Kenenisa Bekele storms to victory in Edinburgh (© Mark Shearman)
Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and Gelete Burka will start as the athletes to beat at the ‘25rd Cross Internacional de Itálica’ – IAAF cross country permit - which will be held in Santiponce, Seville, Spain on Sunday 21 January.
Armed with a record budget of 500,000 € to celebrate its silver jubilee race organisers have assembled a star-studded line-up.
In recent years this event has become a watchword for excellence and provided some excellent races and more of the same is expected this weekend thanks primarily to the presence of the five-time double World Cross Country champion Kenenisa Bekele who will be competing for the first time on Spanish soil since his 2004 win here in Seville.
MEN – A clean sweep of medals for the Ethiopians?
Sunday’s 10,800m race also features a bunch of top-class Ethiopians in the guise of Bekele’ younger brother Tariku, Tarefe Maregu Zwedie and Abebe Dinkesa but the kind of shape showed by Kenenisa Bekele last Saturday in Edinburgh - where he kicked off successfully his cross country campaign with a solid 10-second win from Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese - suggests that the Ethiopian ace, who is also the World record holder on the track for 5000m and 10,000m will be unassailable for his rivals once again.
On a statistical note they make up the illustrious list of recent victors in Itálica as Bekele took honours twice (2003 and 2004), Maregu was successful in 2005 and Dinkesa will start as ‘defending champion’ following last year’s top spot.
Tariku Bekele will be making his fourth appearance on Spanish ground in less than two months. His tally includes two fine wins in Llodio (26 November) and Alcobendas (3 December) and a runner-up place in Amorebieta last 7 January when he was out-sprinted by last year’s 10,000m fastest athlete in the world Kenya’s Micah Kogo.
As for Dinkessa, he suffered from typhoid fever in 2006 and that was the reason for his below-par season. Fully recovered now from illness, Dinkesa claimed a two-second win from Kenya’s Hosea Macharinyang - 6th at last worlds in Fukuoka - who is also on Sunday’s line-up. Dinkesa’s last outing took place last 7 January in Fuensalida (Spain) where he suffered a surprise 11-second defeat to Kenya’s 5000m specialist (2006 PB of 12:52.40) Edwin Soi.
Former (2001) World 10,000m champion Charles Kamathi is also in contention. A double winner here in Itálica back in 2000 and 2001, the 28-year-old Kenyan famously beat Haile Gebrselassie over 10,000m at the 2001 World Championships with his final and frantic 200m taking only 24.7 seconds.
The European charge will be led by Spain’s Chema Martínez and Juan Carlos de la Ossa - 2nd and 3rd in Elgoibar last weekend - Portugal’s reigning European XC silver medallist Fernando Silva and France’s Khalid Zoubaa.
WOMEN – Burka, hot favourite
On the women’s side (6.6km course) Ethiopian athletes seem also a safe bet for the win as they will be led by the young and talented Gelete Burka, who won the last ever short course race at the World Cross Country Championships last April in Fukuoka.
More recently, the still 20-year-old had a brilliant winter opener with a nine-second victory from Kenya’s Vivian Cheriuyot in Edinburgh last Saturday.
Burka takes on her fellow Ethiopian and last year’s winner Bezunesh Bekele, fresh from a runner-up position in Elgoibar a week ago while Kenya’s reigning World cross country silver medallist Priscah Jepleting and Alice Chelangat should provide stiff opposition to the Ethiopians.
Jepleting was well-beaten (17 seconds) by Ethiopia’s Mestewat Tufa in Fuensalida while Chelangat last raced in Valladolid (Spain) last Sunday placing second behind her compatriot Joan Aiyabei.
Other remarkable entrants include Australia’s Anna Thompson and Hungary’s Aniko Kalovics. Portugal’s Monica Rosa and Spain’s Yesenia Centeno will fight with the Hungarian to be first European home.
Gebrselassie and Tergat also on show!
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the event the organisation has made a huge effort to bring together some of the previous winners and it seems that it has paid off as the presence of two distance legends such as Ethiopia’s 1996 winner Haile Gebrselassie and Kenya’s double victor in 1998/99 Paul Tergat is already confirmed…although they will not take part in the official event but at a less competitive 6.6 kilometre race, alongside Kenya’s Osoro Ondoro (1990/91) and Portugal’s Domingos Castro (1989).
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
