tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27267785878579471922010-04-16T09:06:11.973-04:00East African Sports NewsCECAFA sports, ethiopian athletics news, CAF, Cup of nations, Ethiopian soccer, Sudan, football, somalia, atheletics, Haile, Tergat, iaaf,
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zanzibar, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and Djiboutibloggernoreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-90509207615057090102010-04-16T09:05:00.000-04:002010-04-16T09:06:11.982-04:00Cinderella Team Dedebit FC Faces Mounting Obstacles in Second RoundAddis Ababa – Newly promoted Dedebit FC created the biggest surprise of the season when it finished the first round of the 2009/10 Ethiopian Premier League with 13 wins, 3 ties and only 1 defeat, well ahead of defending champions, St. George FC. <br /><br />Apart from drawing 0-0 with mighty St. George, Dedebit defeated some of the country’s reputable and experienced sides like Ethiopian Coffee (1-0), Ethiopian Banks SC (1-0), Ethiopian Insurance (2-1), EEPCo (2-0) and Adama City (1-0 away). Furthermore, the team remained undefeated until Week 15 when it lost 1-0 to Mugher Cement in Ambo. <br /><br />However, Dedebit is facing mounting obstacles in the second round as the team won 2, drew 3 times and lost 3 of its matches (9 pts total), compared to 6 wins and 2 draws (20 pts) during the first round.<br /><br />The team lost three valuable points at home when it was defeated 2-1 by Awassa City and drew 1-1 with Harar City, compared to a 0-0 tie with Awassa and 3-0 victory over Harar away during the first round. <br /><br />Dedebit scored 11 goals during the first 8 matches of both rounds but conceded 10 more goals during the second. Such slip up has cost the team dearly as it now trails defending champions St. George by 8pts with the latter having one more game in hand. <br /><br />Dedebit will face a much improved Ethiopian Coffee this Saturday. <br /><br />Meanwhile Week 26 of the EPL will continue this week with the following matches: <br /><br />Saturday, April 17:<br /><br />Addis Ababa<br /><br />Banks SC vs EEPCo at 3pm<br /><br />St. George vs Trans Ethiopia at 5 pm <br /><br />Sunday, April 18:<br /><br />Addis Ababa<br /><br />Insurance vs Metehara Sugar at 3pm<br /><br />Eth.Coffee vs Dedebit at 5 pm <br /><br />Adama:<br /><br />Adama City vs Dire Dawa City at 3pm <br /><br />Ambo:<br /><br />Mugher Cement vs Sebeta City at 3pm <br /><br />Sebeta:<br /><br />Meta Abo Brewery vs Harar Beer at 3pm <br /><br />Awassa:<br /><br />South Police vs Defence at 3pm <br /><br />Yergalem:<br /><br />Sidama Coffee vs Awassa City at 3pm<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-9050920761505709010?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-69899055319205261312010-04-08T12:29:00.001-04:002010-04-08T12:29:56.788-04:00Merga cruises to Dongio 10Km winDongio, Switzerland - Ethiopian Imane Merga, fourth in the 10,000m at last year’s World Championships, won the 26th Giro Media Blenio in Dongio, Switzerland, on Monday.<br /><br />Merga beat Kenyans Moses Mosop, the defending champion, and Richard Matelong, the 3000m Steeplechase world silver medalist, in the final sprint. Merga crossed the finish line in 29:02 holding off Mosop and Matelong by three seconds. <br /><br />A large pack initially led by local swiss runner Stephane Joly formed the front group at the end of the third lap. The group, which also featured Geoffrey Kusuro and Martin Toroitich from Uganda, Mosop, Matelong, Chengere Tolossa from Ethiopia, Simon Tesfay from Eritrea and Vasiliy Matvichuk from Ukraine, went through the third lap in 11:42. The pace got considerably faster during the fourth lap when Toroitich, Kusuro, Matelong, Merga, Matvichuk and Mosop injected a 3:38 split reaching the halfway mark in 15:20.<br /><br />A trio formed by Mosop, Matelong and Merga increased the pace over the fifth lap and broke away from the rest of the field. Matelong and Mosop ran in the front closely followed by Merga who decided to run closely in third place until the last lap. <br /><br />At the bell Matelong took a slight lead over Mosop clocking 22:10 after a split run in 3:27, but Merga was well in control in third place, although he never took the front for most of the race. The Ethiopian, who won the 5000m at the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki in 2009, launched his attack during the last lap and edged Mosop and Matelong by three seconds. Merga added his name to the prestigious list of past winners of the Media Blenio following in the footsteps of his legendary compatriot Haile Gebrselassie who won in 1995. <br /><br />“I enjoyed this race. It was my final test before the Ethiopian Championships where I will run the 5000 metres”, said Merga. <br /><br />Mosop, who was looking for a second consecutive win, had to settle with second place in a close finish over Matelong. “The conditions were very bad because it was too windy but I love running here in Dongio,” said Mosop, whose will race next in the Berlin 25Km on 9 May. “Maybe I will make my debut over the marathon distance next year,” he added. <br /><br />Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF<br /><br />Leading results –<br />1. Imane Merga Jida (Ethiopia) 29:02<br />2. Moses Mosop (Kenya) 29:05<br />3. Richard Matelong (Kenya) 29:05<br />4. Geoffrey Kusuro (Uganda) 29:28<br />5. Martin Toroitich (Uganda) 29:33<br />6. Vasiliy Matvichuk (Ukraine) 30:00<br />7. Simon Tesfay (Eritrea) 30:13<br />8. Chengere Tolossa (Ethiopia) 30:19<br />9. Slimani Kaddour (Italy) 30:28<br />10. Migidio Bourifa (Italy) 30:44<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-6989905531920526131?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-89613189031420480912010-03-31T10:17:00.001-04:002010-03-31T10:17:23.452-04:00Bydgoszcz marks Dibaba's healthy return to World Championships competitionBydgoszcz, Poland - It was not Ethiopia’s day at the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, their men were well beaten and the best their women could do was a senior bronze by Meselech Melkamu. One place later came former champion Tirunesh Dibaba, but at least she made a healthy return to World Championship competition and gained a team silver. <br /><br />For 29 seconds she joined Worknesh Kidane as the most decorated woman in World Cross Country Championship history with 20 medals.<br /><br />Then Kidane crossed the line herself in the forest of Myslecinek to increase her total to 21.<br /><br />Memories from Ostend and Dublin<br /><br />The day before the race we had rare opportunity of a one-to-one with the most successful female runner of the past decade. She recalled through interpreter Sabina Yohannes her cross country origins and talked of the future and what might have been in Berlin 2009.<br /><br />On March 13, 2001 Paula Radcliffe got all the headlines when she finally won at the hastily-arranged World Championships in Ostend. An hour or so earlier, Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene had placed fifth in the junior race and help Ethiopia to team gold. What does she remember from that occasion?<br /><br />“I ran barefoot in that competition,” she explained. “And what I remember the most is the cold because to this day I don’t think I’ve ever experienced cold as bad as what I experience on that day. That is my most lasting memory, of the cold.”<br /><br />She progressed from fifth to silver in Dublin 2002, losing out in a sprint finish to Viola Kibiwott of Kenya.<br /><br />“In 2002 it was my second world cross country competition, and at that point I was wearing shoes and it was at the very end, practically at the tape that she beat me. I was still fairly new to running, I was very happy with my result.”<br /><br />The rest really is history, because she effectively left the junior ranks after winning the World Junior Cross Country title in Lausanne 2003. Within five months she was World champion at 5000m and went on to win 17 senior World or Olympic golds culminating with her double long distance win in Beijing. <br /><br />Later that year she married her compatriot Sileshi Sihine, but from then there were no more medals, until Bydgoszcz. She spent 2009 with a series of injuries, but just as she was ready to defend her World 10,000m title injury struck again.<br /><br />“It was the underside of my [left] big toe,” she revealed. “I got an injury there about a week before the Berlin World Championships and I was unable to run.” <br /><br />So how does she think she would have fared had she been able to start?<br /><br />At the time of the 5000m I had already gone back to Ethiopia, but for the 10,000m I was in the stadium, I watched it live there. If I hadn’t been injured, I had expected that I would have been able to win both the 5000 and 10,000 metres. Based on my training I was in very good shape, I think I could have [done it].” <br /><br />Back in shape<br /><br />Sadly married life has co-incided with injury for both “Tiru” and Sileshi.<br /><br />He missed the whole of 2009 with a calf injury and he of course was sorely missed in Bydgoszcz.<br /><br />“Yes he’s been injured and missed competitions for that reason,” explained his wife, “but now he’s better and he’s been training fully. I expect that he’ll be running well on the track.”