Kenenisa Bekele takes stunning sprint win in Edinburgh (© Mark Shearman)
Edinburgh, Scotland Kenenisa Bekele survived the most searching examination of his cross country running talents to date when he won the VisitScotland Great Edinburgh International Cross-country today.
The reigning and multiple-titled IAAF World Cross Country champion was closer to defeat on this, his best surface, than at any time since he lost as a teenager to Haile Gebrselassie, in December 2001.
With less than 800m remaining, the World 3000m Steeplechase record holder, Saif Saaeed Shaheen, had carved a hard-won 10 metre lead, but just as he had done in the World Championship short race in France last year, Bekele nibbled at the gap, with no hint of panic. The finish line rushed up at breathtaking pace, and only inside the final 200 metres did he catch the Qatari. When he drew level, he was devastating. Bekele won by four seconds, in 26:08. The Eritrean, Zersenay Tadesse, last year's World Cross silver medallist in the long race, was third in 26:18.
The scenes of jubilation at the finish were majestic: Ethiopian chanting and ritual singing, saluting their hero, Bekele; Tadesse chaired shoulder-high by a coach load of flag waving Eritrean supporters who had travelled more than 400 miles overnight from London, plus dozens more from closer to Scotland.
There were indications of a US revival when the American champion, Dathan Ritzenhein, got the better of the six-time European champion Sergey Lebid, a full 19 seconds clear of the Ukrainian in fourth place with 27:22.
Bekele said he was, "always confident, I saw him make a big burst before, in St Galmier (2005 World Cross). I was always sure, but this is one of my hardest cross-country races, especially for the first race of the year."
Grinning from ear to ear, he added: "I am very happy if a strong athlete competes with me."
The start of the 9.2 kilometre course lay under the wall of the Palace of Holyrood, home of the ancient monarchs of Scotland, at the foot of an extinct volcano known as Arthur's Seat.
The race erupted from the gun, but the crown ended on the usual head as the organisers were given a taste of how things might look here if they succeed with their newly-announced bid for the 2008 World Country Championship on this very course. Don't bet against Bekele still being on his throne then.
The course has already hosted the European Championships, and could hardly have had a better test, but this was a trial which was to prove beyond Bekele's female counterpart, the prodigious Tirunesh Dibaba. The queen of women's middle distance running, the double World champion who had been building a reputation for invincibility to match that of her compatriot, Bekele, was stunningly deposed.
World junior champion Gelete Burika Bati came of age when she won the 6k event in 19:01, with the Kenyan Olympic 5000m silver medallist Isabella Ochichi second in 19:12, and Dibaba a distant third in 19:21.
As in the men's race these three had broken clear early. Burika - who we are advised has confirmed today that her name should correctly be spelt without an ‘i’ - had given warning of her ability when she denied Dibaba the Ethiopian 5000m title last year, at a time when Dibaba already seemed unbeatable. That upset came between Dibaba's World Cross Country double, and her historic ground breaking track success at 5000 and 10,000m in the Helsinki World Championships.
Dibaba was gracious, and it was only later that we managed to extract from her details of a nightmare journey to Edinburgh. She had been delayed by immigration authorities in London, on arrival from Addis Ababa, causing her to miss the last flight north. She said she had to spend the night sleeping on the floor at Heathrow airport, and caught the first flight in the morning. She had arrived less than four hours before the race, yet made no complaint.
Hilda Kibet of Kenya was third, with Africans filling the first six places. First European was Aniko Kalovics (HUN), seventh on the course where she had won European bronze in 2003. She finished in 19:59, nine seconds ahead of 2004 European champion Hayley Yelling.
Ireland's 1998 double World Cross champion, Sonia O'Sullivan, was 13th, in her first race on this surface for more than two years. She took comfort from having finished just ahead of Lisa Dobriskey and Jo Pavey English athletes whom she would face if she succeeds in contesting the Commonwealth Games in March. "I still hope to do that," she said, and this shows I'm fit enough. The biggest problem will be getting an Australian passport in time."
Doug Gillon of The Herald for the IAAF
Editor's note - Special thanks to Doug for standing in as correspondent at the last minute after sudden illness struck one of our regular writers.
RESULTS
VisitScotland Great Edinburgh Cross Country
Men's 9.2km
1 K Bekele (Eth) 26:08,
2 S Shaheen (Qat) 26:12,
3 Z Tadesse (Eri) 26:18,
4 D Ritzenhein (USA) 27:03,
5 S Lebid (Ukr) 27:22,
6 T Bacha (Eth) 27:51,
7 T Shifer (Eth) 27:51,
8 A Jones (Salford) 28:00,
9 P Julian (USA) 28:15,
10 M Kennelly (Irl) 28:33
Men’s 4km
1 N McCormick (Eng) 12:16,
2 M Skinner (Eng) 12:17,
3 B Bene (Hun) 12:17,
4 K Shepherd (Sco) 12:28,
5 S Overall (Eng) 12:29,
6 S Plummer (Sco) 12:34,
7 M Draper (Eng) 12:36,
8 J McAlister (Irl) 12:39,
9 G Comish (Eng) 12:42,
10 M Morris (Eng) 12:46.
Women 6km:
1 G Burika (Eth) 19:01,
2 I Ochichi (Ken) 19:12,
3 T Dibaba (Eth) 19:21,
4 H Kibet (Ken) 19:47,
5 G Getenah (Eth) 19:48,
6 E Dibaba (Eth) 19:49,
7 A Kalovics (Hun) 19:59,
8 H Yelling (Eng) 20:06,
9 K Butler (Sco) 20:10,
10 H Clitheroe (Eng) 20:16.
