Leonor Carneiro takes third consecutive victory in Amora (© c)
The main international cross country season has begun in Portugal, with the 18th edition of International Cross of Amora, which was the first meeting of the EAA xc permit series of the 2007/2008 season.
In a public park in the centre of the town of Amora, a large amount of the crowd had much to celebrate with Leonor Carneiro’s third consecutive victory in the women’s race for Portugal. In the men’s event, Kenyan runners dominated.
MEN – 10km
23-year-old Silas Kipruto, from Kenya (PB 13:13.95 for 5000m – Heusden 2007) was a new name for the spectators, but with his better known countryman David Kilel (5000m PB 13.11.83) he took the lead in the first of the five laps (2km each) and never let go. The better of two great sprint finishes was all that separated Kipruto from Kilel by the time the finish line was reached – 28:24 to 28:26.
Kipruto’s two second win was impressive considering that Kilel has a short but creditable international CV. Kilel was the 2001 World Youth 3000m silver medallist, and of greater significance finished 8th in the senior short course race at the 2003 World Cross Country Championships.
Portugal’s Paulo Guerra, the former four-times European XC champion and 1999 World Cross Country Championships bronze medallist, ran an excellent race today. After taking the lead of the pursuing group, before halfway he was running alone in third position and that’s how he was to finish (29:44). Guerra finished fifth last year.
Mário Teixeira, 2004 Iberoamerican Championships Steeplechase runner-up, was next home (30:01) in a tight finish ahead of the young Eduardo Mbengani (30:04).
Carlos Silva, 6th in last year’s Amora race, had to settle for one worse place this time, 7th this time behind Tulio Antonio, a young runner from the island of Madeira.
WOMEN – 5km
As in the men's event, a great number of the top national runners didn’t appear in Amora, waiting instead for the other principal cross country events of the early season in Portugal - Oeiras, 17 Nov, and Torres Vedras, 25 Nov.
Oeiras, next weekend is the start of the IAAF XC permit season and along with Torres Vedras and Amora are the selection races for the Portuguese team for the European Cross Country Championships, 9 December 2007 in Toro, Spain.
Leonor Carneiro, 29, who won last year by 22 seconds ahead of Magdaline Chemjor, took the lead and ran alone from start this year and arrived at the finish of the 5km race in 16:27, 16 seconds ahead of Inês Monteiro, the former European Junior Cross Country champion, who was runner-up.
Kenyan runner Paskayla Chepkorir (16:53.5 at 5000m) closed out the podium postions, 26 seconds after Carneiro.
In 4th place arrived Sandra Teixeira, the Portugese champion at 1500m, who placed 8th placed in Amora last year. Teixeira’s time was 17:01.
For Carneiro, who has now won this cross country race for the last three years, “this was a great win, after my run in this year’s Berlin marathon (8th place, PB 2:31:31). As last year, my main goal for this time of the season is to become part of Portuguese Team for the European Cross Championship”.
António Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF
RESULTS:
Men
1. Silas Kipruto KEN 28:24
2. David Kilel KEN 28:26
3. Paulo Guerra POR 29:44
4. Mário Teixeira POR 30:01
5. Eduardo Mbengani POR 30:04
6. Túlio António POR 30:11
7. Carlos Silva POR 30:13
8. Luís Pinto POR 30:13
Women
1. Leonor Carneiro POR 16:27
2. Inês Monteiro POR 16:43
3. Paskaila Chepkorir KEN 16:53
4. Sandra Teixeira POR 17:01
5. Marina Bastos POR 17:05
6. Mónica Garosi KEN 17:09
7. Helena Sampaio POR 17:35
8. Rita Simões POR 17:46