<br /><br />With him having so many silver medals (mainly behind Kenenisa Bekele), is there any spousal rivalry given that her honours have been primarily gold.<br /><br />“No, we don’t really compete, we support one another. He supports me and hopes for the best for me, and I also hope for the best for him so we support one another.” Has marriage made her a better athlete?<br /><br />“I don’t think that it has made a real difference, however I train well just like I used to. It’s since then that I broke the 15km World record and I also expect that I’m in really good shape now, so we’ll see.” <br /><br />Saying “good” shape is something of an understatement with regard to her 15km because she shattered the previous World record with a 46:28 clocking in Nijmegen on November 15, 2009, her final 5km taking just 15:05. Yet she is not switching to road running like her cousin Derartu Tulu, nor does she wish to move up in distance just yet.<br /><br />“I’m most comfortable on the track,” she admits. “I really enjoy running on the track, especially the 5000m which I like very much.”<br /><br />And it is on the track where we have seen Dibaba at her glorious best, bursting ahead at the bell and running down the back straight as if with fresh legs, covering the final lap quicker than most of her rivals could manage for 400m from blocks. <br /><br />In the Olympic 10,000m, a race which was the second- quickest in history, she clocked just 14.0 for the section between 9700m & 9800m. For that 100m she was moving faster than any women in Beijing at any distance above 800m.<br /><br />It’s a turn of speed which is her trademark and has only been beaten by the great Meseret Defar at her very best. So how does she do it?<br /><br />“I believe that it’s just a gift from God,” she said. “I think that I do have a natural talent, but of course on top of that I work very hard at it, and I work a lot on speed. But primarily I believe that it’s probably just a gift from God.” <br /><br />Finally, we must end the myth that Dibaba once claimed she was planning to compete until 2024. That would be the Olympic Games after the Olympic Games after the ones which have just been awarded to Rio de Janiero!<br /><br />“It’s just a dream I have to run for a long time and if I’m healthy and still competing well, to compete many times, but the date of 2024 doesn’t come into it at all.”<br /><br /><br />Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene<br />Born June 1, 1985<br /><br />World records set:<br />Indoor 5000m: 14:32.93 (2005) & 14:27.42 (2007) Outdoor 5000m: 14:11.15 (2008)<br />15Km: 46:28 (2009)<br /><br />Olympic Golds (2)<br />5000m & 10,000m (2008)<br />Also 5000m bronze (2004)<br /><br />World Championship Golds (18)<br />14 at cross country (individual & team)<br />2 at 5000m<br />2 at 10,000m<br /><br />Win streak at 10,000m<br />6/6 in 2005-2008<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-8961318903142048091?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-22880220773478437582010-03-30T07:19:00.000-04:002010-03-30T07:20:01.634-04:00Dibaba falls short in title bidEthiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba failed to collect a fourth World Cross Country title after being run out of the medals in Poland.<br /><br />Dibaba, whose last victory came in Edinburgh two years ago, was unable to master the muddy conditions in Bydgodszcz and had to settle for fourth place as Kenyan duo Emily Chebet and Linet Masai dominated the race.<br /><br />Chebet edged Masai into second place for the second successive year by one second, with Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia finishing third.<br /><br />Kenya also won the team competition ahead of Ethiopia with the United States finishing third.<br /><br />Former European junior champion Stephanie Twell (23rd) led the British team to sixth place with the backing of Faye Fullerton (33rd), Freya Murray (37th) and Stevie Stockton (47th).<br /><br />Joseph Ebuya's strength also clinched the men's gold medal for Kenya as he brushed aside the challenge of Eritrea's Teklemariam Medhin by six seconds, with Moses Kipsiro of Uganda a distant third.<br /><br />Kenya also collected top team honours well clear of Eritrea and Ethiopia, with the British men finishing 14th.<br /><br />Mo Farah, returning to international action after a bout of illness, had to settle for 21st.<br /><br />Andy Vernon (44th), Mike Skinner (65th) and James Wilkinson (107th) were the other scorers.<br /><br />The British junior men and women's sides finished fifth and ninth respectively and were the first European squads across the line as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda took the podium places in both races.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-2288022077347843758?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-12427538921010445472010-03-15T09:44:00.001-04:002010-03-15T09:44:29.283-04:00Ethiopia did take another women’s 1500m title, but the gold didn’t go to defending champion Gelete Burka.Ethiopia did take another women’s 1500m title, but the gold didn’t go to defending champion Gelete Burka.<br /><br />Running with the grit and determination of a seasoned veteran, 18-year-old Kalkidan Gezahegne effortlessly kicked past Burka and Spaniard Natalia Rodriguez to become the youngest woman to ever win a World indoor title.<br /><br />“I was hesitating to attack after falling down in the heats,” said Gezahegne, whose tumble to the track and brave run to victory was perhaps the major highlight on the opening day of competition. “At the end my finish was enough.”<br /><br />Her spectacular comeback in the heats already displayed to the world the determination of Gezahegne, who at 18 years and 310 days old, outdid a very familiar name as the youngest ever World indoor champion: Gabriela Szabo of Romania who won her first 3000m title in 1995 when she was 19 years and just under four months old. That was a stat, though, that Gezahegne didn’t think about much at all.<br /><br />“Thank you for telling me,” she said. “That is an excellent feeling.” An excellent feeling to match a finely executed race.<br /><br />Kenyan Irene Jelagat took the early lead, controlling the tempo ahead of Burka, European champion Anna Alminova of Russia, Gezahegne and Sylwia Ejdys of Poland. With laps in the 33 to 35-second range, the order didn’t change until 700 metres remained, when Burka made her move for the front. <br /><br />She was immediately shadowed by her younger compatriot, with Jelagat and Ejdys following single fie just a few strides behind. The boldest move of the race came next when American Erin Donohue, just a 4:12 runner indoors and sitting near the tail end of the 10-woman field, went for broke and made her way to front. <br /><br />She managed to work her way into second place, but Burka held firm. Donohue couldn’t maintain the rapidly increasing pace for long, and was swallowed up first by Gezahegne, and then Natalia Rodriguez, who took the lead a few steps from the bell. But it wasn’t hers for long.<br /><br />Burka, who was knocked to the ground and out of contention at last year’s World Championships in Berlin by Rodriguez, retook the lead from the Spaniard as they entered the final turn, with Gezahegne following on the outside. Entering the homestretch it was the teenager who proved stronger, running wide to pass Burka and eventually reach the line in 4:08.14. It was among the slowest performances of the youngster’s career, but certainly the biggest victory.<br /><br />Rodriguez, who took silver behind Burka in Valencia two years ago, kicked past the Ethiopian over the final 50 metres to successfully defend her silver medal, clocking 4:08.30, 0.09 ahead of Burka.<br /><br />“I was very tense after Berlin and I really wanted to prove myself,” said Rodriguez, who was disqualified shortly after crossing the line first in Berlin last summer.<br /><br />Rising Polish star Ejdys was fourth in 4:09.24, while Jelagat just edged Donohue 4:09.57 to 4:09.59, personal bests for both.<br /><br />But the day belonged to Gezahegne. Perhaps the future, too.<br /><br />“I’ve been running and training for only three years,” said Gezahegne, who ran to World junior silver in the event in 2008 and reached the final in Berlin last summer. “And already being a World champion is very special. But my career is just beginning.”<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-1242753892101044547?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-47878822416545830922010-03-13T14:11:00.001-05:002010-03-13T14:11:27.573-05:00Defar wins fourth straight indoor 3000m titleDOHA — Ethiopian Meseret Defar won a record fourth consecutive women’s world indoor 3000m title on Saturday.<br /><br />Defar, who won Olympic 5000m gold at the Athens Games and a bronze in Beijing, clocked 8min 51.17sec.<br /><br />“I’m very happy with this race and my fourth gold medal,” she said. “It was an easy victory for me because the pace was slow.<br /><br />“I changed my tactics. I was thinking about a fast race but then I saw it would be better to wait with the final kick. That worked well.”<br /><br />The Ethiopian, who also won world outdoor 5000m gold in 2007, finished 0.68sec ahead of Kenyan world 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot in silver.