A three year winning sequence was brought to an end today in Margate (UK), as Hungarian Aniko Kalovics led home all the British hopefuls for next month’s European Cross Country Championships in Medulin, Croatia.
The British Trials for the European Championships were held within the Reebok Cross Challenge event and no athlete other than a Yelling – European cross country fifth placer Liz or her sister-in-law Hayley – have won a race in the series for three years.
Indeed, Liz was unbeaten in her previous nine Reebok Cross Challenge races Kalovics, who learned about the event when reading the IAAF website, prevented her taking that sequence into double figures.
With both Yellings recovering from colds, they could finish only third (Hayley) and fourth (Liz) as 2000 AAA 1,500m champion Hayley Tullett produced a strong display in a rare cross country outing and took the runner-up spot.
British junior 10,000m record-holder Charlotte Dale, who opted to run the senior race rather than the junior event having been promised selection for the junior team in Medelin, was prominent during the first half as Kalovics, Tullett and the Yellings battled it out on a firm Margate course.
In the previous Reebok event, in Birmingham, Dale had won the junior race and then finished second to Hayley Yelling in the senior event half an hour later, but on this occasion she slipped back as Kalovics poured on the pressure and pulled clear of her rivals during the second lap.
She admitted: “I did not expect to win. I knew I was in very good form because I ran a Hungarian record of 69:16 in Udine, Italy last month. My best distances are the 10,000m and half-marathon but I want to run well in the European Cross Country Championships and needed a race beforehand.
“When I read about the race on the IAAF website my manager arranged for me to come over and run. This was only the second time I have run in Britain, as I ran when the World Half-marathon Championships were in Bristol. I was aware of athletes like Liz Yelling, because she ran against me that day, so I knew it would not be easy.”
Tullett, coached by former Olympic steeplechase bronze medallist Mark Rowland, was delighted with her return to action as she said: “I was very pleased because it was my first race for three months after ending my track season early. I had such a disappointing track season but I decided to target this race and it went well. I won’t race excessively on the country this winter as I also plan to race indoors, but when I do race I like to be competitive and I have to be happy with today.”
With the first three Britons guaranteed selection for the European Championships, the Yellings clinched selection while veteran Dianne Henaghan was next over the line and if she is chosen it will justify her decision to turn down selection for Saturday’s Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan. Youngster Louise Damen ran very well in sixth, followed by junior Dale, and then Sharon Morris to stay in the minds of selectors who were due to meet after the race before announcing the GB team later in the week.
With Paula Radcliffe not seeking selection, the only other athlete likely to be considered is former national cross country champion Tara Krzywicki. The ex-Welsh international footballer finished 11th, and eighth senior Briton, but is getting back to fitness following a lengthy injury lay-off and in a month’s time can be expected to be much fitter.
The senior men’s race saw an exciting battle for guaranteed selection behind winner Allen Graffin. The 24-year-old, coached by former world cross country silver medallist Tim Hutchings, regarded his victory as one of the best in his career as he said: “I don’t seem to win many races. I’m not very good at converting good performances into victories so this has to be one of my best.”
Graffin, first Briton in last month’s Great North Run when he ran 64:09 in his first serious attempt at the distance, piled on the pressure on the second of three laps with only Ben Noad attempting going with him.
Former national cross country champion Glynn Tromans described the second lap as a ‘triple whammy’ as he said: “There were three increases in pace, and they split the pack into single file. Dominic Bannister made the first move to string them out, then I followed on from him and picked it up further, and then Allen injected even more pace and went away from us. After that there were four of us chasing the two guaranteed places behind Allen.”
Noad admitted he soon realised he couldn’t stay with Graffin and could see Tromans, Bannister and Spencer Barden hunting him down, and although they caught him he showed enough in the closing stages to win the battle for second.
Tromans guaranteed his 10th cross country championships appearance in third, saying: “I have run in six successive world cross country championships and this will be four Europeans – not to mention world half-marathon championships and the Commonwealth Games – and considering my first world cross was at the age of 28 that should give hope to others that you’re never too old.”
The ever-consistent Bannister, who first ran on this Margate course 11 years ago when placing 14th in a race won by Richard Nerurkar, looks certain to be selected with Barden likely to join him.
Former European cross country champion Jon Brown had earlier indicated he may consider running but is now unlikely to, while Olympic 10,000m finalist Karl Keska is also not targeting the race, but national cross country champion Sam Haughian is on the way back from a hip injury. Although back in training he hasn’t raced since the European Championships, so Matt Smith – winner of the opening Reebok event at Liverpool - could come into contention.
Britain has high hopes in the junior men’s race for Medulin although European junior 5,000m champion Mohamed Farah missed the Trials with a calf injury. If fit he is certain to be selected but the nature of Tom Sharland’s performance in winning the trial suggests he will also be well placed.
Scotland has had some fine distance runners in recent years, such as Liz McColgan and Yvonne Murray, and they provided the junior women’s victor in Freya Murray. Holland’s Adrienne Herzog was second so the two remaining guaranteed selection places went to Lisa Dobriskey and under-17 star Katrina Wootton.
The latter, the European Youth Olympics 1,500m champion, is a member of the same Bedford and County club as Paula Radcliffe and shares the same coach in Alex Stanton. She has already broken several of Radcliffe’s club age group records and last week set an under-17 course record at the English Cross Country Relay Championships where her time was one second faster than Radcliffe ran as an under-20.
Results Senior men (9.5km) 1&nbsp;Allen Graffin&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;28:33 2&nbsp;Ben Noad&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;28:42 3&nbsp;Glynn Tromans&nbsp;&nbsp;28:43 4&nbsp;Dominic Bannister&nbsp;&nbsp;28:44 5&nbsp;Spencer Barden&nbsp;&nbsp;28:46 6&nbsp;Haggai Chepkwony (KEN)&nbsp;28:58 7&nbsp;Matt Smith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;29:00 8&nbsp;Dermot Donnelly&nbsp;&nbsp;29:01 9&nbsp;Ollie Laws&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;29:02 10&nbsp;Chris Thompson&nbsp;&nbsp;29:07 Senior women (5.5km) 1&nbsp;Aniko Kalovics (HUN)&nbsp;17:58 2&nbsp;Hayley Tullett&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:01 3&nbsp;Hayley Yelling&nbsp;&nbsp;18:05 4&nbsp;Liz Yelling&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:11 5&nbsp;Dianne Henaghan (veteran)&nbsp;18:22 6&nbsp;Louise Damen&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:26 7&nbsp;Charlotte Dale (junior)&nbsp;18:31 8&nbsp;Sharon Morris&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:37 9&nbsp;Pauline Curley (IRL)&nbsp;&nbsp;18:42 10&nbsp;Maxine Baker&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:44 Junior men (6km) 1&nbsp;Tom Sharland&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:12 2&nbsp;Luke Beever&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:25 3&nbsp;Tom Humphries&nbsp;&nbsp;18:30 4&nbsp;Ed Prickett&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:31 5&nbsp;Jonathon Blackledge&nbsp;&nbsp;18:32 6&nbsp;Scott Overall&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18:38 Junior women (3.5km) 1&nbsp;Freya Murray&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11:55 2&nbsp;Adrienne Herzog (NED)&nbsp;11:57 3&nbsp;Lisa Dobriskey&nbsp;&nbsp;11:58 4&nbsp;Katrina Wootton (under-17)&nbsp;12:03 5&nbsp;Dani Barnes (under-17)&nbsp;12:08 6&nbsp;Rachel Mason&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;12:15

