Veerle Dejaeghere in the leading pack at the Iris Lotto Cross Cup in Brussels (© Nadia Verhoft)
Veerle Dejaeghere delighted her home crowd in Brussels when she kicked away from the leading group with 500m to go and came through the finish victoriously.
Top favourite and World champion Lornah Kiplagat left the race in the third of four laps after twisting her ankle. In the men’s race Paul Koech joined the leading group only in the latter stages of the race but the 2007 world leading steeplechaser was well in control of his effort and narrowly beat Sergey Lebid in a thrilling sprint finish.
Veerle Dejaeghere delights home crowd
The women’s race was very compact with a leading group of ten athletes entering the last lap. Most of the work in the lead was done by Lornah Kiplagat from the Netherlands and by Aniko Kalovics.
“There was no room to move in front,” said the Hungarian. “We were pushing a lot and running on each other heels. I tried to break the field, but that only succeeded in the latter stages of the race.”
Portuguese Monica Rosa dropped off the leading group in the third lap and in the final lap a group of four built a decisive gap with the rest of the field.
Ukrainian Tatyana Holovchenko looked very comfortable when they headed towards the long downhill section leading to the finish line. But surprisingly enough it was Veerle Dejaeghere who accelerated with 500m to go.
Dejaeghere secured her advantage and crossed the finish line in triumph. Holovchenko came in second and Ethiopian Emebt Etea was third. Kalovics had to settle for fourth place.
“Good enough for me," said Kalovics. "The course was fast today and my finishing speed is very poor. Unlike previous years the course was not heavy and muddy. It looked more like a grass track. I’m preparing to run the Rome Marathon in March and do better than my 2:26.44 debut (downhill course) from 2006.”
“I thank the fans who have supported me a lot today”
It was an unexpected and an emotional win for Veerle Dejaeghere. “I skipped the European Championships and I prepared well to be in top shape for Brussels today. I had a lot of trouble finding the good training rhythm after the track season. Competitions continue until September and it takes some time before I really get ready for the cross country season. That’s why I decided not to participate in the European Championships in Toro,” admits Dejaeghere. “But I have no regrets about that, I don’t think that I could have finished close in Toro. Those championships came too early and the distance was too long for me.”
Dejaeghere turns 35 in 2008 and the Olympic Games are the last main goal in her career. She was a 3000m Steeplechase finalist in the 2007 World Championships and she hopes to repeat that again in Beijing.
“After the Games, my international career will be over,” confirms Dejaeghere. “The 2008 European Cross Country Championships will be held here in Ostend and I love the Brussels Cross Cup as well,” anticipates Dejaeghere any further questions, “but my husband and I have been yearning for children for many years now and that will be our priority by then. But, if I’m not pregnant by December next year, you can ask the question again,” she burst out laughing.
Then, Dejaeghere takes the microphone and she addresses her fans. “I really want to thank you all for cheering me all along the course today. It really motivated me to give the best I could. And I want to ask you to support a Christmas Charity initiative that I am an ambassador for.” And she took a cup and invited the spectators to contribute.
Paul Kipsiele Koech takes the win from behind
Early in the race a leading group of six athletes was formed with Tareq Mabarak
Taher (BRN), Adam Ismail Khamis (BRN), Moses Masai (KEN), Eshetu Wondimu (ETH), Kipkurir (KEN) and Sergey Lebid (UKR). Paul Kipsiele Koech was 50m behind, but he did not panic.
“They went off extremely fast and I knew that the race was going to be long. It was a tactical choice to stay behind that pace and in the end, it paid off,” said Koech.
In front it was Khamis who was injecting the pace all the time to prevent Koech from coming back. Finally, it was Taher who paid the price for all the work, when he was left behind by the leaders.
Masai took command of the race but he couldn’t do enough damage to take the speed out of the legs of Lebid. Suddenly the Ukrainian sprinted away from the pack and he was only followed, by some distance, by Koech. But Koech moved into higher gear with 200m to go and gradually closed the gap. In an ultimate effort he passed Lebid only 20m before the finish line and won the Brussels Cross Cup in an emphatic matter.
“This is a very important win for me today,” said Koech. “The course is competitive and the field is very strong. It’s a true test of condition and of stamina. The better track athletes were in front today on this fast course. Entering the last lap, I was confident that I had the faster finishing kick in the leading pack. But I must admit that Lebid nearly took me by surprise.”
The seven times European champion had mixed feelings about his race: “Being part of this leading group of world class athletes is an excellent performance, but I was so close to victory that I also feel disappointed. But what can I do? Train harder and become a faster sprinter?” asked Lebid smiling. “The winter of 2006 was hampered by injuries; that’s why I’m very happy that I’m back at my best level now. Therefore my seventh European title was a special one. I will decide in February on participating in the World Cross Country Championships. In terms of weather conditions, Edinburgh is a better option for me than Mombasa. But participation will depend on my health and on my form.”
Lornah Kiplagat may suffer from a muscle strain in the calf
Immediately after she twisted her ankle, Lornah Kiplagat was driven back to the hotel and she underwent medical examination. Her ankle was a bit swollen indeed, but the doctors now fear that Kiplagat’s calf muscles may have suffered a serious strain.
In the next hours doctors can give further evidence and details on the injury, but is not unlikely that the 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon that Kiplagat was due to participate in on 18 January has to be cancelled.
UPDATE: Kiplagat confirmed that she felt some strain in her calf when she twisted her foot. “Strangely enough, you can even hear it straining,” she said.
"She started easy and ran very comfortable," wrote her husband and manager, Pieter Langerhorst, in an e-mail message to Race Results Weekly. "She felt great and wanted to start pushing the pace with 1 kilometre to go. Right before the moment she wanted to start pushing, she felt something in her calf and stopped immediately."
"It is probably a strained muscle and after talking to our physios, we decided to just ice it and give it two days rest," Langerhorst wrote.
The couple will now return to their Kenyan training base in Iten where Kiplagat will be examined and treated by physiotherapists Gerard Hartmann and Bert Borghans.
"Both are for Christmas at Lornah's trainings camp so that makes things easy," Langerhorst added.
Ivo Hendrix & David Monti for the IAAF
Leading Results
Men (10500 m)
1. Paul Kipsiele Koech (KEN) 30.31
2. Sergey Lebid (UKR) 30.31
3. Moses Masai (KEN) 30.32
4. Adam Ismail Khamis (BRN) 30.33
5. Eshetu Wondimu (ETH) 30.33
Women (6000m)
1. Veerle Dejaeghere (BEL) 19.41
2. Tatyana Holovchenko (UKR) 19.41
3. Emebt Etea (ETH) 19.42
4. Aniko Kalovics (HUN) 19.47
5. Julie Coulaud (FRA) 19.49