<br /><br />Defar’s team-mate Sentayehu Ejigu took bronze at 0.91sec.<br /><br />Defar was happy to bide her time, sitting on the coat-tails of Portuguese frontrunners Jessica Augusto and Sara Moreira.<br /><br />Augusto pushed the pace with eight laps to go, taking Kenyan Sylvia Kibet with her as the field began to string out.<br /><br />Defar, Ejigu and Cheruiyot moved to the front with two laps remaining, and the pace stepped up a gear.<br /><br />Come the final bend at the Aspire dome and Defar produced one last decisive kick to storm home in front of a crowd swelled by a large and vociferous Ethiopian contingent.<br /><br />“I’m happy I pleased the crowd,” said Defar, adding that her season target was now the newly-launched IAAF Diamond League and world records in the 5000 and 10,000m currently held by her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba.<br /><br />Cheruiyot complained that the race had not been smooth.<br /><br />“In the last 1500m there was a lot of pushing. But I am very happy for this medal and I am satisfied with silver.”<br /><br />Ejigu admitted that the Ethiopian team had been under pressure after their failure at the hands of the Kenyans at the world outdoors in Berlin last year.<br /><br />“There was a lot of tension at the beginning because there were a lot of expectations for us to get over Berlin,” she said.<br /><br />“We had a plan with Meseret to counter the Kenyans and I am so happy that Meseret won the race. I am just so happy Ethiopia got the gold.”<br /><br />Source: AFP<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-4787882241654583092?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-13264611538712084682010-03-08T08:01:00.000-05:002010-03-08T08:02:14.941-05:00Course record for Utura in Addis AbabaAddia Ababa, Ethiopia - World Junior 5000m champion Sule Utura destroyed the course record to take victory in the 2010 Choice Women First 5km in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday (6). <br /> <br />The 21-year old, who last week missed out on a place in Ethiopia's senior World Cross Country team, clocked 15:44 to take a massive 16-second victory over Koreni Jelila with Makeda Berhanu coming home in third. <br /> <br />The seven-year-old race also broke ground with the participation of a record 9000 women in the race, the largest for a women's only race in East Africa. <br /> <br />Utura dominates<br /><br />It was no perhaps very little surprise to see Utura crowned the winner of this race, but the manner in which she dominated and took victory is a clear indication of her capabilities with the track season in Ethiopia ahead.<br /> <br />A large leading group that included Jelila, Utura, marathon runner Askale Tafa, steeplechaser Mekdes Bekele, and little known runners Etenesh Diro and Makeda Berhanu led the pack through the opening 2km. But Tafa, who is preparing for a spring marathon, was the first to feel the strength of the pace at the head of the pack and was dropped around the half way point. The pack continued to dwindle when Jelila, Berhanu, and Diro remained for the last two kilometres of an absorbing contest. <br /> <br />Jelila was the first to try an audacious break at 4km, but Utura responded by first drawing level and then moving ahead to take a deserved victory. Her time of 15:44 was a massive improvement on Asselefech Mergia's 2009 course record time of 15:57. <br /> <br />"This was my first appearance (here)" said Utura after the race. "As many best athletes were in the competition, it was difficult to win. But before I entered the race, I was aiming to win. Everytime I enter a race, I don't want to think about losing." <br /> <br />Elshadai Negash (with the assistance of Bizuayehu Wagaw) <br /><br />RESULTS<br />1. Sule Utura (Defence) 15:44.20 <br />2. Koreni Jelila (Defence) 16:00.63 <br />3. Makeda Haroun (Federal Prison) 16:04.04 <br />4. Etenesh Diro (Defence) 16:08.47<br />5. Shetaye Bedaso (Defence) 16:23.03 <br />6. Aselefech Assefa (Muger) 16:25.12<br />7. Mekdes Bekele (Selam) 16:25.71<br />8. Yebergara Melesse (Alfa) 16:31.73<br />9. Aynalem Woldehawaria (Alfa) 16:37.09<br />10. Bekelech Daba (Alfa) 16:38.36<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-1326461153871208468?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-91307027355104932522010-03-05T07:14:00.000-05:002010-03-05T07:15:07.046-05:00Komen dares Ethiopia's BekeleWorld 3,000m record holder Daniel Kipng’etich Komen has dared Ethiopia’s long distance runner Kenenisa Bekele to break his record at the indoor outing in France on Friday.<br /><br />Bekele, who holds the world’s best time in 2,000m and two miles and boasts a double 5,000m and 10,000m world records, goes to the Pas de Calais, Lievin, bent on slapping a new mark on the Kenyan’s 12-year-old record. Komen set the 7:24.90 mark at the Budapest Indoors meeting in Hungary in February 1998.<br /><br />And the Ethiopian icon, a multiple Olympic, world champion and six-time world cross country title holder, has announced he will make a stab at the World Indoor 3,000m record in his maiden race in France on Friday.<br /><br />Prime land<br /><br />But Komen, who posted the world 3,000m outdoor title at 7:20.67 in 1996 said: “I will reward him [Bekele] with a five-acre parcel of prime land within Eldoret municipality should he break the record. And any foreign runner who makes it can take the prize and invest here in Eldoret.” <br /><br />Komen, who started running while a student at Biwott High School in Keiyo South District, appreciates Bekele’s dream but said it will be no easy task for the Ethiopian.<br /><br />“The record is hard to break. Let him try. I believe he is well prepared as the task would not be a walk in the park. But there was no need for him to announce it,” Komen told the Nation in Eldoret on Thursday. <br /><br />“For me, I just attempted it while a young man, without telling the world. I prepared myself and broke it, and I will congratulate my friend Bekele if he does it.”<br /><br />He added: “If a Kenyan breaks it [record], I will straight away take him to a showroom and buy him a brand new Mercedes Benz. The one I promised the other day looks old-fashioned.”<br /><br />Glowing tribute<br /><br />Komen, who is also Athletics Kenya Keiyo Branch chairman, pays glowing tribute to sprints runners Robert Kibet and Laban Rotich, his pacesetters in the Hungarian contest. <br /><br />He wrestled the title away from another Ethiopian legend, Haile Gebrselassie and Bekele, who has a 7:30.51 personal best time, is set to walk a tight rope. “I covered the two-kilometre mark in exactly five minutes and wound up the final stretch in a time of 2:24.90.”<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-9130702735510493252?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-64556739477778340682010-02-24T07:10:00.001-05:002010-02-24T07:10:33.715-05:00Ethiopia's Berhane Adere and Kenya's Salina Kosgei to provide half-marathon with star powerBy The Times-Picayune <br />February 24, 2010, 1:00AM<br />When Matt Turnbull constructs a women’s marathon field, he attempts to focus beyond occurrences that give most spectators pause. Yes, it is wonderful when world records are pushed. Yes, it is outstanding when analysts boast about an event’s thrilling finish. <br /><br />But Turnbull, in his eighth year recruiting elite runners, hopes for something more when the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon & Half-Marathon’s elite women’s field approaches the starting line Sunday morning: fireworks at the race’s beginning, midpoint and end. <br /><br />After convincing two of the world’s best distance runners — Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere and Kenya’s Salina Kosgei — to participate in the event’s half-marathon, he might have accomplished his wish. <br /><br />“I just want the race to be competitive,” said Turnbull, the Competitor Group’s elite athlete coordinator. “I try to put together a field that will create a race. In an ideal situation, you have the top U.S. runner against two or three established East African runners and one or two Europeans, and try to build a nice international field that you know will produce a competitive race.” <br /><br />Many anticipate Adere and Kosgei to be competitive throughout the flat 13.1-mile course that begins at Tchoupitoulas and Race streets and ends outside Tad Gormley Stadium. Adere, 36, won a gold medal at the 2002 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Brussels and won the 2006 and 2007 Chicago Marathons. She ran a personal-best 1 hour, 8 minutes, 17 seconds at the 2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol, England, where she won a bronze medal. <br /><br />Last April, Kosgei, 33, won the Boston Marathon over Ethiopia’s Dire Tune by a second. Kosgei also won the 2006 and 2008 Lisbon Half Marathons and holds a personal-best 1:07:52, set at the 2006 Lisbon event. <br /><br />“They’re two heavy hitters,” said Toni Reavis, veteran running commentator and writer. “They’re two big guns, that’s for sure. <br /><br />“They’re well-matched. They both have the same goals. They both are in the same time frame. It all stacks up pretty well as being a really interesting match race.” <br /><br />The Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon appears attractive to elite athletes such as Adere and Kosgei because of opportune timing. The Boston Marathon takes place April 19, and the London Marathon is April 25. <br /><br />Athletes view MGM’s half marathon as a reliable tuneup to measure their training progression before competing in the venerable spring races. <br /><br />“It gives a good indicator of what your fitness is for the marathon,” said Kim Smith, who won the 2004 NCAA women’s individual cross country championship running for Providence College and currently is training for the London Marathon. “With marathon training, you don’t get to race too often. You have to do a lot of training. This race will break it up.”