A three year winning sequence was brought to an end today in Margate (UK), as Hungarian Aniko Kalovics led home all the British hopefuls for next month’s European Cross Country Championships in Medulin, Croatia.

Kalovics ends 3-Year Yelling spree

Bekele 
double sends Kenyan coaches back to the drawing board 
Omulo Okoth&nbsp;for 
the IAAF 
28 March 2002 - The truth is dawning upon 
Kenyans that talent is inborn. No better event would have driven this truism home than the 
30th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland, 23-24
March.
&quot;We had John Ngugi. The 
Americans had Carl Lewis. Morocco had Said Aouita and, recently, Hicham El Guerrouj. The 
Ukrainians have had Sergey Bubka. The Ethiopians had Haile Gebrselassie. We again had Paul 
Tergat, while&nbsp;Kenenisa Bekele has emerged again from Ethiopia,&quot; Kenya's veteran coach Mike 
Kosgei said on arrival home from Dublin.
&quot;These were exceptionally 
talented athletes who were unbeaten&nbsp;when in shape. They don't just&nbsp; emerge on the world 
stage. And I can say with no fear of contradiction that Bekele is going in their 
direction. We will have to work extra hard to contain him in the near future,&quot; Kosgei, 50, 
said.
&quot;The boy was just too good for 
us. We had an elaborate team plan for him right from the camp in Embu (some 200-km 
north-east of Nairobi on the foothills of Mt Kenya). Having watched him destroy the field 
in the short-course race, we modified our plans and set two athletes to work on him from 
the start,&quot; Kosgei continued. &quot;But the boy just outsmarted us completely. He not only beat 
us. He annihilated us. He ran elegantly and I could see from the&nbsp;half-way stage that we 
were fighting a losing battle. He is in a class of his own at the moment,&quot; 

Kenya's senior athletes Charles 
Kamathi and Richard Limo, who are world champions over 10,000m and 5000m respectively, 
also acknowledged Bekele's good form and said no matter how well-executed their plan, 
beating him would have been a long shot, not just for Kenyans but for other competitors, 
too.
&quot;We tried our best but were 
beaten hands down. He was just too good for us,&quot; Kamathi, who finished fifth in 35:29, 
said.
His views were supported by 
Limo, fourth-placed in Dublin. &quot;Not that we were not good enough, but we have to accept 
when one is in shape. That is the essence of sports. We accept defeat,&quot; Limo said.
Kenya's athletics chiefs thought 
the athletes concentrated less on stamina and&nbsp;speed and urged the technical men to 
identify areas where their training had shortcomings to be worked upon as soon as 
possible.
Kenya Amateur Athletic 
Association (KAAA) chairman Isaiah Kiplagat also said there is need to make some positions 
permanent like coaches and managers to institute continuity. 
&quot;We shall form a coaching 
commission so that coaches at the grassroots can supply information about upcoming and 
talented athletes to the national team.
Apart from the knowledgeable lot 
among Kenya's athletics pundits, who know that the 12 km senior men's race is the thing 
at the World Cross, most Kenyans were invariably happy with the performance in Dublin.
&quot;The women have always remained 
behind in past major championships. With Edith Masai winning a gold in the 4 km and Viola 
Kibiwott defending her junior women's title, I think our women have done commendably 
well,&quot; KAAA secretary general David Okeyo said.
&quot;The World Cross is more of a 
team event than an individual competition and on that score I think retaining the team 
title was more important than just winning the senior men's individual title. I am not 
disappointed and I don't think many Kenyans are,&quot; Ayoki Onyango, a seasoned commentator on 
sports matters in Kenya's media, said.
Kenya retained the overall team 
title for the 17th successive year.&nbsp;Wilberforce Talel, Limo, Kamathi, Albert Chepkiriu and 
Enock Mitei and Hosea Kogo maintained the tradition which was put in place by the group of 
John Ngugi, Moses Tanui, Some Muge, the late Paul Kipkoech and Boniface Merande in 
Neuchatel, Switzerland, in 1986.
Ngugi won five individual gold 
in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1992. as did Tergat between 1995 and 1999. William Sigei won 
the title in 1993 and 1994. They have remained the greatest cross country runners from 
Kenya. Their performance has remained the measure by which subsequent performances are 
evaluated. Hence the difficult situation Kenyan runners inadvertently find themselves in.
Individual gold medals came from 
Viola Kibiwott and Edith Masai, while team gold medals were from the senior men's 12 km 
team, junior men's 8 km&nbsp;team, the senior men's short course team and women's junior 6 km 
team.
The senior women's short course 
won a team silver while the women's long course won a team bronze.&nbsp; 
The message to the technical 
team was terse. Go back to the drawing board immediately&nbsp;in order to tackle next year's 
World Cross.
--
Omulo Okoth is a veteran 
athletics journalist working as a sub-editor for the
East African Standard in Nairobi. He 
covered the recent World Cross Country Championships in Dublin.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The truth is dawning upon Kenyans that talent is inborn. No better event would have driven this truism home than the 30th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland, 23-24 March.

