Roeselare, BelgiumThe Belgian cross country season went off early this year with a relay race in Gent on 28 October. For Belgian Athletics the Lotto Cross Cup of Roeselare is a qualifying race for the European cross country championships in Toro, Spain, on 9 December.
In the buildup towards Sunday’s race Pieter Desmet has been very impressive indeed. The 24-year-old world class steeplechaser (8:15.02 in 2007) won the first leg of the Cross Cup competition in Mol by a large margin. Fellow steeplechaser Krijn Van Koolwijk makes his first appearance of the season and he may well be the strongest contender for his friend and teammate. Ricardo Ribas (POR), Sergey Zachepa (UKR) and the Ugandan junior Benjamin Kiplagat are the athletes to be looked at in the international field.
Belete ready to upset Dejaeghere once more
In the women’s race the local fans were looking forward to a great duel between Veerle Dejaeghere and Nathalie De Vos. Both Belgian athletes were finalists at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka: Dejaeghere finished 11th in the 3000m Steeplechase and De Vos 11th in the 10,000m. Already 34 years of age now, Dejaeghere has decided that 2008 will be her last year of international athletics, with the Olympic Games as an ultimate goal. She has dominated cross country racing in Belgium for many years, but Nathalie De Vos has been getting stronger and stronger over the past two years. Unfortunately De Vos has suffered a slight leg injury recently and she is not in the shape that she was hoping for.
But Dejaeghere will certainly face another challenge from Mimi Belete, an Ethiopian-born athlete who lives in Belgium as a refugee with her twin sister Almensh. The 19-year-old Belete came in the spotlights last summer (4:13.55 at 1500m) and surprisingly won the Cross Cup race in Mol, beating down Dejaeghere by more than 20 seconds. Ancuta Bobocel and Paula Todoran provide the Romanian challenge, while Yuliya Rubin (UKR), Adrienne Herzog (NED), Susanne Hahn-Ritter (GER) and Gladys Otero (KEN) will try to be competitive at the highest level as well.
Cross Cup initiative for the development of cross country racing
“It will be a true cross country course,” says Cross Cup organiser Jos Van Roy. “Roeselare lies in the heart of the Flanders Fields region and it has been raining a lot this week. And we put some barriers on the course to make the race attractive for the spectators.”
The Cross Cup launched an initiative this year for the development of cross country racing amongst youngsters. Schoolkids from the surrounding villages are invited to participate in cross country races in the region and the best kids of those preliminary races are entered on Sunday to run against affiliated children from their age group.
“No less than 250 children are invited to the race on Sunday,” says Van Roy. “Talent scouts from athletics clubs in the area are visiting schools, organising races and motivating children for our sports. It is great to see how kids are responding.” The initiative has the financial support of the Flemish Ministery of Sports and will be extended next year. “We will be spreading the initiative across all the provinces in Flanders. The clubs and the federation are ready to join in and support,” says Van Roy.
Ivo Hendrix for the IAAF
