Dulce Félix takes a commanding victory in Amadora (© Marcelino Almeida)
Lisbon, PortugalEnd of the year races are very popular in Portugal. Since the 20th of December, more than 40 races where held in big and small cities, coloring the streets with an athletics rainbow. The most famous, and also with the best results, is the S. Silvestre of Amadora, the lighthouse among other races.
With a strong presence of the best Portuguese runners, the men’s event (held separately from the women’s) was a close contest, won by Imane Merga of Ethiopia. Merga, who was 7th at the World Cross Country Championship in Mombasa (2007), only achieved his victory in the final metres, after a strong race made with three other runners: the Russian Sergei Ivanov, 10,000m champion and national record holder; the Moroccan Youssef El Kalay, who has lived in Portugal since 1998; and Ugandan Boniface Kiprop, who was 10th in the 10,000m at the Beijing Olympic Games. It was a spectacular race for the Ethiopian who took the victory by three seconds ahead of Ivanov.
The first Portuguese was Eduardo Mbengani (38th in European Cross Country Championship), who finished fifth.
In the women race, without last year’s winner Jessica Augusto, the race was dominated by Dulce Félix. The athlete of the mystical S.C. Braga team (several times European cross country and road champions) showed herself very strongly in this race, confirming her choice in sports, after some years training, running and working in a clothing factory. She was on the Portuguese team who achieved the European Cross Country Champion title and ran in Amadora to win by 18 seconds ahead of another Portuguese rising star, Sara Moreira, and another European team Cross Country champion, Anália Rosa (7th in the individual race). The first foreign athlete was Kenyan Elisabeth Rumokol who was fifth.
Before Amadora...
But, before Amadora were several other races, not quite of the same quality as Amadora, but with strong arguments to compete with the “queen” of S. Silvestre races.
On 26 December, the Russian Nikolay Chavkin ran well in the Algarve, beating his countryman Sergei Ivanov by four seconds, with Moroccan Youssef El Kalay in third. Hermano Ferreira was the best Portuguese runner finishing fourth. Chavkin appeared again in Lisbon four days later to beat another Russian, Yuri Abramov, with the Portuguese António Travassos taking third.
The women’s races in these two events were more low key. Portuguese Ana Dias (in Algarve) and Madalena Carriço (in Olivais) took the victories.
Two days earlier (28 Dec), two of the most important races in Portugal were quality affairs. Funchal withnessed a Kenyan “fight” with Kiprono Menjo (winner in 2007) beating the junior Josphat Bett. The final place of the podium went to Rui Pedro Silva (8th in European Cross Country Championship, and winner of the Lisbon S. Silvestre race less than 24 earlier), ahead of Manuel Damião.
In the women’s race Jessica Augusto, the European Cross Country silver medalist, appeared very strong and confident with her victory (she also won in Lisbon the day before), beating Kenyan Eunice Jepkorir, the winner in Funchal in 2007.
The 1996 Olympic 10,000m champion, Fernanda Ribeiro was third in Funchal.
In Oporto, the winner was Rui Silva, the 2004 Olympic 1500 bronze medallist, ahead of the Moroccan Youssef El Kalay. In the women’s event, Sara Moreira beat another Portuguese girl, Marisa Barros.
António Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF
Select results –
Amadora (31-Dec) – 10.000 m:
Men
1. Imane Merga ETH 29:27
2. Sergei Ivanov RUS 29:30
3. Yousef El Kalay MOR 29:31
4. Boniface Kiprop UGA 29:33
5. Eduardo Mbengani POR 29:41
6. Manuel Damião POR 29:44
7. Hermano Ferreira POR 29:46
8. Paulo Gomes POR 29:48
9. Pedro Ribeiro POR 29:54
10. Vitaly Shafar UKR 30:00
Women
1. Dulce Félix POR 32:55
2. Sara Moreira POR 33:13
3. Anália Rosa POR 33:26
4. Ana Dias POR 34:22
5. Elisabeth Rumokol KEN 34:42
6. Marisa Barros POR 34:52
7. Galina Ivanova RUS 35:04
8. Inna Polluskhina LAT 35:28
9. Sara Pinho POR 35:52
10. Filomena Costa POR 35:56
Lagoa, Algarve (26-Dec) – 8000 m/5700m:
Men
1. Nikolay Chavkin RUS 25.14
2. Sergei Ivanov RUS 25.18
3. Youssef El Kalay MOR 25.19
4. Hermano Ferreira POR 25.29
5. António Travassos POR 25.51
6. Cheshari Kirui KEN 25.55
Women – 5.200 m
1. Ana Dias POR 17.36
2. Elisabeth Rumokol KEN 17.45
3. Galina Ivanova RUS 18.11
4. Jebichi Yator KEN 18.24
5. Clarisse Cruz POR 18.31
Lisbon (27-Dec) - 9.880m:
Men:
1. Rui Pedro Silva POR 28.52
2. Ricardo Ribas POR 29.42
3. David Ramard FRA 29.52
4. Tiago Rodrigues POR 30.53
5. João Pereira POR 31.26
6. Bruno Pais POR 31.38
Women:
1. Jessica Augusto POR 32.26
2. Dulce Félix POR 32.34
3. Maria Areosa POR 37.08
4. Ana Salgueiro POR 37.24
5. Mariana Costa POR 38.50
6. Sónia Macieira POR 38.58
Funchal, Madeira Island (28-Dec) – 6000 m:
Men:
1. Kiprono Menjo KEN 16.36
2. Josphat Bett KEN 16.38
3. Rui Pedro Silva POR 16.48
4. Manuel Damião POR 16.48
5. Sergiy Lebid UKR 16.49
6. António Travassos POR 17.00
Women:
1. Jessica Augusto POR 18.33
2. Eunice Jepkorir KEN 19.27
3. Fernanda Ribeiro POR 19.35
4. Karolina Jarzyuska (Polónia) 20.00
5. Cláudia Pereira (SC Braga) 20.07
6. Ercília Machado (SC Braga) 20.16
Porto (28-Dec) – 10.000m:
Men:
1. Rui Silva POR 29.30
2. Youssef El Kalay MOR 29.35
3. Manuel Penas Blanco ESP 30.04
4. Paulo Gomes POR 30.10
5. Nuno Costa POR 30.13
6. Pedro Ribeiro POR 30.27
Women:
1. Sara Moreira POR 33.53
2. Marisa Barros POR 34.10
3. Yesenia Centeno ESP 34.52
4. Lilian Silva POR 35.18
5. Doroteia Peixoto POR 35.22
6. Maria Teresa Gomez ESP 35.39
Olivais, Lisbon (30-Dec) – 10.000m:
Men:
1. Nikolay Chavkin RUS 29.46
2. Iuri Abramov RUS 29.47
3. António Travassos POR 29.55
4. Riad Moahmed MOR 30.16
5. Ricardo Dias POR 30.33
6. Luís Pinto POR 30.45
Women:
1. Madalena Carriço POR 34.35
2. Elisabete Lopes POR 35.17
3. Josefa Bomgue POR 37.51
4. Vera Nunes POR 38.01
5. Maria Areosa POR 38.17
6. Susana Adelino POR 38.47