Nadia Battocletti celebrates victory at the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca (© Ricardo Ordóñez)
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca on her fourth attempt, while Kenya’s Mathew Kipsang pipped Rodrigue Kwizera to victory at the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event on Sunday (23).
Kazakhstan’s defending champion Daisy Jepkemei took charge of the pacing duties right from the start of the women’s 6.82km race and she led a five-strong group, followed by Battocletti, Kenya’s Sheila Jebet, Great Britain’s Megan Keith and Spain’s Majida Maayouf.
The 36-year-old Spaniard began to lose ground shortly after the third kilometre, but she still ran clear ahead of a group of her compatriots which included Idaira Prieto, Isabel Barreiro, Marta Serrano and Angela Viciosa.
Keith moved to the front midway through the race but Battocletti looked comfortable running on her shoulder, followed by Jepkemei and Jebet. At the bell, with a 2km lap remaining, the lead quartet had built a 24-second margin over Maayouf, herself 25 seconds clear of Prieto, who was always at the helm of the chasing pack.
Some 17 minutes into the race, 20-year-old Jebet decided to push hard and her change of speed was only covered by Battocletti, while Jepkemei and Keith formed another pair way back.
Jebet led for just over a kilometre before the 25-year-old Italian made her move some 500 metres from home, breaking away from the Kenyan with incredible ease as she opened a sizeable advantage in a matter of a few strides.
She crossed the finish line unopposed in 22:21, 13 seconds ahead of Jebet. In a tough fight for the third place on the podium, Jepkemei prevailed over Keith by a couple of seconds, while Maayouf finished fifth.
“My win might have seemed easy, but I felt frozen and the race was tough because of the cold and the wind,” said Battocletti, the world 10,000m silver and 5000m bronze medallist this year in Tokyo. “It’s my fourth outing in Atapuerca and I finally managed to win here. That makes me extremely happy.”
Boosted by the local crowd, as he was born just 30km away from Atapuerca, Spain’s Daniel Arce was a lonesome leader at the start of the men’s contest, also held over 6.82km. Although his margin never surpassed six seconds, Arce led for 2.6km before he was reeled in by the pack of favourites that was always led by Kwizera, while Kipsang travelled quietly in the middle of the large group.
Following a relatively slow penultimate 2km circuit, which took 5:56, Kwizera picked up the pace at the bell. His change of speed whittled down the lead group to six athletes, including Kipsang, Burundi’s Emile Hafashimana and the Spanish trio of Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Said Mechaal and the national 10km record-holder Ilias Fifa.
Kwizera’s pace soon paid off, as first Hafashimana then Mechaal and finally Fifa could not maintain the change of speed. The trio of Kwizera, Kipsang and Ndikumwenayo entered the closing kilometre in single file but the latter lost any chance of winning with some 350 metres remaining as he began to lose ground.
Kwizera tried desperately to lose Kipsang over the closing stages, but the in-form Kenyan managed to remain close to the Burundian despite a brisk circuit timed at 5:35.
Kipsang finally unleashed a powerful sprint to overtake Kwizera, as he had done a week earlier at the Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Soria. As a result, the 30-year-old Kenyan remains unbeaten on his European cross-country tour as he has won successively in Cardiff, Soria and Atapuerca.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
Leading results
Women (6.8km)
1 Nadia Battocletti (ITA) 22:21
2 Sheila Jebet (KEN) 22:34
3 Daisy Jepkemei (KAZ) 22:35
4 Megan Keith (GBR) 22:37
5 Majida Maayouf (ESP) 23:23
Men (6.8km)
1 Mathew Kipsang (KEN) 20:05
2 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 20:06
3 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP) 20:14
4 Ilias Fifa (ESP) 20:16
5 Said Mechaal (ESP) 20:20
Shimket retains title, Amanuel beats Kipruto at Cinque Mulini
Yenenesh Shimket successfully defended her Cinque Mulini title, while Saymon Amanuel beat last year’s winner Matthew Kipruto to win the men’s race at the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in San Vittore Olona on Sunday (23).
Ethiopia’s Shimket broke away during the first of the three laps making up the 6.2km women’s race and had a five-second advantage over Burundi’s Elvanie Nimbona and Kenya’s Sharon Chepkemoi by the end of that first loop.
Shimket continued to dominate, building a lead of 21 seconds by the end of the second lap and 35 seconds by the finish line, which she crossed in 19:11.
Nimbona, who finished fourth at the Cinque Mulini last year, improved by one place as she was pipped by Chepkemoi in the race for the runner-up spot. A single second separated them – Chepkemoi clocking 19:46 to Nimbona’s 19:47.
Valentina Gemetto was the leading Italian athlete, finishing fourth in 20:19.
Amanuel secured the men’s title by a similar margin to become the second Eritrean winner of the race after Zersenay Tadese who won in 2008.
The 18-year-old made his winning move during the third of the four laps and, after finishing fourth over 10.2km last year, he won this year’s 8.2km contest in 22:48 – 32 seconds ahead of the defending champion Kipruto of Kenya.
Home star Iliass Aouani finished third in his first race since claiming marathon bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo, clocking 23:29. He joined Kipruto and Amanuel in the lead pack during the first couple of laps but was seven seconds back by the end of the second circuit.
Aouani was applauded over the finish line by Amanuel, as he held off his compatriot Luca Alfieri by two seconds to finish as the top Italian.
Leading results
Women (6.2km)
1 Yenenesh Shimket (ETH) 19:11
2 Sharon Chepkemoi (KEN) 19:46
3 Elvanie Nimbona (BDI) 19:47
4 Valentina Gemetto (ITA) 20:19
5 Lucia Arnoldo (ITA) 20:25
Men (8.2km)
1 Saymon Amanuel (ERI) 22:48
2 Matthew Kipruto (KEN) 23:20
3 Iliass Aouani (ITA) 23:29
4 Luca Alfieri (ITA) 23:31
5 Osama Zoghlami (ITA) 23:34
Fikadu and Gebrehiwet secure Ethiopian double in Allonnes
Milkesa Fikadu and Tirhas Gebrehiwet battled the wet conditions and their rivals to complete an Ethiopian double at the Cross International Le Maine Libre-Allonnes-Sarthe – the weekend's third World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting – on Sunday (23).
The 20-year-old Fikadu improved on his third-place finish from last year, covering the muddy 6.71km course in 21:12, while 18-year-old Gebrehiwet won the women’s race – held over the same distance – in 24:05.
Due to the wet conditions, many athletes ran without their bibs meaning full results could not be confirmed on the day of competition, but the victories by Fikadu and Gebrehiwet were without doubt.
French athletes clinched the runner-up spots in both races, Fikadu finishing strongly to hold off Yann Schrub and Gebrehiwet winning five seconds clear of Alessia Zarbo.
Fikadu’s compatriot Abrha Gebru and Kazakhstan’s 2022 world steeplechase champion Norah Jeruto both finished fourth in Allonnes last year but this time they made the podium – each improving by one place to finish third.
