News10 Jan 2009


Dinkesa shocks while Masai marches on in Edinburgh Cross Country

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Linet Masai keeps on rolling - en route to a comfortable victory in Edinburgh (© Mark Shearman)

Edinburgh, UKEthiopia's Abebe Dinkesa defied the gale force winds which battered Holyrood Park to clinch an unexpected victory in the men's race at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International in the Scottish capital.

Meanwhile World junior 10,000m record holder Linet Masai of Kenya romped to an emphatic triumph in the women's race to halt Ethiopia's 100 per cent winning record in the five-year history of the event.

Dinkesa signals return - men's race

Ethiopia's talented Dinkesa returned from two injury bedeviled years to upset many pre-race predictions and deliver a decisive victory in a high-class race at a windswept Holyrood Park.

In the absence of Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, who had won the three previous editions of the men's race, much of the pre-race attention was thrust upon the 2005 champion Eliud Kipchoge and the runner-up for the past two years Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea.

But it was Dinkesa, the 2004 Great Ethiopian Run winner, who mastered the tactical battle to end a frustrating two years with the greatest victory of his Cross Country career.

Behind, the rising star of Kenyan Cross Country running Mang'ata Ndiwa, the 2006 World Junior Cross Country champion, took an impressive second place finish with Tadese outsprinting a fading Kipchoge for third.

Ten athletes were still in contention going into the penultimate climb of the testing Haggis Knowe but it was Dinkesa who seized the opportunity by opening up a 20m lead on his nearest pursuers by the foot of the descent.

Dinkesa, who was fourth in the 2005 World Cross Country Championships, has struggled with a nagging achilles injury over the past couple of seasons was delighted to record an unexpected race win.

"I'm very, very happy to win," said Dinkesa. "The win was a little easier than expected."

Uganda's Boniface Kiprop headed a large group of chiefly African athletes for much of the first two small laps, although Scot Andrew Lemoncello, inspired by the home support, and eight-time European Cross Country champion Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine were also in touch.

But it was Dinkesa who caught the field napping at the penultimate climb and he did not relinquish his advantage over the final lap.

Ndiwa, who claimed an impressive victory in the Athletics Kenya Cross Country series in November, pulled ahead of Kipchoge on the final climb to take a noteworthy second. Meanwhile, Tadese closed in and passed a struggling Kipchoge to take third from the Kenyan. Kiprop, the early leader, wound up fifth. Lebid finished a disappointing tenth.  

Masai marches on - women's race

The upwardly mobile progress of Linet Masai took another giant stride forward after she obliterated a world-class field with a performance which hinted at a glittering future in the sport.

Masai, 19, cruised to the front during the midway stage of the first long lap and galloped clear of her rivals to run out a comfortable winner.

Trailing Masai, Ethiopia's Mestawet Tufa held on for second with Kenya's Viola Kibiwott responding to a late challenge from Great Britain's teenager Stephanie Twell to snatch third.

A delighted Masai admitted she had never raced in such strong winds and added: "I'm pleased with the performance. It was not too hard and I felt comfortable."

Masai, who is coached by leading Irish agent Ricky Simms and is the younger sister of Moses the Kenyan 10,000m international, is certainly a prodigious talent.

She plans to target the World Cross Country Championships in Jordan before concentrating on the track where she will be serious medal contender over 10,000m in the World Championships in Berlin.

Portugal's European Cross Country silver medallist Jessica Augusto set a powerful pace from the gun and by the conclusion of the second of the two short laps led a lead group of six which included Tufa, Masai, Kibiwott, Twell and Ethiopia's Kalkedan Gezahegn, the World Junior 1500m silver medallist.

The decisive move of the race came midway around the first long lap when the graceful Masai could wait no longer. The long-legged former World junior Cross Country champion cruised effortlessly to the front just before the first of two steep climbs of Haggis Knowe.

By the time she descended the steep, testing climb she had blown the field wide apart holding a 15m lead from Tufa, who in turn was 10m clear of Kibiwott with a gap back to Gezahegn and Twell.

Masai, who possesses a Gazelle-like grace to her running, put on a demonstration of her exciting ability around the final lap, destroying the opposition and running out an 11-second winner of the 5.6km race.

Behind her Twell, the World Junior 1500m champion, kicked past Gezahegn and drew alongside Kibiwott - and to within range of Tufa - at the summit of the final climb of Haggis Knowe.

In an absorbing battle for the minor places it was Tufa who clung on for second with Kibiwott edging back past Twell for third in the latter stages.

Steve Landells for the IAAF

Leading Results -

Men's 8.9km race
1 Abebe Dinkesa (ETH) 26:51
2 Mang'ata Ndiwa (KEN) 26:54
3 Zersenay Tadese (ERI) 26:55
4 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 26:58
5 Boniface Kiprop (UGA) 26:59
6 Mike Kipyego (KEN) 27:06

Women's 5.6km race
1 Linet Masai (KEN) 19:02
2 Mestawet Tufa (ETH) 19:13
3 Viola Kibiwott (KEN) 19:14
4 Stephanie Twell (GBR) 19:16

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