Tadesse y Bekele en el primer duelo del año

Transcribimos artículo (en inglés) de la IAAF sobre la competencia en Edinburgo de cross country del sábado 12 de enero:

"The eyes of the global athletics fraternity will be firmly thrust on Edinburgh’s historic Holyrood Park on Saturday (12) as reigning World Cross Country champion Zersenay Tadese meets Kenenisa Bekele in the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country.

The women’s contest should be no less fierce with Ethiopian Gelete Burka up against Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot.


Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea (foto: Getty Images)

MEN

The race is the fifth of the eleven permit meetings in the 2007/2008 IAAF series, and will be particularly important this year given the same venue will host the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 30 March 2008.

Tadesse, of Eritrea, caused a major upset when he profited from Bekele’s mid-race withdrawal at the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa last March to take gold bringing an end to the Ethiopian’s five-year reign as long course champion.


Kenenisa Bekele storms to victory in Edinburgh in 2007 (foto: Mark Shearman)

Bekele bounced back from his Mombasa disappointment to land his third successive World 10,000m crown in Osaka and has been in intensive training since returning from honeymoon, following his marriage to Ethiopian film star Danawit Gebregziabher in November.

The 25-year-old Ethiopian will have a point to prove in his first outing of 2008 but will draw encouragement from the fact he is seeking a hat-trick of wins at the Edinburgh event and defeated Tadese by 10 seconds here 12 months ago.

The Eritrean, meanwhile, is gradually developing as a genuine rival to the previously all-conquering Bekele. He may have had to settle to fourth in the 10,000m to the Ethiopian at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka but he showed his all-round endurance ability by successfully defending his World Road Running title in Udine in October.


Kipchoge on his way to victory in the 2005 Edinburgh xc (foto: Mark Shearman)

More than just a two-way battle

However, while it is easy to become sidelined by the so called battle between the ‘big two’ a healthy sprinkling of world-class talent elsewhere ensures the 9.3km race is far more than a straight head to head.

Keen to break the Bekele/Tadese duopoly will be Eluid Kipchoge, the 2003 World 5000m champion and 2005 winner of this Edinburgh event. Kipchoge has tried, often in vain, to break Bekele’s cross country superiority in the past but a 5000m silver medal on the track at last summer’s World Championships in Osaka shows he has lost none of his class.

Also in the field is Joseph Ebuya of Kenya - a 12:51 5000m runner - and Ethiopia’s Abebe Dinkessa, who was fourth in San Giorgio last weekend, both of whom are capable of top three finishes.

Dathan Ritzenhein, who produced a terrific performance to finish second at the US Olympic marathon trials in November, will be hoping to improve upon his sixth place finish in last year’s race while his compatriot Jorge Torres, the 2006 US 10,000m champion, is another to be respected.

WOMEN


Gelete Burka wins in Edinburgh in 2007 (foto: Mark Shearman)

The women’s race is no less fascinating as the one-two from last year’s race at Holyrood Park clash again in the Scottish capital.

Ethiopia’s 2006 World Cross Country short course champion Gelete Burka is bidding for a hat-trick of titles in an event which she has dominated in recent times. Last season she secured a comprehensive nine-second victory ahead of Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot but all the indications are this year’s showdown could prove a lot closer.

Cheruiyot enjoyed a marvellous track season last summer, winning a World 5000m silver medal in Osaka and running the second quickest 5000m in history (14:22.51) in Oslo behind Meseret Defar’s World record breaking run.

The Kenyan’s recent form is also impressive after recording a 10km road personal best of 31:50 to win in Madrid on New Year’s Eve and the eagerly anticipated duel over 6.7km may also offer a few clues to what may happen in the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh in March.


Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot (foto: Mark Shearman)

A potential sub-plot to the main event is the fascinating teenage battle between Linet Masai, the World Junior Cross Country champion from Kenya, and Britain’s European Junior Cross Country champion, Stephanie Twell.

Hungary’s Aniko Kalovics, who boasts top five finishes in the past three European Cross Country Championships, adds more strength in depth to a women’s elite field which also includes Great Britain’s Hayley Yelling, an impressive winner of last weekend’s IAAF permit event in Belfast.

A largely domestic men’s 4.3km race includes 2007 World Championships 1500m finalist Andrew Baddeley and 2004 Olympic 1500m sixth-placer Michael East, who is returning from injury.

Steve Landells for the IAAF"