<br /><br />In the full marathon, there will be a new champion. Autumn Ray, MGM’s 2008 and 2009 winner, will not participate because of back and hip pain experienced after racing in December’s California International Marathon, where she finished 166th. Australian Karen Barlow, who is attempting to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in October in New Delhi, is expected to push for first place.<br /><br />But MGM’s female stars are found in the half-marathon. Adere and Kosgei have set their sights on larger prizes. Later this spring, Adere will race in the London Marathon; Kosgei will defend her Boston Marathon crown. On Sunday, they will test each other.<br /><br />“You would make a huge mistake not to bet on one of these two ladies,” said Tracy Sundlun, the Competitor Group’s vice president of events.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-6455673947777834068?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-22250025383005066752010-02-22T06:56:00.001-05:002010-02-22T06:56:54.953-05:00Melkamu and unheralded A. Bekele take Ethiopian World XC trials titlesAddis Ababa, Ethiopia - World championships 10,000m silver and reigning World Cross Country bronze medallist Meselech Melkamu and unheralded Azmeraw Bekele were the winners of the senior women’s and men’s races at the 27th Jan Meda International Cross Country- Ethiopian trials for the world cross country championships- at the Jan Meda race course in northern Addis Ababa on Sunday (21). <br /><br />In the junior ranks, Afera Gedefe grabbed a shock victory in the women’s race, while Berhanu Delele was a comfortable winner of the corresponding men’s race. <br /><br />Melkamu dominates, Deskas improvement continues <br /><br />With Cross Country specialists Tirunesh Dibaba and Gelete Burka competing indoors in Birmingham a day earlier and thus absent from the trials, Melkamu, a three-time senior 8km bronze medallist, was the prohibitive favorite going into the contest. She duly proved her billing sprinting ahead of marathon runner Mamitu Deska to take her fourth national title in the event. <br /><br />After a nervy start, five athletes including Melkamu, Deska, reigning World junior champion Genzebe Dibaba, World junior 5000m champion Sule Utura, and 2003 World Cross Country long course champion Werknesh Kidane formed a leading pack at the half way point. <br /><br />Dibaba, who was struggling with pain throughout the initial stages, then dropped out of the contest leaving the four athletes to battle it out for victory. Utura and then Kidane also dropped back as Melkamu and Deska pushed the pace from the front. <br /><br />Deska, winner of the Dubai Marathon in January, had skipped Friday’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon deliberately to make the Ethiopian team for the World Cross Country championships in Bydgoscz, Poland. But Melkamu’s finishing speed was too much for the road runner who had to settle for second place, 42 seconds ahead of Kidane, who continued her return from a two-year maternity leave with a podium finish. <br /><br />“It was a tough race,” Melkamu said of the four-lap contest. “After this year, the world cross will be staged every two years and the competition to make the team will be stronger than before. I thought everyone in the race was hoping to make the team this year because there will be no world cross country next year.” <br /><br />A. Bekele grabs shock victory in men’s senior race<br /><br />With defending champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam skipping the trials due to illness and other top runners also unavailable, last year´s World junior champion Ayele Abshiro was expected to make the step up to senior ranks with victory here. <br /><br />And after a slow start and very few indications about the outcome of the race early on, the 20-year-old looked comfortable at the start of the sixth and final lap where he led five runners in the chase for the finishing line. But he was unceremoniously caught by unknown Asmeraw Bekele, who clocked 37:23 to take a five-second victory over Abshiro, with African junior 5000m champion Abera Kuma coming home in third. <br /><br />“I was new to this kind of race,” said Bekele. “The Defense club runners in the race tried to unsettle me by changing the pace, but I managed to hold on. I hope to do well in Poland and finish in the top three.” <br /><br />Delele and Gedefe take junior victories <br /><br />As is the tradition of these championships, the two junior races again produced cutthroat competition in the battle to make Ethiopia’s team for Bydgoszcz. In the men’s race, it was Berhanu Delele, who overcame the challenge of Yekeber Bayabel and Gebretsadik Abraha to take victory in 24:57. <br /><br />But there was a shock in the women’s race as little-known Afera Gedefe beat World youth 3000m bronze medallist Genet Yalew and Emebet Anteneh, seventh in the World junior race last year, to take a two second victory. <br /><br />Elshadai Negash (with assistance by Bizuayehu Wagaw) for the IAAF<br /><br />Leading results -<br /><br />12km Senior Men <br />1. Azmeraw Bekele (Federal Prisons) 37.23 <br />2. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopian Banks) 37.28 <br />3. Abera Kuma (Ethiopian Banks) 37.29 <br /><br />8km Senior Women <br />1. Meselech Melkamu (EEPCO) 27.36 <br />2. Mamitu Deska (Oromiya Police) 27.39<br />3. Werknesh Kidane (Ethiopian Banks) 28.20<br /><br />8km Junior Men <br />1. Berhanu Delele (Ethiopian Banks) 24.57<br />2. Yekeber Bayabel (Amhara region) 24.58 <br />3. Gebretsadik Abraha (Tigray region) 25.00<br /><br />6km Junior Women <br />1. Aferaw Gedefe (Tigray region) 21.27 <br />2. Genet Yalew (Defence) 21.30 <br />3. Emebet Anteneh (Defence) 21.36<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-2225002538300506675?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-76161628744232613492010-02-22T06:54:00.001-05:002010-02-22T06:54:21.780-05:00T&F News named Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele Athlete of The DecadeTrack & Field News (T&F), a leading athletics magazine, named Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele its Athlete of The Decade along with Russia's Yelena Isinbaeva taking the honor in the Women's list.<br /><br />Kenenisa has already amassed two Olympic gold medals, four world 10,000 titles and one Olympic and one world title each over 5000m.<br /><br />Kenenisa holds four world records currently, indoor and outdoor 5000m, outdoor 10,000m and indoor 2-mile. He is also the most successful athelete in the history of cross country, having won 14 individual titles including five back-to-back short and long-course doubles.<br /><br />Kenenisa becomes the first African to be named T&F's Athlete of the Decade which includes athletes like Car Lewis and Michael Johnson.<br /><br />Read Complete profile from the March edition of T&F magazine which is now on sale at newsstands.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7616162874423261349?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-55878643226884573762010-02-22T06:51:00.000-05:002010-02-22T06:52:26.249-05:00Ethiopia, Nigeria draw in same Africa Nations Cup groupThe Waliyas, Ethiopia National football Team, were drawn in the same group as football powerhouse Nigeria for 2012 African Cup of Nations on Saturday. Guinea, another strong contender, and Madagascar complete Group 2. <br /><br />Nigeria which is ranked the 15th best football team in the world by FIFA will certainly be a very tough opponent for Ethiopia which has not qualified for Africa Cup of Nations since 1982. FIFA ranks Ethiopia as 121 in the world and Guinea ranks 90. <br /><br />The Confederation of African Football released the draw in the southern DR Congo mining city of Lubumbashi, where the annual African Super Cup match will be staged on Sunday between local club TP Mazembe and Stade Malien of Mali.