Mustafa Mohamed (SWE) running at the Nordic Cross Country championships in Fredrikstad, Norway (© Hasse Sjögren)
None of the four winners had to fight hard for their titles at the Nordic Cross Country Championships in Fredrikstad, Norway, today (11). The weather was fine and sunny day but the grass course was very soft because of the heavy rain on Friday.
Swedish steeplechaser Mustafa Mohamed was the big favourite in the men’s 9km race and left his opponents so easily that it even surprised himself.
"I think I started rather slowly, because the course was so heavy to run on and I almost could not believe that I was given no challenge during the last 1.4km lap," said Mohamed, who was fourth at the European Championships at 3000m Steeplechase this year.
Mohamed, 27, is a good candidate to surprise the favourites at the European Cross Country Championships, Legnano, Italy, on 10 December. After a short break he will have a long training camp in South Africa where his friend, the European Steeplechase champion Jukka Keskisalo of Finland will also prepare himself for the coming indoor season, too. As Keskisalo was not running in Fredrikstad, Jussi Utriainen was the best Finn home in the 5th place.
Öystein Sylta of Norway placed second, and Henrik Skoog gave Sweden bronze.
The women’s 4.5km was dominated by Norwegian Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu. Second at the Frankfurt Marathon two weeks ago with her personal best of 2:31:20, she beat Sweden’s Karolina Höjsgaard.
Into third place came one of the best female orienteers in the world, Norway's Ragnihild Kvarberg.
Junior – women’s winner quicker than seniors
Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grövdal was a brilliant winner in the women’s junior 4.5km. She took the lead straight from the gun and ran 13 seconds faster time than Otterbu in the senior women’s race.
Suvi Miettinen took the only individual medal for Finland when finishing 1.03 behind Bjerkeli Grövdal, who is only 16-years-old, having set a fine national junior record of 9:55.95 in the 3000m Steeplechase in July.
Denmark’s Anna Holm Jörgensen, daughter of Danish marathon record holder (2:09:43) Henrik Jörgensen, was third.
Finland’s Tuomas Jokinen took the lead in the men's junior 6.0km race but in the last lap fatigue set in and he dropped back (ended up fourth). Alexander Söderberg of Sweden had the best finishing spurt passing Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen and Sindre Buraas to take the gold medal by a 7 seconds margin.
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF
Results
MEN
9km: 1) Mustafa Mohamed SWE 29:19, 2) Öystein Sylta NOR 29:56, 3) Henrik Skoog SWE 30:02, 4) Björnar Ustad Kristensen NOR 30:20, 5) Jussi Utriainen FIN 30:23, 6) Konstantin Kutilainen FIN 30:24, 7) Per Jacobsen SWE 30:28, 8) Erik Petersson SWE 30:30
1) SWE 19; 2) FIN 30; 3) NOR 35; 4) DEN 68.
Junior
6km: 1) Alexander Söderberg SWE 20:36, 2) Sondre Nordstad Moen NOR 20:41, 3) Sindre Buraas NOR 20:44, 4) Tuomas Jokinen FIN 20:47, 5) David Nilsson SWE 20:57, 6) Erik Widing SWE 21:04, 7) Ole Hesselbjerg DEN 21:20, 8) Lars Bakke NOR 21:21
1) SWE 12; 2) NOR 13; 3) DEN 27; 4) FIN 28
WOMEN
4.5 km: 1) Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu NOR 16:49, 2) Karolina Höjsgaard SWE 17:27, 3) Ragnhild Kvarberg NOR 17:30, 4) Brit Helen Simmenes NOR 17:43, 5) Linda Ström SWE 17:53, 6) Jaana Niemelä FIN 17:57, 7) Christine Johansson SWE 18:04, 8) Laura Skyttä FIN 18:06,
1) NOR 8; 2) SWE 14; 3) FIN 25
Junior
4.5 km: 1) Karoline Bjerkeli Grövdal NOR 16:36, 2) Suvi Miettinen FIN 17:39, 3) Anna Holm DEN 17:59, 4) Guro Flatekval NOR 18:10, 5) Eevi Antila FIN 18:11, 6) Silje Fjörtoft NOR 18:21, 7) Christina Lindblom SWE 18:23, 8) Maria Björn Madsen DEN 18.25,
1) NOR 11; 2) FIN 18; 3) DEN 20; 4) SWE 37.
