News04 Dec 2003


Llodio winners gather in Alcobendas

FacebookTwitterEmail

Fabian Joseph of Tanzania wins in Llodio, Spain (© Miguel Toña)

Alcobendas, SpainTanzania’s Fabian Joseph will start as the hot favourite for this Sunday’s ‘22nd Cross Internacional de Alcobendas’.

Armed with a relatively humble budget of just 45,000USD, the Race Director José Ramón García has been able to bring together both of last week’s winners from the IAAF permit race in Llodio, Kenya’s Alice Timbilil the women’s winner having also been recruited.

Victory for Joseph again?

Coached by Jimi Beutha in Kenya, Joseph will only turn 18 years of age later this month but has already a World Half Marathon silver medal under his belt. Alcobendas’ will be Joseph’s third stop in his European, or more exactly Spanish cross country tour. He was a close third in Soria – EAA Permit race - on 23 November where he was beaten by the Kenyans Benjamin Limo and Thomas Kiplitany, but took a convincing win last Sunday in Llodio ahead of Spain’s emerging star Juan Carlos de la Ossa.

The Tanzanian’s toughest rival over 10,000m should be Tadesse Zersenay of Eritrea, fresh from winning the ‘Jean Bouin’, a 10km road race held last Sunday in Barcelona where he beat Spain’s Fabián Roncero in a course record of 27:14. The previous week Zersenay was well beaten (10 seconds) by Joseph in Soria, so this weekend’s showdown is a good chance for the Madrid-based Eritrean to Joseph to gain some speedy revenge.

Kenyan athletes have won in Alcobendas every year since 1993 but in this company David Kilel and David Chemweno will have to be at their very best to uphold their country’s tradition. Both Kenyans though have been in good shape so far this winter. Kilel, the 2001 World Youth silver medallist over 3000m, was a clear winner in Torres Vedras, Portugal two weeks ago. Chemweno came second in Torredonjimeno to Juan Carlos de la Ossa on November 16 and finished a fine fifth in Llodio just behind Benjamin Limo who will be competing at the World Military Games in Catania, Italy, this weekend.

Among the Spaniards, the most remarkable name is European 10,000m champion José Manuel Martínez who is just back from a 3-week spell of altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada. The 32-year-old Martínez who will become a father next March is scheduled to run his fourth Marathon in February. The Spaniard currently holds a PB of 2:08:09 for third in Rotterdam last April.

Timbilil and Denboba battle again

In the women’s race (6500m) there will be a fascinating showdown between the first two finishers in Llodio, Kenya’s Alice Timbilil and Merima Denboba of Ethiopia. Denboba, who is 29 years of age, has apart from 1996 placed among the first ten finishers at the World Cross Country Championships for the last ten years. Already a winner here in 1997, Denboba will be taking part in her fourth consecutive cross country race in Europe with a profitable haul of two victories (Oeiras and Soria) and one runner-up place (Llodio). She will fly to the race from Trento, Italy on Saturday morning.

Timbilil, who is still only 20 years-old, was 14th at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 10,000m (31:50.22), having taken the junior silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in the same year in Vilamoura.

Pages related to this article
DisciplinesCompetitions
Loading...