Bekele double sends Kenyan coaches back to the drawing board

Unshod 
Gebremarian shooed home as Junior Men’s Winner 
Phil Minshull for the IAAF 
24 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland&nbsp; -Nobody is 
keeping the statistics for how many IAAF world champions have won their titles with just 
one shoe but no one at the Leopardstown racecourse on Sunday could remember any other’s 
than Ethiopia’s Gebre-egziable Gebremarian, who followed in the footsteps of his 
compatriot Kenenisha Bekele 12 months ago by winning the junior men’s gold medal.
“I lost my shoe at the start of the race,” said 
Gebremarian, who didn’t reveal whether it had been clawed off by another runner or just by 
the spongy surface, which had got noticeably more muddy from Saturday after some overnight 
rain.
“It took me a few kilometres to get used to the sensation 
of running with just one shoe, but I’ve run barefoot in the past so it wasn’t so strange. 
It was always my idea to start steadily because I knew the Kenyans would try go very fast 
from the gun, but this wasn’t part of my plan.”
The Ethiopian junior men’s champion last month - whose 
full name means Servant of God, Servant of Mary -&nbsp; proved to be an accurate prophet in his 
first ever race outside of his native country.
Abel Cheruiyot and Thomas Kiplatan - who were eventually 
to finish 2nd and 4th - sped into the lead from the gun and after 
3km of the 8km race the leading pack only consisted on five men, with Gebremarian lying 
back in 10th.
The Kenyan pair, assisted by their compatriot Eliud 
Kipchoge, were concentrating on the threat posed by Uganda’s Boniface Kiprop. However, by 
6km Gebremarian had got used to having spikes only on one foot and was starting rapidly to 
close the gap on the leading group.
With 1,500m to go, Gebremarian had joined the leading 
quartet of the three Kenyans and Kiprop, and he was the only man to follow Cheruiyot when 
he surged at the bell. Coming into the final 200m, Gebremarian - whose upright style in in 
the fashion of many leading Ethiopian runners including the legendary Haile Gebrselassie - 
overtook the loping Cheruiyot and sped away for a one second victory.
Gebremarian became the&nbsp; first runner from the southern 
province of Tigray to win a title on the global stage since Miruts Yifter hit double gold 
at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and crossed the line in 23:18, followed closely by Cheruiyot, 
with Kiprop winning Uganda’s first ever individual world cross country medal in third, 
stopping the clock at 23:28. 
Curiously, Cheruiyot and Kiprop both come from the same 
Kalenjin tribe that inhabits the Rift Valley, despite representing different countries, 
the pair living only a few miles apart and separated only by a border established in 
colonial times.
Kenya, despite being displaced at the top of the 
individual medal podium, packed well enough to lift their 14th junior men’s 
title in 15 years, with Kipchoge in 5th and Nicolas Kemboi in 7th 
completing their scoring quartet.
Gebremarian lead Ethiopia to the silver medals, while 
Uganda repeated their performance of last year by coming home third.
&nbsp;

Nobody is keeping the statistics for how many IAAF world champions have won their titles with just one shoe but no one at the Leopardstown racecourse on Sunday could remember any other’s than Ethiopia’s Gebre-egziable Gebremarian, who followed in the footsteps of his compatriot Kenenisha Bekele 12 months ago by winning the junior men’s gold meda

Unshod Gebremarian shooed home as Junior Men’s Winner

Bekele 
defies pundits to take historic double gold in Dublin 
Sean Wallace-Jones for the IAAF 
24 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland – 19-year-old 
Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia today ran into the history books as he became the first 
athlete to win both the men’s short and long cross races at the World Cross Country 
Championships.
At the previous year’s edition of the 
IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Bekele had given some insight into the depth of 
his talent by successively taking silver in the men’s short course race and then going on 
to win the junior men’s race, this year he went one better.
Despite the convincing margin of his win on Saturday in 
the short course race, few would have predicted the consummate ease with which he would 
become the first man to win both long and short course races.
After starting in the lead pack,&nbsp; 
Bekele turned this into a one horse race as he broke away from the pack together with
Tanzania’s John Yuda, who made most of the running, the pair 
leaving in their wake the favoured Kenyan taskforce of Richard Limo, Charles Kamathi and 
Wilberforce Talel.
Yuda was the leader from the start, 
taking first the pack and then Bekele alone through all of the laps, though it was only in 
the second to last lap that the two really started to break away from the followers.
Earlier, another Kenyan Enock Mitei 
had attempted to force the pace, chopping and changing places with Yuda and putting on the 
occasional burst of speed before dropping back into the pack, but at each occasion it was 
Yuda who pulled him back and laid down his law in the front, despite looking overexerted 
for much of the second half of the race.
Meanwhile, Bekele, who had stormed 
away from the rest of the field in the men’s short course race on Saturday, looked as 
though he was out on a training run as he loped along at Yuda’s heels.
He said after the race that he had 
already encountered Yuda and knew what to expect: “I know that Yuda is very strong. It is 
not the first time that I met him and I knew that he would make the pace hard so I thought 
that I would run with him and then try to beat him at the finish.”
Which is exactly what Bekele did, 
almost repeating the strategy that he employed the day before in the short course race, he 
kicked as the pair approached the bell and took over the lead, gradually pulling ahead of 
Yuda and building up a lead of six seconds that he held to the line.
Way back behind the two leaders, the 
Kenyans turned on the power but were unable to catch up with Bekele and Yuda, with 
Wilberforce Talel finally breaking away from Limo and Kamathi and trailing over the line 
22 seconds behind Yuda.
Bekele later said that tactical advice 
from Ethiopian running star Haile Gebrselassie had helped him: “I met Gebrselassie in 
Europe in 2000 and he helped me by talking a lot about race tactics. I live about 50 
kilometres from him near Addis and see him quite often.”
As for his future plans, Bekele who 
said that he preferred the 4km race to the longer course event, said that he planned to 
run some 3000 metre and 5000 metre races this summer but had no specific plans.
He returns to Ethiopia some $65,000 
dollars better off than when he arrives but is as yet undecided as to how he will spend 
his winnings: “I will wait until I have the money and then I will see,” he laughs, “but I 
might buy a car.”
The team competition was won by Kenya, 
with Ethiopia 2nd and Morocco 3rd.

old Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia today ran into the history books as he became the first athlete to win both the men’s short and long cross races at the World Cross Country Championships.

Bekele defies pundits to take historic double gold in Dublin

Dublin 
payday for Edith Masai 
Steven Downes for the IAAF 
24 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland - Kenya’s Edith Masai 
enjoyed the biggest pay-day of her brief running career on Sunday, when she collected 
$34,000 prize money after winning the women’s short-course race at the iaaf/sport Ireland 
World Cross-country Championships here on Sunday.
The event also rewarded the hosts’ efforts in staging the 
two-day event, when the Irish women’s team, led by seventh-placed Sonia O’Sullivan, won 
bronze medals.
Masai, a 34-year-old prison warder and mother, out-kicked 
Ethiopia’s Werknesh Kidane to finish the 4km event in 13min 30sec, six seconds clear of 
her rival.
The bronze medal went to early leader Isabella Ochichi, 
of Kenya (13:39).
Masai, the bronze medallist in Ostend a year ago, only 
took up running in 1999 to help support her small son after she had split from her 
husband.
But the biggest cheer of the weekend was reserved for 
another mother among the race’s front-runners.
Local heroine O’Sullivan, the double champion from 1998, 
finished in 13:55.&nbsp; The race came just 13 weeks after she had given birth to her second 
daughter.
O’Sullivan’s brave effort, and that of her team mate Anne 
Keenan-Buckley, who finished 10th after being roared on by the estimated 7,000 
spectators packed in the grandstands of the racecourse, saw Ireland get team bronze medals 
by a single point, 85 to 86 from Russia.
Ethiopia took team gold and Kenya silver.
“I knew everybody in the crowd wanted Sonia to win,” 
Masai said, “but this championship has come too soon for her.
“If the championships were held one month later, I know 
Sonia would have got a medal, maybe even gold,” said Masai.
“The atmosphere was electric and one of the most 
enjoyable races of my life. I am delighted to improve on my bronze of last year.”
Kidane, too, enjoyed her Dublin experience. “Everytime I 
ran in front of the stand I got goose bumps because the noise was so loud,” said the 
silver medallist. “It inspired me to run faster.”

day of her brief running career on Sunday, when she collected $34,000 prize money after winning the women’s short-course race at the iaaf/sport Ireland World Cross-country Championships here on Sunday.

Dublin payday for Edith Masai

Victory 
sees Bekele ready to take Dublin at the double 
Steven Downes for 
the IAAF 
23 March 
2003 - Dublin, Ireland – With a “kick” at the bell worthy of a track race, Kenenisa Bekele, 
from Ethiopia, seized the initiative in the men’s short race at the IAAF/Sport Ireland 
World Cross Country Championships to run away from a posse of rivals on Saturday.&nbsp;
The final lap in 
this instance was not a mere 400 metres of flat rubber, but nearly two kilometres of muddy 
grassland at Leopardstown racecourse. Yet the in-form Ethiopian, made good use of the 
downhill stretch at the start of the lap, and a strong following wind, to build an 
unassailable lead from his clutch of pursuers, led by Luke Kipkosgei, of Kenya.
Bekele, aged 19, won 
the 4km race easing up in 12min 11sec, to add to the junior gold and short-race silver he 
won over the course of the weekend at last year’s championships in Ostend, Belgium. 

The teenage 
phenomenon then confirmed that he would be racing again on Sunday, in the 12km classic 
long race, attempting a golden double that no man has yet managed to achieve.
“I am very happy to 
complete the first half of what I hope will be a double this weekend,” Bekele said. “I 
felt very comfortable today and in fact I eased back towards the end to save myself for 
the long race.
“I am disappointed 
we did not win the team, but for me this weekend is all about winning two individual gold 
medals,” said Bekele, who is advised on his training by Haile Gebrselassie.
Kipkosgei took the 
silver medal here in 12:18, with Ethiopia’s Hailu Mekonnen third in 12:20. Both runners 
agreed that the course is a tough one, and was made tougher still by the strong wind in 
the face of the runners as they worked up the long uphill towards the finish.
Australia’s Craig 
Mottram produced an impressive effort to latch on to the lead group and finish fifth, and 
first non-African, as Kenya took the team title for the fifth successive year.

With a “kick” at the bell worthy of a track race, Kenenisa Bekele, from Ethiopia, seized the initiative in the men’s short race at the IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships to run away from a posse of rivals on Saturday.

