Erik Clavery and Maud Gobert emerge at the IAU World Trail Championships – Athletics news
French athletes, Erik Clavery and Maud Gobert, emerged as victors at the third edition of the IAU World Trail championships, which concluded on Saturday, July 9, in the Irish city of Connemara.
For bagging the victory, Clavery clocked a time of six hours, thirty nine minutes and seven seconds. Gobert, on the other hand, finished his run in a time of 7 hours, forty one minutes and thirty one seconds. Besides these individual successes, the French
squad also marked their dominance in the team events.
As the weather conditions in Connemara were supportive, expectations from runners were rather high. The western city of Ireland began with a bright sunny day, which went on to add some heat by mid-day. The field for the event was comprised of 121 runners,
emanating from 20 different countries.
The number of contestants in the meet was perhaps the maximum turnout in the history of the event. The IAU event, which is observing a gradual success each year, also experimented with having co-ordination with the LOC, that remained successful as the team
competitions in 24 hours and in 100m runs were significantly enjoyed by both the runners and the spectators.
As the men’s race kicked-off, the absence of Thomas Lorblanchet Clavery, made it clear that amid the formidable field hailing from France, the title was going to be claimed by the country. The French runner covered the 70km run in six hours, thirty nine
minutes and seven seconds, which was closely followed by Jason Loutitt, a Canadian athlete, who crossed the finishing line in six hours, forty minutes and thirty two seconds. For earning a third position on the podium, it was Frenchman, Patrick Bringer, who
stopped the clock in six hours, seven minutes and fifty seconds.
Living up to expectations, the run witnessed an enthralling support from spectators who were enjoying every bit of the meet. Moreover, the way some of the traditional rivals went on to outdo each other, also brought smiles for the fans of the event. Clavery,
who, by the end of the event emerged as the title winner, did not hassle from pulling away from the rest of the lot at any stage of the race. This was perhaps a technically sound policy as doing so could have left him exhausted, well before he could reach
the finishing line.
Loutitt, the Rookie international ultra-runner, tried to create a gap from the rest of the lot as at one point, he had earned a five minute lead over rest of the competitors. However, as the event concluded, Loutitt fell for a fourth position, which, just
before the final moments, was covered and improved to a second finish.
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