<br /><br />Draw<br /><br />Group 1: Mali, Cape Verde Islands, Zimbabwe, Liberia<br /><br />Group 2: Nigeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar<br /><br />Group 3: Zambia, Mozambique, Libya, Comoros Islands<br /><br />Group 4: Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Central African Republic<br /><br />Group 5: Cameroon, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius<br /><br />Group 6: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Namibia, Mauritania<br /><br />Group 7: Egypt (holders), South Africa, Sierra Leone, Niger<br /><br />Group 8: Ivory Coast, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi<br /><br />Group 9: Ghana, Congo, Sudan, Swaziland<br /><br />Group 10: Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Guinea Bissau<br /><br />Group 11: Tunisia, Malawi, Chad, Botswana<br /><br />Note: Group winners plus best three runners-up qualify for finals with co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea<br /><br />More from AFP<br /><br />Ethiopian National Football Record<br /><br />CECAFA Cup : <br />4 times Champion (1987, 2001, 2004, 2005) <br />1 time third place finish (2000) <br />1 time fourth place finish (1995) <br />World Cup record<br />Never Qualified<br /><br />African Nations Cup record<br /><br />1957 - Second place <br />1959 - Third place <br />1962 - Champions <br />1963 - Fourth place <br />1965 - Round 1 <br />1968 - Fourth place <br />1970 - Round 1 <br />1976 - Round 1 <br />1982 - Round 1<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-5587864322688457376?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-63402225333199475352010-02-19T08:10:00.000-05:002010-02-19T08:11:09.495-05:00Ethiopian Athletes Still A ThreatNAIROBI (Xinhua) -- For a country that produced more than its fair share of gifted cross country runners in the past, Kenya has had no answer to Ethiopia’s dominance of the men senior 12km individual title since the advent of six-time champion, Kenenisa Bekele.<br /><br />Even on the two occasions Kenenisa faltered, at the Mombasa 2007 and Amman 2009 editions, the nation where the first two five-time winners, John Ngugi and Paul Tergat hailed from could still not find the legs to win a title that has eluded them since 1999 when the latter won his fifth 12km long race gold.<br /><br />The task to restore Kenya’s glory in the recent past has fallen to Leonard Patrick Komon, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Feb. 10.<br /><br />Komon who entered the World Cross scene in 2006 when he won junior 6km silver, has established himself as the most consistent Kenyan exponent at the event.<br /><br />He finished fourth the following year at Mombasa but it was at the Edinburgh 2008 edition where the world sat and took notice of his talent.<br /><br />A smarting Kenenisa, who had seen his bid of becoming the first winner of six World Cross titles in successive years collapse in the heat of Mombasa, was out to atone for dropping out of the race at the very last lap allowing Eritrean Zersenay Tadese to claim glory.<br /><br />The Kenyan contingent for that event had been sent out to ensure Tergat and Ngugi’s achievements were not surpassed and only Komon heeded the call as his teammates faded.<br /><br />In an effort that earned him the nickname ‘the fighter’ Komon then, 20, took the fight to the Ethiopian phenomenon and in a frantic finish, fell only three second short of causing what would have amounted to one of the greatest upsets in the history of World Cross.<br /><br />Injured before last year’s Amman World Cross, Komon could only finish 17th at Kenya’s selection event but in a demonstration of his status as his nation’s best bet at the event, Athletics Kenya (AK) decided to hand him wildcard entry.<br /><br />However, Komon was not at his best even a day before the race but once on the cold, hard desert course of Amman, he still emerged Kenya’s best placed finisher in fourth and remarkably, missed the bronze medal by one second as yet another Ethiopian, Gebregziabher Gebremariam scored victory. Kenenisa was ruled out from the event through injury.<br /><br />As Kenya prepares to stage their selection event for the March 28 Bydgoszcz World Cross, once again focus has shifted to Komon and whether he can finally win the title his consistent displays deserve.<br /><br />"It could happen for me this year but first, I have to face my compatriots on Saturday to earn a ticket in the team.<br /><br />"I’m not worried about my shape and I have no injuries to report," Komon said on Wednesday.<br /><br />"I cannot explain why my teammates failed to win the senior title in Amman but on my part, I was only in the race to try my best since my (knee) injury that I had suffered earlier in the season was bothering me.<br /><br />It’s time the 12km men individual title came home and we can learn from last year’s women team that won gold and silver for the first time ever and 15 years after the first individual title was won," the athlete added.<br /><br />He was referring to Florence Kiplagat and Linet Masai 1-2 in the women’s senior 8km race that saw Kenya wrest the individual and team titles from Ethiopia.<br /><br />Besides Kiplagat, who will miss this year’s campaign through injury sustained at the Berlin World Championships, Helen Chepngeno (1994) is the only other Kenyan female athlete to win the senior women’s World Cross individual title.<br /><br />"If I make the team, I will not be afraid to lead it to the individual title but more than ever before, we need to work as a team.<br /><br />"We always plan ahead on what to do but when we get to the course, I do not know why we fail to stick to the plan and coaches should work out how to avoid that this year," Komon stated.<br /><br />Komon has warmed up for the selection event and global championships by enjoying an impressive campaign on the European IAAF Permit cross-country meetings in Spain.<br /><br />His season began with a third finish in Llodio on Nov.22 before he improved to runner-up in Alcobendas on Decmber 6 last year.<br /><br />On Jan. 17, he turned tables on Gebremariam in Santiponce for his first victory of the season that was followed up by another win Elgoibar (Jan. 27).<br /><br />Komon returned home for training in Iten at a camp operated by his management company, Golazo Sports.<br /><br />While Kenyan selection event for global athletics championships have been known to bury big names, the country can ill afford to present a squad in Poland minus the runner born in the conflict torn Mount Elgon region of Rift Valley Province.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-6340222533319947535?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-72626986518049516422010-02-16T09:41:00.000-05:002010-02-16T09:43:57.482-05:00Robel Teklemarim places 93rd in cross country ski eventEthiopia’s lone Olympian, cross country skier Robel Teklemariam, finished 93rd out of 95 skiers yesterday, completing the 15 kilometer course in 45 minutes, 18 seconds. He improved on his time from the Turin Olympics by two minutes against a tougher field.<br /><br />Teklemariam’s family was on hand for the competition. His mother, Yeshareg Demisse, runs The Nile restaurant near the VCU campus, which serves Ethiopian food.<br /><br />READ more on<br />http://abbaymedia.com/News/?p=3911<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7262698651804951642?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-58105846898349792702010-02-11T15:06:00.001-05:002010-02-11T15:06:59.466-05:00Robel Teklemariam receives a hero's welcome in VancouverEthiopian Winter Olympics athlete Robel Teklemariam arrived at Vancouver Airport (YVR) yesterday, Feb. 10, 2010, where he was warmly received by several Ethiopians adorning the tricolor flag. Upon arrival, Robel took photos with fans and signed autograph. <br /><br />The Ethiopian community in Vancouver is hosting a special event honoring Robel at the Collingwood Neighborhood House (5288 Joyce Street) on February 27 starting at 3:30 PM. <br /><br />(Metro.co.uk) — Robel Teklemariam is the Ethiopian skiing team, its National Skiing Federation and its only hope. <br /><br />In Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, unfazed by temperatures in the mid-twenties, the 35-year-old regularly pulls on shorts, sunglasses and special ‘roller-skis’ before setting off down a road free of the usual hazards of cars and donkeys. <br /><br />‘I found this street that had just the right elevation and not too much traffic,’ said the cross-country racer.<br /><br />‘Roller skiing this close to the Olympics is not the ideal thing. Obviously it’s much better to be on snow. The one good thing is that, in Ethiopia, we’re at 2,700m, so that helps to give you better endurance,’ he added.<br /><br />Teklemariam found his unlikely calling after spending time as a child in a snow-bound New York state, and was spurred to compete for glory when he saw Kenyans skiing in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.<br /><br />He made it to the Turin Olympics four years ago, meaning Ethiopia was represented at a Winter Olympics for the first time.<br /><br />Teklemariam came 84th out of about 100 skiers but hopes to improve at the upcoming Vancouver games.<br /><br />‘If I’m closer to the winner than I was at the last Olympics then I’ll be very happy,’ said the ski instructor.<br /><br />But he also wants to be a little less lonely as he rolls down the streets.<br /><br />‘I don’t want to be the first and the last,’ he added.<br /><br />‘For me, the greatest thing in the world would be that I don’t qualify for the next Olympics because there’s another Ethiopian who’s faster than me.’<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-5810584689834979270?