CGU Great Britain and
Northern Ireland team has been in Portugal for about a week at a holding camp in Albufeira
where preparations have gone very well.

Paula Radcliffe has an outstanding chance of becoming the
first Briton to win a Senior title at the World Cross Country Championships since Zola
Budd in 1986. Paula may run in both the long and short course races, but her main aim is
the 8km race and she will then support the team effort in the 4km race.

Paula said: &quot;I am pleased with the way my preparation
has gone, both at altitude in Albuquerque and in Portugal. I anticipate the course being a
demanding one. It is a flat, fast grass course with four small hills to break the rhythm
and will be the equivalent of running a 10km race on the track. However, I feel well
prepared and am ready for the challenge.&quot;

Glynn Tromans who has taken part in the last three World
Cross Country Championships, and has competed in Vilamoura before, runs the men's 12km
race on Sunday. &quot;The course is deceptively hard because of its obstacles and shape.
It is definitely more demanding than it seems&quot; said Glynn.

The Junior men's team, which includes three athletes from
the Gold medal winning European Junior team, have a chance of bringing home Britain's
first medal in the World Junior Cross Country Championships since 1984.

In conjunction with the World Cross Country Championships,
the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cross Country Challenge takes place on
Saturday. The men compete in one single race over 5000m and the women over 3000m. Great
Britain has sent a team of seven men and two women.

British Athletes to watch:

Rob Denmark Age 31 
Rob was a battling sixth in the UK Trials and will make just his second appearance in the
World Cross Country Championships, having finished 45th (third GB scorer) in Stellenbosch
four years ago. A former Commonwealth 5000m Champion and World Indoor Bronze medallist, he
won his fourth AAA track title last summer.

Glynn Tromans Age 31 (on Friday) 
Glynn returned to peak form to win the English National last month. He was the winner of
the World Trials in 1999. This will be his fourth successive World Cross Country
Championships and in 1998 he was the first Briton home in 38th place.

Rob Whalley Age 32 
Short course Cross Country seems to be Rob's ideal event and he won the World Trial in
1998 and again this year. Two years ago he was 37th in the World Championship short course
race. He won the AAA Indoor 3000m in January and is a noted fast finisher.

Mohamed Farah Age 17 
A quite outstanding prospect. He was fifth in the European Junior Cross Country last
December, helping the GB Junior team to team Gold. Has already won nine National titles at
Cross Country or track and was the World number two for his age over 3000m in 1999.

Chris Thompson Age 18 
For long Britain's top Junior at Cross Country, Chris has improved immensely this winter
since Mohamed Farah has loomed as a rival. He was a clear winner of the UK Trial, English
and Southern titles and he could well be the first European home in Vilamoura. It is his
third appearance in World Junior Cross Country race and he was 46th in 1998.

Tara Krysywicki Age 26 
This year Tara has emulated Alison Wyeth in winning both the UK and English titles in the
same season. Winner of the AAA 10,000m title in 1998, she is British record holder for the
2000m steeplechase. Tara placed 44th in last year's World Cross Country Championships.

Paula Radcliffe Age 26 
Paula will be making her ninth appearance in the World Cross Country Championships. To
date she has won one Gold (Junior), two Silver and one Bronze medal. The Senior title was
snatched from her in the final strides three years ago. She is British number one at
3000m, 5000m, 10,000m and half marathon and was European Cross Country Champion in 1998.
This will be her first race for eight weeks.

Helen Pattison Age 26 
Helen is emerging as one of Europe's best following her victory at Durham and third place
in Tourcoing this winter. She won the UK 4km Trial race in 1999 and has placed 45th and
39th in the last two World Championships.

Hayley Tullett Age 27 
Hayley recorded a career best performance to win this year's UK 4km Trial race. Fortieth
in last years World Cross Country Championships, she is better known for her track
running. Winner of last year's AAA 1500m, she was seventh in the European Indoor 3000m
last month.

Information supplied by UK Athletics

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The majority of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team has been in Portugal for about a week at a holding camp in Albufeira where preparations have gone very well.

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