With two laps to go (8km-mark), Kiprop took a surprise lead, but he was quickly caught by his Ethiopian adversaries, and it seemed clear that sooner or later the Ugandan would become a victim of the Ethiopian’s favourite game of cardiovascular poker.
The athletes managed to stay close together until the halfway point at which time a pack of 10 runners broke away. Two-time Olympic and four-time World 10,000m champion Haile Gebreselassie acted as the starter for the race, a contest which proved to be a battle of nerves. To complete what was a star-studded field, Uganda’s Boniface Kiprop, Junior Bronze medallist in last year’s World Cross Country Championships was also taking part. Mekonnen like Kidane in the women’s races was also going for a double triumph having won the 4km race the previous day. The last event was the eagerly awaited senior Men’s 12km Race, which featured reigning World Junior Cross Country Champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam, World 10,000m silver medallist Assefa Mezgebu, and Sileshi Sihin. Kidane came in a close second in 13:17:87 with Eyerusalem Kumar finishing third.
In the Women’s 4km race, Kidane sought to make it a double with another win but she was denied by 19-year old Tirunesh Dibaba, who crossed the finishing line in 13:16.54. The race was won by Tesema Abshiro of the Banks Club in 23:29.62, with Solomon Molla and Endale Eshete finishing second and third respectively. On Sunday, the action kicked off with the 8km Junior Men. “With the help of God and if I am in good in health, I will go for the double.” Mekonnen also indicated that he might run both the long and short course races in Lausanne in a month’s time. “I had less than a week to prepare for this race after Birmingham (Indoor GP on 21 Feb) and I am satisfied with the outcome.” “The win showed me that I have hope for the future,” he said. Little-known Dema Woyesa and Abiyot Endale came in second and third respectively.Īfterwards, Mekonnen said that he was delighted with the win and said his injury nightmares were behind him. The main attraction of the day, however, was the Senior 4km men’s race, and it was Hailu Mekonnen who returned to winning ways. Early race leader Gigi had to be content with fourth place. Denboba beat Kumar to take second place in 27:12:36. With 800m to go, Kidane produced a magnificent finishing kick leaving the rest of the pack behind and crossed the line in 27:02:82. But at the end of the first lap (3km-mark), a leading pack of about six had pulled away from the rest with the un-fancied Aisha Gigi in front, closely followed by Kidane and Denboba.īy the end of the last lap, Gigi was still in the lead, but was quickly ebbing under pressure from the rest of the field. The race begun at a slow tempo with the athletes cautious to see who would emerge at the front of the pack. The star-studded field included the likes of Werknesh Kidane, Eyerusalem Kumar, Merima Denboba, Meseret Defar, and Aisha Gigi, and the race didn’t disappoint. The second race of the day brought together Ethiopia’s finest senior women cross country runners for the 8kms. Sintayehu Ejigayehu came in a close third. Race favourite Tirunesh Dibaba looked to be on her way to a win, until little-known Meselech Mekamu came from nowhere to take first place in 20:30:46, with Dibaba finishing less than a second behind. In the men’s short 4km course race, Hailu Mekonnen won on Saturday, while last year’s Great Ethiopian Run winner Werknesh Kidane looked invincible in the women’s 8km race.Ĭool, windy conditions at the Jan Meda racecourse made the venue a perfect setting for cross country running on Saturday, as the action kicked off with the 6km Junior Women race.
ETHIOPIAN OLD MUSIC KETEMA MEKONNEN FULL
With the absence of last year’s double World gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele due to illness, reigning World Junior Cross Country Champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam took full advantage to win the 12km Senior Men’s race on Sunday. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia There were few major surprises in this year’s Ethiopian National Cross Country Championships at the weekend, 1 & 2 March.