Gebregziabher Gebremariam beats Tariku Bekele in 2004 Llodio xc (© Miguel Toña)
Ethiopia’s Gebregziabher Gebremariam grabbed a thrilling sprint victory at the ‘21th Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio’, the second IAAF cross country permit race of the season, which was held today. Werknesh Kidane was the unopposed women’s race victor.
MEN – Bekele and Joseph beaten at a dash
In winning, Gebremariam the reigning double World Cross Country silver medallist (long & short) narrowly defeated Tariku Bekele with less than a second covering the two of them. Flying from Japan, where he had played a key role in the Ethiopian victory at the Chiba Ekiden last week, Gebremariam fulfilled his hot favourite status against a powerful bunch of other Africans representing Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Eritrea.
The race opened relatively slow (6:29 for the opening lap, compared to 6:44 by Kidane in fastest lap of the women’s race) and it was last year’s winner Fabian Joseph of Tanzania who took charge of the early pace from the gun with the remaining favourites tucked behind.
By the mid-race point Bekele, Gebremariam, and Kenya’s Eliud Kirui were closest to Joseph, who is the double World Half Marathon silver medallist.
Joseph increased the tempo of the race (following laps covered in 6:18 and 6:23) and with 24 minutes on the clock (8th km) only the two Ethiopians managed to remain at his shoulder.
It soon became clear that an exciting finish sprint was in prospect, and this expectation was fulfilled as Gebremariam injected a devastating kick in the final 100m to romp home successfully ahead of Kenenisa Bekele’s younger brother. Joseph had to settle for third, five seconds behind the winner. Kenya’s John Cheruiyot Korir came fourth, and Ethiopia’s 16-year-old Worku Bado completed a quality top five.
Also bettered by Kenya’s Eliud Kirui and Eritrea’s Yonas Kifle, the in-form Spanish Juan Carlos de la Ossa kept his countryman José Manuel Martínez (12th) and Portugal’s Fernando Silva (11th) at bay and managed to be the first European home in eighth, but he was far off his runners-up position of last year.
Track pedigree
Gebremariam who is the holder of an outstanding 26:53.73 10,000m track performance which he set in Ostrava (8 June) was not included in the Ethiopian squad for the distance at the Olympics for three good reasons…called Bekele, Gebrselassie and Sihine! However, he took some consolation with a fourth place finish over 5000m in Athens.
“I was confident of my finishing speed so I didn’t need to make the pace at any moment” said a happy Gebremariam, who seems destined to fight against the Bekele brothers in the next few years.
Bekele junior confirmed the huge improvement he showed last Sunday when he won in Oeiras (the opening IAAF cross country permit race) and threatens to make the Ethiopian senior team at the next Worlds in France: “I would like to run the short race” he declared. Asked who is best (or will be!), himself or his brother Kenenisa, Tariku said: “I want to become a great athlete like my brother, and with God’s help even better”.
The World 5000m Junior bronze medallist Bekele, who will turn 18 years of age on 21 January, concluded, “now I return to Ethiopia and possibly come back to Europe (Spain) in January.”
WOMEN - Unchallenged Kidane
The women’s race witnessed Ethiopia’s Werknesh Kidane performing in a class of her own again. It was much the same story as last weekend in Soria when the reigning World 10,000m silver medallist (PB: 30:07.15) had no rival and built a huge gap from the beginning.
Today by the half-race point Kidane had a 50m gap over a pair of athletes, her compatriot Merima Hashim and last year’s victor Kenya’s Alice Timbilil. Indeed, much of the excitement of the race was in the fierce battle to be runner-up, once Kidane ran effortlessly and far ahead of the rest of the field.
Kidane’ winning margin was finally 22 seconds, and Hashim finally dropped Timbilil in the closing kilometre to complete another Ethiopian double, three seconds ahead of the Kenyan.
Way back Portugal’s Ines Monteiro was a surprise fourth (58 seconds behind Kidane) overtaking the Kenyan duo of Fridah Domongole and Sally Barsosio.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
Results
Men (9210m course)
1. Gebre Gebremariam (Eth) 26:36
2. Tariku Bekele (Eth) 26:37
3. Fabiano Joseph (Tan) 26:41
4. John Cheruiyot Korir (Ken) 26:42
5. Worku Bado (Eth) 26:44
6. Eliud Kirui (Ken) 26:53
7. Yonas Kifle (Eth) 27:04
8. Juan Carlos de la Ossa (Esp) 27:13
9. Yibetal Adamassu (Eth) 27:20
10. David Chemweno (Ken) 27:25
Women (5630m course)
1. Werknesh Kidane (Eth) 18:08
2. Merima Hashim (Eth) 18:30
3. Alice Timbilil (Ken) 18:33
4. Ines Monteiro (Por) 19:06
5. Fridah Domongole (Ken) 19:12
6. Sally Barsosio (Ken) 19:22
7. Marina Bastos (Por) 19:27
8. Jacqueline Martín (Esp) 19:31
9. Helena Samapaio (Por) 19:34
10. Silvia Montane (Esp) 19:36
