Posted: April 3, 2006

Athletics: Bekele Wins Tenth World Cross Title; Goucher Finishes Sixth

Dibaba Defeats Kiplagat; Blake Russell 11th

By Sean Hartnett, Running USA wire

FUKUOKA, Japan - (April 1, 2006) - The IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Fukuoka is the final edition of the two-day, six-race format that was initiated in 1998 with the introduction of the short course 4K races. Ironically, the swan-song edition of the men's 4K was the highlight of Saturday's competition as Kenenisa Bekele sprinted away from a stellar field to capture his tenth individual title, while Adam Goucher closed with a furious finish to capture sixth place.

Once again the East African powers of Kenya and Ethiopia dominated the competition as Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba overcame a determined effort by Lornah Kiplagat to win the Senior women's 8K race, while Pauline Korikwiang led a Kenyan sweep of the top four places in the Junior women's 6K. The Japanese fans had plenty to cheer about as the host squad claimed the third place medals in both women's team competitions.

Bekele's Late Sprint Takes 4K
Bekele prevailed over a strong Kenyan challenge led by Helsinki 5000m champ Ben Limo, Augustine Choge the Commonwealth 5000m winner and Issac Songok who finished second in last year's 4K race in France. Also in the mix were Steeple world record holder Saif Shaheen of Qatar and Australian Craig Mottram.

Bekele set off in a full sprint as the course features a hill and sharp turn in the opening 500 meters. When the opening pace let up, Bekele's teammate Sileshi Sihine was sent sprawling as two dozen runners ran in close quarters at the front. Bekele was content to let Songok and Choge control the pace until the final 500 meters, when the world's greatest harrier powered away from the field to score a 10 meter victory over Songok. The surprise of the day was Moroccan 1500m runner Adil Kaouch who claimed the silver. "It was windy out on the course," Bekele noted, adding "this win was tougher than all the others."

Goucher laid off the vigorous opening pace, and worked his way steadily up thru the pack. The U.S. champ ran in 28th place at the kilometer, 21st at 2K and 13th at 3K, before he unleashed a long striding kick that sent him past Motram, Shaheen and Choge. Goucher said of his plan "I was looking at the start list, and I said to myself to run my race, and let it unfold, because people will die, and I just kept running hard. I felt good out there, especially when you're running against the fastest guys in the world. I wasn't surprised that Craig Mottram (of Australia) was up in the lead; I was surprised that I passed him. This was just awesome!" Goucher's 6th place was the highest U.S. Senior men's placing since Pat Porter took the same place in the 1986 long course race.

Kenya took the team title with 21 points, Ethiopia was second with 48 and Morocco the bronze with 53. The U.S. team finished 5th with 80 points.

Dibaba Withstands Kiplagat's Challenge
Kenyan native Lorna Kiplagat who now competes for the Netherlands moved right to the front in the women's 8K race and set a demanding pace that only a quartet of Ethiopian runners and 2004 champ Australian Benita Johnson could match. Kiplagat remained at the front with the five runners shadowing her every step through 6 kilometers, when the Dutch roads star blew apart the pack with a hard downhill surge. Only Dibaba could match the acceleration, and with 200 meters to go last year's double winner unleashed her devastating sprint to claim her second 8K title. Meselech Melkamu claimed the bronze.

Blake Russell led the U.S. team to fifth with a strong 11th place showing. "The course was great, but I lost contact with that top 10 or so," Russell offered, "but I caught people, I felt like I finished strong. My goal was top 10 and I was 11th, so I can't be too disappointed."

The Kenyan squad simply dominated the Junior women's race as a quartet of runners quickly moved away from the pack. The Kenyan squad started the competition on a high note with a perfect 10 point score, while the U.S. squad finished sixth led by McKayla Plank.

DAY 2
Bekele Double World Champion Again Then Makes Unexpected Announcement
Burka Takes Women's 4K Title

FUKUOKA, Japan - (April 2, 2006) - Day 2 of the World Cross Country Championships brought some expected results as Kenenisa Bekele left the pack behind in the final kilometer, then announced that he was leaving cross country behind to concentrate on track racing.

Sunday also saw another strong showing by the Kenyan squad who claimed team victories in the Men's 12K and the Junior Men's 8K races, finishing the championships with four team wins and two individual titles. The remaining gold medals were claimed by Ethiopian athletes.

