Teklemariam Medhin and Genzebe Dibaba upset the World Champions
As the IAAF Cross Country Permit Series 2010/11 went under way on Sunday, at the 7th Cross Internacional de Atapuerca spectators witnessed a major upset when the pre-favourites for the race, Joseph Ebuya and Emily Chebet, both faced an emphatic
defeat as Teklemariam Mehdin from Eritrea and Genzebe Dibaba from Ethiopia respectively named the titles for men’s and women’s events on a rather cold and windy day on the course.
While Medhin, the reigning world silver medallist had to struggle hard inside the closing 400m to pull away the title from Ebuya with a difference of two seconds, Dibaba enjoyed rather a solo run to the tape with a gap of ten seconds from Chebet, the runner-up.
The 8.925 kilometres men’s race was an exciting rematch between the gold and silver medals winners of the last March’s World championships held in Bydgoszcz and the battle between Ebuya and Medhin did not let down the crowd. Right from the gun shot, the
race kept an amazing pace and by the second kilometre point, a large group comprising of ten athletes was leading the race, all of them being African-born including Alemayehu Bezabeh and Ayad Lamdassem who had been representing Spain.
With nine minutes on the clock, Ebuya started taking the lead which culminated in leaving most of the athletes behind. By the fifth kilometre only Medhin, Kidane Tadese and Bezabeh were able to keep pace with the rhythm set by Ebuya. In order to ensure his
success in the event, the Kenyan world champion looked back several times asking for a relay in his pacing task, to which, only Medhin seemed fresh enough to take the challenge while rest of the rivals could not dare taking charge of the race. By the time
the runners were a couple of kilometres away from the tape, Bezbah and Tadese also withdrew from the race, leaving the course for Ebuya and Medhin for a two-horse battle.
It was some 350 meters to go for the finishing line when the 21-year-old Medhin made the key move and put all of his energy in pacing himself up for finishing before the Kenyan rival. For a while it seemed as if Ebuya had responded to his attack but Medhin
gradually succeeded in opening the gap to cross the finishing line in twenty four minutes and thirty three seconds. With a difference of two seconds Ebuya stood second while Tadese secured the minor position on the podium for finishing five seconds ahead of
the European champion Bezabeh.
The first European-born to cross the finishing line was Portugal’s former world and Olympic 1500m bronze medal winner, Rui Silva; he finished at eleventh position.
Medhin, the joyful runner who had finished third last year behind Gebremariam and Bezbah, while talking to the media said: “I knew Ebuya and Bezabeh would be my stiffest opponents today. I managed to unleash a strong attack in the closing stages and luckily
it paid off although I had to do my best to leave Ebuya behind. He beat me at last world but I beat him today.”
Now the important question spectators have been pondering upon is that who will beat whom at the coming IAAF World Cross Country Championships to be held on the Spanish soil of Punta Umbria on March 20?
Ebuya, the Kenyan runner-up of the race, while talking to the media said: “Any of the two of us could have won. I came here to win as I’m the world champion but Teklemariam proved to be stronger than me today and he is a fair winner. His final turn of speed
was unreached for me.”
On women’s side, the contest for 7.725 kilometres distance opened quite cautiously and soon the spectators observed a pack of seven women comprising of Fionnuala Britton, Analia Rosa from Portugal and Alessandra Aguilar from Spain along with the African
quarter of Emily Chebet, Gatheru H. Wanjiru and Eunice Jepkorir representing Kenya and Genzebeh Dibaba from Ethiopia.
In order to leave the European contingent far behind, the pre-favourites for the race Chebet and Dibaba kept pace right from the beginning of the race. By making quick moves, the young 19-year-old Dibaba took charge of the race and maintained altogether
30 meters emphatic lead from Chebet, the close rival. This gap could hardly be reduced to ten meters when the Ethiopian runner made it to cross the finishing line leaving the Kenyan rival to claim the second position. With a gap of altogether 38 seconds from
the winners, Wanjiru ended up claiming third position on the podium.
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