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-47991425544707919692010-02-10T21:31:00.000-05:002010-02-10T21:32:55.515-05:00Mo Farah set to face Ethiopian legend Kenenisa BekeleEuropean 3,000 metres indoor champion Mo Farah will race Ethiopia's three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele in Birmingham on 20 February.<br /><br />He set the British record last year in a time of seven minutes 34.47 seconds. <br /><br />Farah, 26, will be aiming for a similar display in next Saturday's Aviva Grand Prix at the National Indoor Arena. <br /><br />"Bekele is always mentioned as the man to beat, and it's great to pit myself against him with the hope being I can give him a good challenge," he said. <br /><br />Farah has not competed since coming third in the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in January - he was in some distress when he crossed the finish line, paying the price for a fast start.<br /><br />At the end of last year he collapsed with exhaustion following a duel with eventual winner Alemayehu Bezabeh in the men's European Cross Country Championships in Ireland. <br /><br />Farah was last month instructed to take dietary supplements after tests revealed lower than normal levels of iron and magnesium. <br /><br />The Londoner has been doing high-altitude winter training in Kenya as he prepares for next month's World Indoor Championships in Doha.<br /><br />"I'm looking forward to competing in Birmingham," added Farah. <br /><br />"It will be great to get on the track again alongside the best in the world and benchmark myself against them to gauge my potential performance in Doha. <br /><br />"It's brilliant to get the chance of running in front of a home crowd, there is always such a fantastic atmosphere, and the crowd really spur you on which is really important in long distance. <br /><br />"I have a bit of a soft spot for the NIA since my performance last year. Breaking the British record was fantastic and I would love to get close to that again, if not beat it."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-4799142554470791969?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-76537325418062498472010-02-09T09:42:00.001-05:002010-02-09T09:45:28.741-05:00Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia wins 5,000m in BostonBoston, USA – Tirunesh Dibaba has seen a lot of record-setting success at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, with 5000m World record races in 2005 and 2007, but her attempt to add to that resume fell short at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday (6) evening as Dibaba ran 14:44.53 in a largely solo performance.<br /><br /> <a href="http://addisportal.com/comment/?p=2354">More</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7653732541806249847?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-79744415520959428472010-02-02T07:37:00.001-05:002010-02-02T07:38:24.685-05:00Ethiopian cross-country skier laying down tracks<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2010/02/01/584-teklemariam1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 584px; height: 329px;" src="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2010/02/01/584-teklemariam1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Ethiopia's distance runners are world renowned, but given the East African country's climate and negligible snowfall, its winter sport athletes are scarce, to say the least.<br /><br />One man is doing everything in his power to change that.<br /><br />Cross-country skier Robel Teklemariam is Ethiopia's only winter Olympian. He will be competing at the Vancouver Games in the men's 15-kilometre race on Feb. 15, aiming to improve upon his 84th-place finish at the Torino Olympics four years ago.<br /><br />The 35-year-old has a much bigger objective: to set the stage for other Ethiopians to follow in his tracks.<br /><br />"After Turin, I met a lot of Ethiopian skiers, but so far, none of them are racers," says Teklemariam. "They just go out and enjoy skiing or snowboarding.<br /><br />"There are over one million Ethiopians living overseas, all over Scandinavia, all over Canada and the United States. I am pretty sure there will be some young kid who will want to race eventually, and that really is my goal at the end of the day."<br /><br />Teklemariam left Ethiopia with his parents and five siblings in 1983 when he was just nine years old. At the time, his mother worked for the United Nations and asked for a transfer to UN headquarters in New York in order to give her children the opportunity for a Western education.<br /><br />Learning to ski<br />The young Teklemariam spoke no English, but when he enjoyed a summer camp experience in Lake Placid, N.Y., his mother enrolled him in boarding school there. It was there that he learned to ski.<br /><br />"I went to a race, and one of the guys asked my coach where I was from," Teklemariam recalled. "I had no idea who he was, but he said as a joke, 'You should represent Ethiopia one day at the Olympics.' I heard him, but I never took it seriously, but it was always there in my mind."<br /><br />While at school, he saw a television documentary on legendary Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who won the 26.2-mile event at the 1960 Olympics running in bare feet. Teklemariam, who has always spoken Amharic and retains an Ethiopian passport, said he felt an enormous attachment to his homeland. Inspired, he focused on his own Olympic dream.<br /><br />Teklemariam progressed rapidly in his sport and was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of New Hampshire for cross-country skiing. He hoped to compete in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, but the opportunity for an education superseded his athletic aspirations, so he put his Olympic dream on hold temporarily. After graduation, he soon realized there were other forces at play.<br /><br />In order to be able to compete in the Olympics, Ethiopia's national Olympic committee had to endorse a ski federation, which at that time didn't exist. When Teklemariam told the Olympic officials of his plan to set one up, they were "dumbfounded at first," he said. Then they got behind his initiative.<br /><br />With the support of his family, Teklemariam set about fulfilling all the criteria necessary to establish the federation — drawing up bylaws and budgets and seeking sponsorship. Today, the key positions in the organization are held by Teklemariam's family members.<br /><br />Much of Teklemariam's training and travel expenses are underwritten by Club Med — the global vacation company, which also employs him as a ski instructor.<br /><br />Doping scare<br />Preoccupied with his administrative chores for the federation, Teklemariam only qualified for the Torino Games at the 11th hour. But then he hit another obstacle as an anti-doping blood test revealed he had a higher than normal level of hemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying blood protein — and he was ordered to rest for seven days.<br /><br />Though elevated hemoglobin is not proof of doping, there are always suspicions surrounding such cases. Teklemariam, who claimed the elevated hemoglobin levels were likely the result of living at a high altitude, was allowed to compete eventually.<br /><br />"The capital of Ethiopia is at an altitude of 3,000 metres [above sea level]," Teklemariam explains. "All my ancestors come from there. Where I train in Aspen, Colo., I trained at an altitude of around 3,000 metres. All my training was done at altitude. The race in Turin was at 1,600 metres altitude. I had no clue about this hemoglobin. I didn't care. I know I am not doing anything wrong.<br /><br />"The World Anti Doping Agency [WADA] did tests, and it was all negative. I talked to the International Ski Federation [FIS]. I said, 'Listen, I am Ethiopian. I come from high altitude.' The problem is the standard is set on European levels not on Africans' [levels]."<br /><br />These days, Teklemariam splits his time between various European venues; Aspen, where he is a licensed alpine ski instructor; and his home in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.<br /><br />Because of the lack of snow in his home country, he cycles and runs in the mountains outside the capital. Roller skiing is impossible because of the heavy traffic and hilly terrain. He also spends time in a local gymnasium, where he has run into some of the country's best distance runners, including three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele.<br /><br />'I don't want it to end with me'<br />Preparations for the 2010 Olympics have not gone as smoothly as Teklemariam would have liked.<br /><br />When a number of ski competitions this season were cancelled because of a lack of snow, he found himself traveling back and forth across Europe searching for official FIS races in order to qualify for Vancouver. That forced him to cancel a series of planned competitions in Japan.<br /><br />From now until he leaves for Vancouver, he is based in Marbach, Switzerland.<br /><br />Teklemariam travels, for the most part, on his own, dragging his equipment bag from train to car to train. On Jan. 8, for example, he took a 15-hour train ride to Oberwiesenthal, Germany, and raced the next day. Then it was on to Innsbruck, Austria, about 600 kilometres away.