Berhane Adere crosses the line in the women's 5000m (© Getty Images)
Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere, the women’s World 10,000m gold medallist and last year’s World Half Marathon champion has confirmed her appearance in the "Iris Lotto Crosscup" – IAAF permit – race in Brussels, on Sunday 21 December.
It was in Brussels in 2002 that Adere won her World Half Marathon title and the news of her participation at this year’s Crosscup was confirmed today by Adere's manager, Volker Wagner to race organiser Jos Van Roy.
Adere who has her eyes set on competing at the 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships wants to test the course which will be nearly identical for both the annual Crosscup on 21 December, and the World Championships which will take place over the weekend of 20 – 21 March 2004.
Adere has yet really to shine over the country having a best individual showing at the World Cross Country of 10th place in the 1996 edition. However, the 30 year-old Ethiopian has had a tremendous year of running in 2003 and should be able to transfer her talent to the Belgium course.
As well as winning an epic World 10,000m final in Paris in a championship record of 30:04.18, more recently Adere took the rare scalp of Britain's Paula Radcliffe - who was absent from Paris due to injury. The two rivals were running the opening 10km leg of the Chiba Ekiden relay (24 Nov), and while Adere broke the stage record with a 30:12 clocking, Radcliffe (also under the old mark - 30:55) finished some 30 seconds adrift of the Ethiopian.
Van Roy who has already signed Kenya’s former five-time World Cross champion Paul Tergat for the men’s race, also expects many more top-class international athletes will wish to come and test the course.