Victory sees Bekele ready to take Dublin at the double

Radcliffe 
runs away with 2nd 
World Cross gold, USA take silver and bronze 
Sean Wallace-Jones for the IAAF 
23 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland – Great Britain’s defending champion 
Paula Radcliffe became the first woman in ten years to successfully defend her long cross 
title here this afternoon and she was followed across the line by two surprise contenders 
as Americans Deena Drossin and Colleen De Reuck closed Ethiopia and Kenya out of the 
individual medal tables.
Radcliffe started this race as a firm 
favourite with the bookkeepers giving odds of 6-4 for her to win, but few would have 
predicted that two Americans would follow her across the finish line. It is the first time 
since 1993 that an East African has not been on the podium for this race.
Radcliffe started out strongly, moving 
up into the leaders as the field approached the first bend, with Drossin already at the 
head of the field at this point, a position that she was to maintain through much of the 
race.
At the end of the first lap of the 2 
kilometre course, the leaders were tightly bunched with around a dozen in the pack, headed 
by Drossin, and including another two of the favoured medal prospects, Ethiopia’s Merima 
Denboba and Rose Cheruiyot from Kenya. Radcliffe was right in the centre of the pack at 
this stage after leading for short distances as the lead changed during this first lap.
With a lap under their belts, the 
leaders started to spread out a little, with Drosin still in the lead, inseparable from 
Radcliffe and closely followed by Cheruiyot and Denboba, a couple of seconds behind they 
were followed by Eyerusalem Kuma (ETH), Miwako Yamanaka and Colleen De Reuck (originally 
from South Africa and who acquired American nationality just 15 months ago).


Radcliffe 
moved into the lead as the bell sounded for the last lap and started to gradually pull in 
front of Drossin, with Yamanaka trailing by 14 seconds alongside De Reuck, Cheruiyot, Kuma 
and Denboba.
From then on it was a straight run 
home for Radcliffe as she built up and maintained a lead of some 30 metres over Drossin, 
finishing the race in 26:55 to Drossin’s second place time of 27:04..
With the first two places already 
assured by halfway through the last lap, the battle for bronze was being fought 100 metres 
back as De Reuck, Yamanaka and Kuma gradually pulled ahead of Denboba and a third 
Ethiopian Leila Aman.
In the end it was De Reuck who found 
the reserves necessary to pull ahead of Yamanaka and finish two seconds ahead of the 
Japanese athlete, who was given fourth in a near photo finish with Eyerusalem Kuma, also 
timed at 27:19.
It was the first time since Lynn 
Jennings took the bronze medal in 1993 that an American woman had stood on the podium of 
the World Cross Long Course race. Jennings was also the last woman to achieve a successful 
title defence in the race, which she won in 1991 and 1992.
Drossin recognised Radcliffe’s 
dominance after the race, saying: “I never expected to beat Paula as she is so strong and 
she certainly made this difficult for me.”
Drossin, who today achieved by far her 
best placing in the World Cross after placing twice twelth and once tenth in the past 
three editions, went on to praise the course: “The course was beautiful, so well manicured 
and it was not as hard as I imagined it would be,” sentiments echoed by her teammate and 
bronze medallist De Reuck: “the course is just as I imagined green Ireland to be like!”
De Reuck also could not believe how 
successful she had been: “My original goal was to be in the top 20 but to get a medal is 
unbelievable. I think that we were really running as a team and I am delighted that we got 
the silver team medals.”
But the unquestioned star of today was 
Radcliffe who was ecstatic after the race: “I am very happy to have retained my title here 
in Dublin. My husband is Irish and the crowd was absolutely fantastic.”
She confessed to feeling the pressure 
coming into the race: “I was very confident, but that made it my race to lose.
“Towards the end of the race, in the 
last half mile I wasn’t sure of how much of a lead I had as I was getting conflicting 
messages from the crowd.
“I always wanted to win here, even if 
my marathon debut in London has been my main focus for this season. I am glad that it 
hasn’t cost me the chance to win this race. Now I have got through this OK I can really 
focus on London.
“The wind was very strong but the 
course suited my style perfectly. Thank you Ireland.”
And the last word from Deena Drossin: 
“Paula’s marathon debut in London will be unbelievable, she never ceases to amaze me.”
Despite being out of the individual medals, the Kenyan 
team won the team gold, with the USA taking silver and Ethiopia bronze.
&nbsp;

Great Britain’s defending champion Paula Radcliffe became the first woman in ten years to successfully defend her long cross title here this afternoon and she was followed across the line by two surprise contenders as Americans Deena Drossin and Colleen De Reuck closed Ethiopia and Kenya out of the individual medal tables.

Radcliffe runs away with 2nd World Cross gold, USA take silver and bronze

Kibiwott 
finds it tough to retain title 
Phil Minshull for the IAAF 
23 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland - Kenya's Viola Kibiwott carved her 
own place in cross country history when she successfully defended the junior women's world 
title she won 12 months ago in the Belgian city of Ostend. Until Kibiwott struggled across 
the line at the Leopardstown racecourse, no other runner had managed to win the title 
twice during the 14 year history of the race, which was introduced into the IAAF World 
Cross Country Championships in 1989. 
 
The runner her fellow Kenyans once called 'Kadogo' - shrimp in Swahili - in relation to 
her short stature, showed that now she might be more appropriately called Simba - lion - 
as she demonstrated that had the heart of one of the big cat's who populate the game parks 
of her native country. 
 
Not only did she hold off the challenge of Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba, she successfully 
defied a swirling wind which was at it's worst during the opening race of on the 
programme. &quot;The wind was very strong and the hill up to the finish was very tough. I was 
struggling all the way through the line and in many respects it was worse than last year 
when we had to wade through mud. But I'm happy to have made history,&quot; said the timid 
Kibiwott. 
 
&quot;Otherwise this was a lovely cross country course but I really suffered in the final 
kilometre,&quot; she added. 
 