<br /><br />"I am really exhausted, but my fitness is OK," he said. "Really, my goal for Vancouver is to improve my time behind the winner and have a better race than in Turin. As far as results, I really want Ethiopia to be a mainstay in winter sports. I don't want be the first and last Ethiopian at the Winter Olympics. I don't want it to end with me."<br /><br />Though he retains a great deal of optimism, most of his countrymen — those who are aware of him, that is — remain bemused by his pursuit. Nonetheless, he hopes they will watch him on television later this month.<br /><br />Teklemariam said he was encouraged by a recent encounter with one of Ethiopia's greatest distance runners, Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic champion in the 10,000 metre and the current world marathon record holder.<br /><br />"I was flying to Japan and met him on the airplane," Teklemariam recalls. "I went up to him and said, 'My God, you are a legend. I am pleased to meet you. I have also been to the Olympic Games.' He said, 'For what sport?' I said, 'Skiing,' and he said, 'I remember you going to Italy with the skiing. Some day, bring us back the gold'."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7974441552095942847?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-37737612244911259212010-02-01T07:49:00.000-05:002010-02-01T07:50:29.831-05:00Ethiopia's Amane Gobena wins Osaka marathonOSAKA, JAPAN (AFP) — Ethiopia’s Amane Gobena pulled away from nearest challenger Marisa Barros of Portugal in the last four kilometres to win the Osaka international women’s marathon yesterday.<br /><br />The 27-year-old Gobena picked up the pace after the 38km mark to leave Barros behind, crossing the finishing line in 2’25:14.<br /><br />“It was a very difficult and tough course. At the same time, it was very, very competitive. I’m very, very glad to win the race,” said Gobena, who bettered her personal best time of 2’26:53. It was her second career victory out of four starts.<br /><br />The race was led by nine women including Sydney Olympic silver medallist and three-time Osaka champion Lidia Simon.<br /><br />But Simon slowed down after 22km and last year’s runner-up, Yukiko Akaba of Japan, also failed to keep the pace after 28km, leaving Gobena, Barros and Japan’s Mari Ozaki out in front.<br /><br />Barros came in second in 2’25:44, followed by Ozaki in 2’26:27, while Simon was fourth in 2’27:11.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-3773761224491125921?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-80114338269908489732010-01-28T07:18:00.001-05:002010-01-28T07:18:23.277-05:00Research says Abebe Bikila was rightPARIS (AFP) – If running is your thing, you may want to throw away those pricey sports shoes and just do it barefoot, according to a study released Wednesday.<br /><br />Three-quarters of runners who wear shoes land squarely on their heels -- about 1,000 times for every mile run.<br /><br />But even well-cushioned sports shoes that help distribute weight across the foot cannot fully absorb the shock of these blows: 30 to 75 percent of regular runners each year suffer repetitive stress injuries.<br /><br />By contrast, the vast majority of unshod runners don't hit the ground with their heels, landing instead on the sides or balls of their feet, the study found.<br /><br />The practice is especially common in several east African countries where long-distance running is nearly a national past time.<br /><br />In 1960, for example, a shoeless Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the 1960 Olympics marathon in record time.<br /><br />By not "heel-striking," barefoot runners avoid painful and potentially damaging impacts that concentrate the equivalent of two or three times one's body weight on to a coin-sized surface.<br /><br />"People who don't wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor at Harvard University and lead author of the study.<br /><br />"By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision," he said in a press release.<br /><br />The merits of shoelessness are hotly debated in specialty magazines and online forums, and major manufacturers have started to make thin-as-skin shoes in anticipation of new markets.<br /><br />But up to now, there has been little scientific evidence supporting the claim that barefoot is better.<br /><br />Lieberman and colleagues helped fill this void by studying the gaits of three groups of runners in the United States and Kenya: barefoot, shod, and those who had converted to shoeless running.<br /><br />"Most people today think that barefoot running is dangerous and hurts, but actually you can run barefoot on the world's hardest surfaces without the slightest discomfort and pain," the study found.<br /><br />"All you need is a few calluses to avoid roughing up the skin of the foot."<br /><br />But making the switch to barefoot running is not simply a matter of kicking off one shoes, the authors caution.<br /><br />Running unshod or in so-called "minimal shoes" requires the use of different muscle groups. "If you've been a heel-striker all your life, you have to transition slowly to build strength in calf and foot muscles," Lieberman said.<br /><br />The study, published in the British science journal Nature, also bolsters evidence suggesting the human foot evolved for rapid upright motion, said William Lungers, a professor at Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York.<br /><br />"Bipedalism" -- walking on two feet -- "has been around for millions of years, and we have been unshod for more than 99 percent of that time," he wrote in a commentary, also in Nature. <br /><br />A radical reshaping of the foot about two million years ago, including shorter toes and a fully-arched foot, probably occurred to enhance our ability to move quickly over sustained periods. <br /><br />"Our endurance running abilities may have evolved to enable our ancestors to engage in 'persistence hunting'," the ability, in other words, to run down one's prey, he said.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-8011433826990848973?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-70591679813711378562010-01-25T07:32:00.000-05:002010-01-25T07:33:06.235-05:00Keating, Mandefro wins 3M Half Marathon titlesDespite a posted start time of 6:45 a.m., the 16th annual 3M Half Marathon & Relay got off to a later start at 7:36 a.m. due to windblown barricades. Start time for wheelchairs as well as runners was delayed by nearly an hour as crews worked to replace barricades knocked over during event preparation by westerly winds gusting up to 28 mph at 6 a.m. <br /> <br />“Our first priority is to keep our athletes safe,” said Matt Fagan, 3M Half Marathon & Relay race director. “Delayed starts are an inconvenience to everyone, especially for a sold out race like this, but it’s more important to keep the runners safe. Everyone was doing the best they could in a difficult situation. We’re grateful to all of the folks helped ensure a safe event for our participants and volunteers, and to the local media outlets who let the community know about the situation to help mitigate traffic problems.” <br /><br />Winds continued to strengthen during the event overall. By the end of the four hour event, the National Weather Service in Austin/San Antonio issued a wind advisory today, expected to be in effect until 6 p.m. this evening. A Wind Advisory means that sustained winds of 26 to 39 mph are expected. <br /><br />Regardless of the weather, the event’s historically strong elite field did not disappoint. Westly Keating a University of Texas Pan American graduate from Edinburg, Texas took first place in the 2010 3M Half Marathon with a final time of one hour, three minutes and 22 seconds (1:03:22), leaving intact Martin Fagan’s (current event record holder and no relation to the race director) event record of 1:01:05 set last year. Keating was one of the ones to watch, coming off a 2009 San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon win with 1:05:24. Coming in second, Bado Worku-Merdessa of Ethiopia clocked in with 1:03:51. His countryman, Abiyot Endale, rounded out the top three with a time of 1:04:17. <br /><br />In the women’s open division, Hirut Mandefro of Ethiopia led the pack with a time of 1:14:24, followed closely by Aziza Aliyu of Ethiopia at 1:14:32. Returning 3M competitor and 2008 second place finish for the women’s division, Claudia Carmargo of Argentina took third with 1:16:52. Defending women’s champion, Belaynesh Gebre of Ethiopia was unable to attend Sunday’s race due to snowy weather. <br /><br />In the female masters division, Austin’s own Catherine Barrerra took top honors with a time of 1:26:03. Colorado’s Brad Seng won the men’s masters division in 1:09.46. Returning wheelchair champion Brad Ray of New Mexico, was the overall male wheelchair division winner for the third consecutive year at 53:22. A new entrant to the women’s wheelchair field, Sandi Rush of Colorado, took the female wheelchair division title from local Kristen Messer with a time of 1:08:58. Messer finished with 1:36:50. <br /><br />Start time weather conditions for the race were fair with clear skies and with temperatures about 54 degrees (Fahrenheit) with west/northwest winds of 10 miles per hour with gusts up to 17 mph; humidity was 34 percent. <br /><br />This was the largest 3M Half Marathon ever, with 5,500 runners registered for the two events: a 13.1 mile half marathon and a two-person half marathon relay (legs of 6.4 and 6.7 miles). The event sold out Thursday evening, Jan. 21, before packet pickup began. The previous high water mark was set in 2008 with more than 5,300 registrants.