Linet Masai running in style at the 25th ‘Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’ (© José Montes)
Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele and Kenya’s Linet Masai captured top spots in style at the 25th ‘Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’ - EAA XC Permit - held today (30 Nov) on a cold and rainy day for weather.
In doing so, Bekele became the first athlete to win the event three times, while the manner of Masai’s victory - she built a full minute advantage over her closest opponent - suggests Llodio’s spectators have just witnessed an athlete born to challenge for world distance running honours in the years to come.
MEN – Bekele succeeds, Komon unable to overcome the mud
The first remarkable movement of the 9.4km men’s race came when Leonard Komon of Kenya managed to reduce the leading group to just seven units after a change of speed. However, the leader of the reigning World silver medallist from Edinburgh was to be short-lived and the 20-year-old soon began to falter on Llodio’s muddy surface once Spain’s Ethiopian born Alemayehu Bezabeh took charge of the race.
At the halfway point, the Spaniard was making most of the pace duties with Bekele consistently staying two metres behind the leader.
By then, the 2007 World Junior XC silver medallist Vincent Kiprop Chepkok was running four seconds behind the leading duo, while Komon’s chances of winning had vanished as he travelled another ten seconds adrift alongside his fellow Kenyan Mike Kiptoo and Spain’s Ayad Lamdassem.
Shortly before the bell (2km to go) Bezabeh’s dream of succeeding in front of his new home crowd also disappeared as he fell on a muddy section of the circuit, losing valuable seconds before regaining his balance, and was overtaken by Chepkok. Neither man managed to threaten Bekele again.
At the finish line, the reigning World Indoor 3000m champion, Bekele had a seven-second margin over Chepkok, himself 100m clear of Bezabeh, who at least kept Kiptoo at bay and made the minor podium position. As for a tired Komon, he had to be satisfied with a 8th place over one minute behind Bekele in his fourth consecutive appearance on Spanish soil in November.
Thinking of the next European XC Champs to be held in Brussels on 14 December, Bezabeh cemented his medal ambitions as he defeated, among others, Sweden’s reigning silver medallist in Mustafa Mohamed who finished in fifth, ten seconds behind the Spaniard.
WOMEN – Masai destroys any opposition
The women’s 7.36km contest featured two top-ten athletes from this year’s World XC Championships in the guise of Kenya’s Linet Masai and Margaret Muriuki Wangari, who placed third and eight respectively in Edinburgh.
The still 18-year-old Masai provided ample evidence that her bronze medal in Edinburgh was no fluke and from the second kilometre she was in full command of the event thanks to an injection of terrific pace which proved simply unaffordable for the rest.
The Beijing Olympic 10,000m fourth placer built a massive margin of 20 seconds before halfway on Portugal’s Ines Monteiro, herself ten seconds clear of Margaret Muriuki Wangari, while Hungary’s Aniko Kalovics ran in fourth.
The remaining laps just confirmed Masai’s overwhelming authority as her advantage become bigger and bigger to reach the amazing figure of 40 seconds at the bell on Monteiro, a brilliant winner at the opening IAAF permit in Oeiras earlier this month.
There were not major changes in the closing 2km loop and the 2007 World Junior Cross Country champion extended her winning gap to one full minute (25:12-26:12) on the in-form runner-up Portuguese who defeated Margaret Muriuki Wangari by the handsome margin of 29 seconds.
Masai is the sister of 2005 African Junior 5000m and 10,000 champion Moses Masai and has no relation to three-time World short course cross country champion Edith Masai.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
RESULTS
Men (9.4km)
1. Tariku Bekele (Eth) 29:31
2. Vincent Kiprop Chepkok (Ken) 29:38
3. Alemayehu Bezabeh (Esp) 29:53
4. Mark Kiptoo (Ken) 30:01
5. Mohamed Mustafa (Swe) 30:03
6. Ayad Lamdassem (Esp) 30:15
7. Stephane Joly (Sui) 30:28
8. Leonard Komon (Ken) 30:32
9. Javier Guerra (Esp) 30:44
10. Franscisco Javier Alves (Esp) 30:55
Women (7.36km)
1. Linet Masai (Ken) 25:12
2. Ines Monteiro (Por) 26:12
3. Margaret Muriuki (Ken) 26:41
4. Aniko Kalovics (Hun) 26:55
5. Rosa Morató (Esp) 27:00
6. Diana Martín (Esp) 27:10
7. Alessandra Aguilar (Esp) 27:39
8. Judit Plá (Esp) 28:12
9. Aicha Bani (Mor) 28:28
10. Teresa Urbina (Esp) 28:28