Kibiwott crossed the line in 20 minutes 13 second, just one second ahead of Dibaba, a 
cousin of the multiple world champion on different surfaces Derartu Tulu. 
 
Fifteen women went through the halfway point of the 6,190 metres race but a Kenyan quintet 
started to push the pace in the fourth kilometre and the leading pack soon dwindled to 
nine, including Yugoslavia's Snezana Kostic, who was to finish 8th as the leading runner 
from outside of Kenya and Ethiopia. 
 
Going into the final 1,500 metres Kibiwott and her compatriots, 2000 world junior champion 
Vivian Cheruiyot along with Fridah Domongole and Peninh Chepchumba increased the pace even 
more and only Dibaba could hang on. 
 
Dibaba briefly took the lead with 200 metres to go and it looked momentarily as though the 
Kenya's well-orchestrated team tactics had failed but Kibiwott had enough left in the tank 
to swerve round her Rift Valley rival and stay in front, even though she faced an 
agonising uphill crawl towards the finish line when both Kibiwott and Dibaba looked to 
have lead in their legs. 
 
&quot;I'm very disappointed that I could not catch Viola. I did everything that I could and I 
thought that would be enough to win today. The course suited me and even though there was 
a strong wind, that was not a problem. But I'm young enough to run in this race for the 
next two years, so hopefully my day will come,&quot; said a downcast Dibaba, who picked up a 
second silver medal as Ethiopia finished as runners up behind Kenya in the team 
competition. 
 
Lead home by Kibiwott, and with Cheruiyot picking up the individual bronze medal, Kenya 
packed their scoring four women into the first five places, to regain the honour they had 
won in 2000. Japan picked up the team bronze medals for the fifth successive year.

Kenya's Viola Kibiwott carved her own place in cross country history when she successfully defended the junior women's world title she won 12 months ago in the Belgian city of Ostend.

Kibiwott finds it tough to retain title

Hot 
favourite Radcliffe relaxed but not complacent in lead up to title defence 
Sean Wallace-Jones for the IAAF 
22 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland – With the bookies quoting odds of 
4-6 on for Paula Radcliffe to win the women’s long course race here tomorrow, the 
defending champion was relaxed as she addressed the media after walking the Leopardstown 
course this morning.
The absence of her Ethiopian rivals Gete Wami, 
Derartu Tulu and Berhane Adere have further increased the likelihood of a successful title 
defence for the 28-year-old Briton who will follow Saturday’s race with her debut in the 
marathon in London on 14 April.
But despite her position as the hot favourite, 
Radcliffe is far from complacent: “You just have to be prepared for someone coming out in 
awesome shape,” she commented. “I just go out there and run my race and try to watch 
everyone at the same time. It is going to be a strong race even without the three 
Ethiopians.
“I am happy with my shape at the moment. I will not 
say that it is better or worse than it was last year; I have been doing longer runs in 
preparation for the marathon and this has left me very strong and my recovery has been 
very good after the sessions.”
Radcliffe has just spent three days with renowned 
Irish physiotherapist Gerard Hartmann where, she laughs: “there 
was a lot of leg rubbing and I will be going back there after this weekend for some more. 
I am feeling good.”
With the weather relatively dry, the course is fairly 
firm at the moment and to Radcliffe’s liking: “It’s a good course; half of it is very 
testing, with long grass and half is downhill and should be very fast. Of course, if we 
get some rain (which is forecast for this evening) that could make the going a lot 
heavier.”
In the past, Radcliffe had expressed some liking for 
what many call the ‘traditional cross country’, mud and more mud, but after last year’s 
extreme conditions in Ostend, she says that this has changed, “I must say that after last 
year my feelings about running in mud have changed a lot.”
As it is, the forecast for the weekend is generally 
clement, with the possibility of some light showers and temperatures of around 12-15 
degrees centigrade, almost on the warm side for a cross country competition.
Would a victory in Dublin be less important to 
Radcliffe than her first World Cross title in Ostend? 
“Not really, to win the World Cross Country 
Championships is an amazing achievement so to win a second time will be as good as the 
first.” 
&nbsp;

6 on for Paula Radcliffe to win the women’s long course race here tomorrow, the defending champion was relaxed as she addressed the media after walking the Leopardstown course this morning.

