Monica Rosa taking a solid win in Lisbon (© Marcelino Almeida)
Lisbon, PortugalEthiopian Imane Merga, with has a 5000m track personal best of 13:33.52, was the surprise winner of the Oeiras International Cross Country, the first of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Series 2007/08.
On a cold afternoon - the temperature dropped more then six degrees from the day before! - the Ethiopian runner was in the front group until the last kilometre, when he took the lead and crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of Peter Kamais, the 2006 winner on this course, where, ten years ago, Portugal hosted the European Cross Country Championship.
In third place was another African – in all, Africans took seven of the first 11 spots) - Kenyan John Cheruyiot Korir, and in fourth place the first Portuguese, Leão Carvalho (formerly from the Cape Verde Islands, Portuguese since December of 2002), who lead the race until the last two kilometres.
In the 5th place the Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeylan Gashu, the World junior 10,000m champion in 2006, was fifth, ahead of Portuguese Ricardo Ribas and Rui Silva, the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist in the 1500m.
The Portuguese national Cross Country champion, Rui Pedro Silva, was only 19th, in a race where all the best runners where trying their chances to make the national team for next month’s European Championships in Toro, Spain.
For the winner, Imane Merga, the last metres where “The race of belief. I believed in the victory so I ran so much stronger in the last metres,” to win in a strong and long sprint against Peter Kamais.
Emotional win for Rosa
But the great surprises came in the women’s race, when Mónica Rosa, arriving from an altitude training camp, took the lead in the first lap and never broke her pace.
Rosa, who has spent the past year-anda-half recovering her confidence and form after a delicate surgery, produced what she described as an “Angry race, against everybody who didn’t believe I could return to the front of races.”
Rosa, who achieved the silver medal in the women’s junior race at the European Championships ten years ago, took to hear that performance of a decade ago.
“Ten years ago I take the silver on this course and now I thought this was my opportunity. I raced like I did then and I won,” she said after crossing the finish line six seconds ahead of Jessica Augusto, last year’s Portuguese Cross Country champion, and the winner of this year’s European Club Champions Cup on the road. 14 seconds behind the winner was the young Ethiopian Utura Sule, who was a surprising fourth at this year’s World Junior race at the World Championships in Mombasa.
Finishing fourth was Leonor Carneiro, the winner in Amora last week, with Kenyan Leah Malot sixth, after Ana Dias and ahead of Fernanda Ribeiro.
Due the importance of this race to the Portuguese team for the European Championships, other Portuguese runners also achieved solid finishes, particularly Anália Rosa, a former national cross country champion, and the younger Dulce Félix and Sara Moreira.
António Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF
MEN (9 km):
1. Imane Merga, ETH, 26:34
2. Peter Kamais, KEN, 26:39
3. John Cheruyiot Korir, KEN, 26:44
4. Leão Carvalho, POR, 26:55
5. Ibrahim Gashu, ETH, 26:58
6. Ricardo Ribas, POR, 27:00
7. Rui Silva, POR, 27:02
8. José Rocha, POR, 27:02
WOMEN (5 km):
1. Mónica Rosa, POR, 17:29
2. Jessica Augusto, POR, 17:35
3. Utura Sule Gedo, ETH,17:43
4. Leonor Carneiro, POR, 17:52
5. Ana Dias, POR, 18:00
6. Leah Malot, KEN, 18:01
7. Fernanda Ribeiro, POR, 18:03
8. Anália Rosa, POR, 18:11