Bekele Completes Fifth Double
The featured men's 12K race started cautiously amid blustery winds that blew in after morning rain. Some 30 runners including the USA's Ryan Hall ran in the lead pack through 5K as the wind proved to be the toughest challenge of the day. Bekele picked up the pace in the seventh kilometer pulling his teammate Sileshi Sihine and two Kenyans and Eritreans clear of the pack. A kilometer later, Kenyan Martin Irungu Mathathi managed to work his way up to the lead group. Bekele lifted the pace even higher in the final K sprinting home to claim his 10th Senior title with ease. Sihine came home second, making amend for a spill in Saturday's 4K, and Mathathi edged past Zersenay Tadesse in the final meters to take the bronze medal. Hall was the top U.S. finisher in 43rd place. The Kenyan team regained the team title, fending off a surprising challenge by Eritrea, while Ethiopia earned the bronze.

Minutes after his big win, Bekele made even bigger news as he noted that this would probably be his final cross country competition. "I'm leaning towards not competing at the world cross country anymore," Bekele offered, adding "I have nothing left to prove. I wish to concentrate on track races in the future, and to hope to improve on my records in five and ten kilometers."

Burka Steps Up
Ethiopian Gelete Burka left the field behind in the final 1000 to score a convincing win in the women's 4K. Long course champion Tirunesh Dibaba's bid for a second consecutive double unraveled half-way through the race as the diminutive Ethiopian had been weakened by a recent case of the measles. Burka launched a strong attack 1K from home and the 2005 Junior champ was challenged only by the wind on the way to her first Senior win.

Blake Russell again led the U.S. squad to fifth place with a solid 18th place finish, doubling back from an 11th place finish in Saturday's 8K. "I was feeling a little beat up," Russell admitted. "Once I got going, it was the most physical race I've ever been in it was like a boxing match out there."

Kenyan Juniors Roll
The Kenyan Junior men started off the days with an impressive win, surging hard after a cautious opening 5K to place their four scorers in the top nine.

The Fukuoka championships marked the end of the nine-year experiment with the 4K short course as next year's competition in Mombasa, Kenya will feature only the long course and Junior competitions.

IAAF World Cross Country Championships - Fukuoka, JPN, Sat-Sun, April 1-2, 2006

DAY 1
4K MEN
1) Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 10:54
2) Isaac Kiprono Songok (KEN), 10:55
3) Adil Kaouch (MAR), 10:57

Team USA 
6) Adam Goucher (OR), 11:02 
19) Ryan Hall (CA), 11:18
27) Jorge Torres (CO), 11:21
28) Daniel Lincoln (AR), 11:21
33) Ian Dobson (CA), 11:35
57) Luke Watson (MN), 11:35

Team
1) Kenya, 21 
2) Ethiopia, 48
3) Morocco, 53
5) USA, 80

8K WOMEN
1) Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), 25:21
2) Lornah Kiplagat (NED), 25:26
3) Meselech Melkamu (ETH), 25:38

Team USA 
11) Blake Russell (CA), 26:23
21) Katie McGregor (MN), 26:46
26) Sara Slattery (CO), 26:51
33) Colleen De Reuck (CO), 27:07
49) Rene Metivier (CO), 27:37
59) Sharon Thompson (TN), 27:54

Team
1) Ethiopia, 16
2) Kenya, 39
3) Japan, 80
5) USA, 91

DAY 2
4K WOMEN
1) Gelete Burka (ETH), 12:51
2) Priscah Jepleting Ngetich (KEN), 12:53
3) Meselech Melkamu (ETH), 12:54

Team USA
18) Blake Russell (CA), 13:21
21) Kara Goucher (OR), 13:24
26) Sara Hall (CA), 13:28
34) Carrie Tollefson (MN), 13:36
38) Sarah Schwald (CO), 13:40
66) Amy Mortimer (MA), 14:10

Team
1) Ethiopia, 25
2) Kenya, 26
3) Australia, 69
4) Morocco, 73
5) USA, 99

12K MEN
1) Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), 35:40
2) Sileshi Sihine (ETH), 35:43
3) Martin Irungu Mathathi (KEN), 35:44

Team USA 
43) Ryan Hall (CA), 37:29)
51) Patrick Gildea (TN), 37:45
55) Brandon Leslie (NM), 37:58
57) Max King (OR), 38:03
74) Jason Hartmann (CO), 38:23

Team
1) Kenya, 24
2) Eritrea, 28
3) Ethiopia, 42
12) USA, 206

Complete race results at: IAAF.org

For U.S. athlete quotes and more, go to: USATF.org.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.

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