Hot favourite Radcliffe relaxed but not complacent in lead up to title defence

Irish 
eyes smiling on O’Sullivan’s prospects 
Steven Downes for the IAAF 
22 March 2002 – Dublin, Ireland - Former champion Sonia O’Sullivan 
might be burdened with the expectations of all Ireland in the women’s short-course race at 
Leopardstown here on Sunday, although she was doing her best to diffuse the pressure at an 
IAAF press conference at the course on Friday.
“Ireland’s national treasure”, as O’Sullivan has been 
dubbed by local journalists, is competing in the IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross-country 
Championships just 13 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Sophie.
“I’m fit and healthy and I’ve been running every day 
since January 1,” O’ Sullivan, 32, said, with her elder daughter, Ciara, seated beside her 
as she addressed the world’s press in calm, relaxed manner.
The hopes of the hosts are high that O’Sullivan could 
repeat the feat of John Treacy at Limerick in 1979, the last time the event was staged in 
Ireland, when he won the world cross-country title on home turf.
But O’Sullivan shrugs off expectations. “The support will 
be great, and could really lift me,” she said. “I have butterflies just looking at the 
course here today.
“But it could also be a distraction. It’s important that 
I get the balance right.
Asked how well she thinks she might perform, O’Sullivan 
said, “I don’t like to set myself limits. I hate limits. But I don’t want to expect too 
much, either. I just have to get out there early in the race and see how it goes.”
If O’Sullivan cannot deliver a medal individually, there 
are also hopes that she might be able to lead her countrywomen to a team medal, as she did 
in the long race in Turin in 1997.
The following year, 1998, when the short-course, 4km 
event was introduced when the championships were staged in Marrakech, Morocco, O’Sullivan 
stunned the running world by running - and winning - both races over the course of the 
weekend.
There was never any chance that she might attempt such a 
feat this time. “Fo ur kilometres is just about the perfect distance for me,” she said.&nbsp; 
The Olympic 5,000m silver medallist was also optimistic that she has yet to reach her peak 
as an athlete. “I don’t know what my best is, because I haven ‘t reached my best yet,” she 
said.
“I definitely think I can run faster on the track than I 
have done before. If I didn’t think that, I think I would give up.”
She said that she had found her return to training had 
been easier than after she had given birth to Ciara. She was running within eight days of 
Sophie’s birth. “I knew what to expect, and it was much better than when I started back in 
1999. It was hard at first. In January, when I had to go out there and try to run 10 miles 
in the morning, that was tough.
“But after a while, something clicked, and I’ve been 
making progress ever since.
“I’m not running 100 miles a week as I normally do, but I 
have been doing track session with my coach Alan Storey ever since we returned from 
Australia, and I am getting better every week.”
O’Sullivan did admit though, that had the championships 
been staged anywhere else than Ireland, she probably would not be racing so soon.
“If it wasn’t in Ireland, other people would have talked 
me out of doing it,” she said. “But there’s been enough people talking me into racing 
because it is in Ireland.”
But as one Irish athletics pundit put it later: “It 
doesn’t matter whether Sonia finishes fifth or 55th on Sunday, the crowd loves 
her and they’ll cheer her all the way home.”

Former champion Sonia O’Sullivan might be burdened with the expectations of all Ireland in the women’s short-course race at Leopardstown here on Sunday, although she was doing her best to diffuse the pressure at an IAAF press conference at the course on Friday.

Irish eyes smiling on O’Sullivan’s prospects

A 
look at prospects for Day One 
Mark Butler for the IAAF 
22 March 2002 - Dublin, Ireland -Athletics statistician Mark 
Butler looks at the leading prospects for the first day of the IAAF/Sport Ireland World 
Cross Country Championships.
JUNIOR WOMEN
No woman has ever won this title twice, but in Dublin there are two 
Kenyans who could achieve that feat; defending champion Viola Kibiwott and the 2000 winner 
Vivian Cheruiyot. The Ethiopians will be out for revenge after Kibiwott snatched 
individual victory from Abebech Nigussie 12 months ago in Ostend. Their leader perhaps 
will be Tirunesh Dibaba, a cousin of Derartu Tulu who was fifth in 2001. Kenyans, 
Ethiopians and Japanese runners have filled the first six places every year since 1996, 
but there are a few candidates in Dublin who might end that run.
LEADING CONTENDERS
Bib
540&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BEKELE Bezunesh ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Junior team gold at 1999 World Junior XC 
541&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DEFAR Meseret&nbsp;&nbsp; ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Silver medals at 5000m in 2000 at both the African senior 
and World Junior Championships 
542&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DIBABA Tirunesh ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2002 Ethiopian Junior XC Champion 
543&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TUFA Mestewat&nbsp;&nbsp; ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World Youth silver at 3000m 
550 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DALE Charlotte&nbsp; GBR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 5th in 2001 European Junior XC despite falling 
in the first 800m 
572&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; IKEDA Emi&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; JPN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 Japanese High School Champion at 3000m 
577&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CHEROP Sharon&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2000 World junior bronze at 5000m despite losing a shoe 
during 
the race 
578&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CHERUIYOT Vivian&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sydney Olympic finalist at 5000m 
579&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DOMONGOLE Fridah&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World Youth bronze at 3000m 
581&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KIBIWOTT Viola&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World Junior XC Champion 
619&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KOSTIC Snezana&nbsp; YUG&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 European Junior XC bronze 
642&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ROLLISON Melissa&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AUS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; World junior record holder at 3000m Steeplechase
MEN’S SHORT
There will be a new champion because the 2001 champion Enock Koech has 
withdrawn through illness. Kenya’s strength in depth is demonstrated by the fact the 
Koech’s replacement, Julius Nyamu, is one of the fastest steeplechasers in history. Sammy 
“Slammin” Kipketer has been the man in form in Kenya this winter with wins in the Armed 
Forces and Nationals. Even so, Kenenisa Bekele has taken the limelight so far with a 
string of wins in Europe. Can he end Ethiopia’s relatively disappointing showing in the 
four editions of this event.
Morocco’s big guns are out in this race, headed by the new world record 
holder for the steeplechase, Brahim Boulami. No Australian has ever won a world cross 
country medal but Craig Mottram should get near. he was 8th in Ostend and has 
clearly moved to a new level this winter. Ireland too might have something to cheer from 
Gareth Turnbull, while Spain’s Alberto García will be hoping to translate his indoor form 
to the country.
LEADING CONTENDERS
Bib
168&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MOTTRAM Craig&nbsp;&nbsp; AUS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Australian record holder at 3000m &amp; 
5000m 
184&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; de SOUZA Hudson BRA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; South American record holder at 1500m &amp; 3000m 
199&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; JIMÉNEZ Antonio ESP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2002 European indoor silver at 3000m 
202&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ABATE Abiyote&nbsp;&nbsp; ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 Ethiopian Champion at 5000m 
206&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BEKELE Kenenisa ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World Junior XC Champion 
207&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MEKONNEN Haylu&nbsp; ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ethiopian record holder at 1500m 
208&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WOLDE Million&nbsp;&nbsp; ETH&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Sydney became the youngest Olympic 5000 Champion 
214&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MAAZOUZI Driss&nbsp; FRA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World bronze at 1500m 
217&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MAYOCK John&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GBR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; British #1 at 1500m for the past seven years 
233&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TURNBULL Gareth IRL&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Silver at 1500m in 2001 World Student Games 
242&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CHEBII Abraham&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Was the world’s fastest 10,000m runner in 2001 
243&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KIPKETER Sammy&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Holds world road bests at 5K &amp; 10K 
244&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KIPKOSGEI Luke&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1998 Goodwill Games winner at 5000m 
245&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KIPLAGAT Sammy&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 Kenyan Prisons XC Champion 
246&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KOSGEI Joseph&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd in 2002 Kenyan National 4K XC 
247&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NYAMU Julius&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Clocked 8:07.59 for steeplechase in 2001 
253&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BOULAMI Brahim&nbsp; MAR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Brussels 2001 became the first non-Kenyan to set a 
world record for steeplechase since 1976 
255&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; EL AMRI Khalid&nbsp; MAR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2002 Moroccan short course XC Champion 
257&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; EZZINE Ali&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MAR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 World steeplechase silver 
372&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GARCÍA Alberto&nbsp; ESP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2002 European Indoor Champion at 3000m
WOMEN’S LONG
It will take an exceptional runner to prevent Paula Radcliffe from 
becoming the first woman to successfully defend this title since Lynn Jennings in 
1991/1992. In Radcliffe’s last race at Puerto Rico she got near to the world road best at 
10K despite being in the midst of her build-up to the London marathon. If it were not for 
Gete Wami and Derartu Tulu, the British runner would have won two further golds at these 
championships. The Ethiopian pair are missing this time though that country still have 
Merima Denboba and Ayelech Worku who have each outkicked Radcliffe in the past.&nbsp; Another 
threat is Japan’s Kayoko Fukushi, a revelation on the road this winter but inexperienced 
at cross country.
The Kenyans, like the Ethiopians, are not at full strength whereas the 
United States and Britain each have loaded teams with medal potential.
LEADING CONTENDERS
Bib
786&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BUTLER Kathy&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GBR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 European Cup winner at 3000m 
789&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; RADCLIFFE Paula GBR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2001 Champion, she also won the World Junior XC title 10 
years ago 
791&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; YELLING Liz&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GBR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Twice English XC Champion 
807&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;FUKUSHI Kayoko&nbsp; JPN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Clocked 31:22 &amp; beat Derartu Tulu by 52 seconds during 10K 
stage in 2002 Yokohama Ekiden 
810&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AYABEI Jepkorir KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2nd in 2002 Kenyan National 8K XC 
811&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CHEPCHUMBA Pamela&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 5th in 2002 World Half Marathon 
812&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CHERUIYOT Rose&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Twice Olympic finalist at 5000m 
813&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MALOT Leah&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ended Gabriela Szabo’s 2-year win streak at 5000m in 
Berlin 2000 
814&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; OMORO Jane&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1994 Commonwealth bronze at 10,000m 
815&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WANGARI Monica&nbsp; KEN&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3rd in 2002 Kenyan National 8K XC 
829&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ROSA Anália&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; POR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Team gold at 2000 World short course XC 
843&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; de REUCK Colleen&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; USA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ran in three Olympic Games for South Africa before 
becoming a US citizen in December 2000 
844&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DROSSIN Deena&nbsp;&nbsp; USA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Passed out in the 2000 World Cross Country Championships 
long race after swallowing a bee which stung her in the throat; she recovered to finish 12th 
845&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DRYER Elva&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; USA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Team bronze in 1998 World 
short course XC 
847&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; RHINES Jennifer USA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Team bronze in 2000 World long course XC 
853&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; JEVTIC Olivera&nbsp; YUG&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2002 Balkan XC Champion

