Rodrigue Kwizera wins the Cross Internacional de Soria (© Asociacion ADOC)
Rodrigue Kwizera will race for a hat-trick of victories, while Francine Niyomukunzi will line up as part of an open women’s field when the Cross Internacional de Soria, the fourth Gold level meeting of this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour, takes place on Sunday (10).
Held at the Monte Valonsadero circuit, a beautiful forest on the outskirts of Soria, the event will celebrate its 30th edition and organisers will pay tribute to two of Soria’s former champions: 1992 Olympic 1500m gold medallist Fermin Cacho and 1997 and 1999 world marathon champion Abel Anton.
Sunday’s men’s race distance has been whittled down to 8km and features the in-form Burundian Kwizera. The 25-year-old took comfortable wins in Amorebieta on 20 October and Atapuerca a fortnight ago and should be tipped as the hot favourite to grab a hat-trick of victories, as the double World Athletics Cross Country Tour winner also triumphed in 2021 and 2023.
The line-up in Soria comprises three of the first four placers from Atapuerca, including Kenya’s Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang, third on that occasion, and fourth-placed Egide Ntakarutimana, the 27-year-old Burundian who should fight for his first podium spot this cross country season.
The young Ethiopian squad features Ayele Tadesse and Wegene Addisu. The former boasts a 27:40 10km PB and will be making his third appearance this season following a seventh place in Atapuerca and a fourth spot in San Sebastian last Sunday. Addisu is the 2021 world U20 1500m silver medallist and he recently won a low-key cross country race in Quintanar in October. Uganda’s Hosea Kiplangat, who finished 13th at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in March, joins them. The 24-year-old holds a 10km PB of 27:14, although he had to settle for eighth place in San Sebastian last weekend.
Spanish hopes rest on Nassim Hassaous and Daniel Arce. The latter is a renowned 3000m steeplechaser who has finished in the top 10 in the last three major championships, while Hassaous is a cross country specialist who finished seventh at the 2021 European Championships. The 30-year-old is fresh from a 1:01:48 half marathon debut in Valencia.
Niyomukunzi vs Chepkemoi trio in the women’s race
The women’s contest will also be held over 8km and seems a wide open event. Burundi’s Niyomukunzi kicked off her cross country campaign in style with a commanding win in Amorebieta but the 25-year-old couldn’t go beyond a distant third place the following weekend in Atapuerca. The Olympic 5000m finalist will take on a trio of emerging Kenyan athletes, all with the surname of Chepkemoi.
Leading the trio is Diana, who claimed world U20 3000m steeplechase bronze in Lima in August thanks to a 9:29.84 performance, while Sharon finished seventh there. They clashed again more recently in San Sebastian where both broke away from the rest of the field in the early stages to secure the top two spots, 23:42 and 23:45 their respective times for the 6900m race. As for Mercy Chepkemoi, she finished fourth in Lima over 5000m courtesy of her 15:33.29 performance and will race on Spanish soil for the first time.
The race also features Hungary’s 2017 European U20 cross country silver medallist Lili Anna Vindics-Toth, a 31:56 10km athlete who managed a fourth place in Amorebieta last month, while local fans will be cheering on Marta Perez. The 31-year-old beat the national 1500m record which dated back to 2005 thanks to a 3:57.75 performance at the Paris Olympics.
Illustrious past winners in Soria include Ethiopia’s 2000 Olympic 5000m champion Million Wolde, Kenya’s 2001 world 10,000m gold medallist Charles Kamathi, 1997 world 10,000m champion Sally Barsosio, Eritrea’s 2007 world cross country champion Zersenay Tadese, 2010 world cross country gold medallist Joseph Ebuya, 2009 world 10,000m champion Linet Masai and Uganda’s two-time world cross country gold medallist Jacob Kiplimo.
Unlike many previous years when the thermometer marked freezing temperatures, weather forecasters predict a nice day on Sunday with a pleasant temperature of 12/14°C by the time of the event.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