Athletics statistician Mark Butler looks at the leading prospects for the first day of the IAAF/Sport Ireland World Cross Country Championships.

A look at prospects for Day One

Malaria 
sidelines defending champion Enock 
Koech 
Sean Wallace-Jones for the IAAF 
21 March 2001 – Dublin, Ireland – Kenyan team officials have 
confirmed that Enock 
Koech will be unable to defend his World Short Course Cross Country title here in Dublin 
on Saturday. 
The 20-year old, who won the 4km short course race in 
Ostend last year is suffering from a bout of malaria and was in the words of the team 
managers “too poorly to be able to compete”.
The absence of Koech, who won the short course race 
in the mud of Ostend by a narrow two second margin ahead of young Ethiopian prodigy 
Kenenisa Bekele leaves the 19-year old, who went on to win the men’s junior race in Ostend, 
likely favourite for the senior title this time around.
Indeed, the youngster has much bigger ambitions and 
will contest both of the senior men’s events here over the weekend.
Most recently, Bekele was a convincing winner in the 
historic Cinque Mulini Cross in Italy and he has only suffered one defeat this season, in 
December, at the hands of the mighty Gebrselassie himself – making a rare appearance off 
the track in his native Ethiopia.
Although the Kenyans will still be fielding a strong 
team, the absence of Koech, which was decided at the last minute will no doubt be a blow 
to the team’s tactics in the shorter race. The champion is 
replaced in the Kenyan line up by the little known Julius Nyamu.
Although Bekele's participation in the senior long course race is yet to 
be confirmed, he will face some seasoned competitors and notably the defending two-time 
champion Mohammed Mourhit who, although he has not made a great impression so far this 
season, is quite capable of repeating his exploit of last year when he managed to retain 
his title despite a nagging calf injury and the extremely heavy going in the freezing mud 
of Ostend.
The Kenyan long course team includes Richard Limo, who was pipped at the 
finish in Ostend by Bekele in the short course race last year and who will not wish to 
repeat that experience again on the Leopardstown course. Backing up Limo is Charles 
Kamathi who will be aiming to follow up his stunning gold in the 10,000 metres in Edmonton 
in August with another global title here on Sunday.

Kenyan team officials have confirmed that Enock Koech will be unable to defend his World Short Course Cross Country title here in Dublin on Saturday. 

WORLD ATHLETICS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

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