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7059167981371137856?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-30448050757259767882010-01-22T07:27:00.000-05:002010-01-22T07:28:13.650-05:00Gebrselassie fights off back pain and late race challenge to collect third Dubai victoryDubai, UAE - Haile Gebrselassie won the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for the third time in a row this morning, clocking 2:06:09, and again raking in $250,000, the richest prize in marathoning.<br /><br />But a back problem, which required intensive pre-race physiotherapy, ruled out a World record attempt from the start, and when two of his lesser known compatriots – Chala Dechase and Eshetu Wendimu - caught him in the final stages of the race, it looked like a massive upset was on the cards.<br /><br />But the experience of close to 20 years of record breaking pulled Gebre through to his eighth victory in ten completed marathons, with an average time of 2:05:40, easily the most consistently excellent marathoner in history, all capped by his superlative World record of 2:03:59 from Berlin 2008.<br /><br />Dechase was second in 2:06:33, a personal best by two minutes, and Wendimu was third, the same as last year, but this time two minutes faster in a personal best 2:06:46.<br /><br />“This night was not a good night for me,” said Gebrselassie, “I slept in a wrong position, on my stomach, and when I woke up, I knew I had a problem, it was not good. I called my physiotherapist, and he came and cracked my back, and said, ‘what have you done?’”<br /><br />“I was surprised at how humid it was at the start, but I still tried to run fast, but at halfway, I decided just to win the race. When the pacemakers dropped at 30k, I tried to go, but I couldn’t change a gear, so I waited for the second group, and just tried to win. I heard the crowd and knew where the finish was, and I was able to win.”<br /><br />“This is not an indication I’m old, I still think the World record can be broken here, but these things happen.”<br /><br />Daska takes an upset in women’s race<br /><br />The upset was reserved for the women’s race. An Ethiopian won, as expected, but it was Mametu Daska rather than favourites, Bezunesh Bekele, who was fourth, or Askale Magarsa, who finished sixth.<br /><br />A group of eight reached halfway together, but then began to break up, with only Daska, debutante Aberu Shewaye and last year’s third placer, Kenyan Helena Kirop left in contention at 35k. A kilometre later, Kirop was dropped, and Daska and Shewaye continued their struggle until less than two kilometres from home.<br /><br />Despite being violently sick in the finishing straight, Daska held onto the 50 metres lead she had forged in the last kilometre, to collapse across the finish line, in 2:24:18, another personal best, ahead of Shewaye’s debut clocking of 2:24:26. Kirop was again third, in 2:24:54, a personal best for her. The prize money was the same as for the men.<br /><br />Conditions had been more clement than expected, the humidity dropped as the race progressed, and the temperature only rose a degree from 17C (62F) between start and finish. And although the direct sun will have made it uncomfortable for the runners in the second part of the race, Gebreselassie has to add the misfortune of a bad back to the overenthusiastic start two years ago – a first half in 61:45, well under World record pace – and a downpour last year, making it a hat trick of horrors affecting an record attempt, in contrast to the much more satisfying victory treble.<br /><br />Pat Butcher (organisers) for the IAAF<br /><br />MEN -<br /> 1. Haile GEBRSELASSIE, ETH 2.06.09<br /> 2. Chala DECHASE, ETH 2.06.33<br /> 3. Eshetu WENDIMU, ETH 2.06.46<br /> 4. Abiyote GUTA, ETH 2.09.03<br /> 5. Debele TULU, ETH 2.09.43<br /> 6. Abraham CHELANGA, KEN 2.10.28<br /> 7. Dejene YIRDAW, ETH 2.10.50<br /> 8. Lonard MUCHERU, KEN 2.11.08<br /> 9. Japhet KOSGEI, KEN 2.11.20<br />10. Yimane MEKONNEN, ETH 2.12.39<br /><br />WOMEN -<br /> 1. Mametu DASKA, ETH 2.24.18<br /> 2. Aberu SHEWAYE, ETH 2.24.26<br /> 3. Helena KIROP, KEN 2.24.54<br /> 4. Bezunesh BEKELE, ETH 2.26.05<br /> 5. Isobella ANDERSSON, SWE 2.26.52<br /> 6. Askale MAGARSA, ETH 2.27.29<br /> 7. Tedesse YESHIMEBET, ETH 2.27.45<br /> 8. Genet GETANEH, ETH 2.30.23<br /> 9. Woyshinet TAFA, ETH 2.32.06<br />10. Shuru DIRIBA, ETH 2.32.36<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-3044805075725976788?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-78406447521723365392010-01-21T08:07:00.000-05:002010-01-21T08:08:02.404-05:00Gebrselassie returns for spring NYC Half-MarathonNEW YORK (AP) — Haile Gebrselassie will run in the first NYC Half-Marathon held in the spring.<br />The New York Road Runners announced Wednesday that the marathon world record-holder will compete on March 21.<br /><br />He set a course record of 59 minutes, 24 seconds in his NYC Half-Marathon debut in 2007.<br /><br />Gebrselassie says he got "such a warm welcome" in New York City when he ran that he wanted to return. The NYC Half-Marathon had been held in the summer since it began in 2006.<br /><br />The Ethiopian has won nine of 10 career 13.1-mile races, including a then-world record 58 minutes, 55 seconds in 2006 in Tempe, Ariz.<br /><br />On Friday, he'll defend his title at the Dubai Marathon.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-7840644752172336539?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-61226605821450027072010-01-20T13:18:00.001-05:002010-01-20T13:18:39.277-05:00World record is worth a million to HaileDubai, UAE - Haile Gebrselassie pronounced his preparation “perfect” for Friday’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon (22), but reminded everyone at today’s press conference that all the other elements had to be perfect too, even for an attempt on his World record of 2:03:59, set in Berlin 18 months ago.<br /><br />“I’ve made sure I’m in perfect shape,” said the 36 year old Ethiopian, who will be running in Dubai for the third year in succession. “But everything has to be perfect, the weather, the pacemakers. If everything is perfect, I can run 2:03:30. I don’t promise, if I promise and fail, we’ll all be disappointed. Two years ago, it was a little bit warm at the end (he ran 2:04:53, then second fastest in history), last year, it was raining (he ‘only’ ran 2:05:29, eighth fastest)”.<br /><br />He dismissed the notion that his first half in 61min 45sec, 2:03:30 pace, in 2008 might have been too fast. “I didn’t run too fast, I want to do the same on Friday. It’s good the race starts at 6.30(am), but above all, I want to keep to the schedule all the way through. Even if you run the first kilometre to slow, you’re catching up all the way.”<br /><br />His two victories here have netted him half a million dollars, since the race was upgraded in 2008 with a million dollars prize money, with a first prize of $250,000, for both men and women. But there is also the little matter of a million dollar bonus for a World record, offered by Dubai Holding. <br /><br />Replying to someone who asked what he might do if he won the million dollars, Gebrselassie first said, “I will tell you after I get the million dollars,” then adding as the laughter died down, “If I could get the record by paying a million dollars, I’d do it”.<br /><br />Three of the pacemakers who delivered him on schedule to 35km last year, before the rains ruined the record attempt - Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania, and John Kales and Sammy Kosgei of Kenya – are in there again.<br /><br />And another Kenyan Sammy Korir, who was once second fastest in the world, says that he is not in the field as token opposition. Korir ran 2:04:56, one second behind colleague Paul Tergat’s then World record, in Berlin 2003, but has a dozen sub-2:10 times, more than Gebrselassie.<br /><br />Korir, 38, finished third here two years ago, and said today, “After my run in Berlin, I had injuries and it was difficult, coming back to racing and then getting injured again. But now I have shown I can run fast, 2:07 again (winning in Seoul 2008), so I am looking forward to the race. Dubai is a very good course for running fast”.<br /><br />Before the 42.2k on Friday, Gebreselassie went off to tackle the half-mile high Burj Khalifa, as one of the first famous guests up the recently opened world’s tallest tower.<br /><br />And having reiterated today his desire to run the Olympic marathon in London 2012, the inference is that Haile is not planning to slow down any time soon. So, weather and pacemakers permitting, expect another towering time from the Little Emperor on Friday.<br /><br />Pat Butcher for the IAAF<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-6122660582145002707?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2726778587857947192.post-5181582704451244312010-01-18T08:04:00.001-05:002010-01-18T08:04:39.670-05:00Ethiopian sweep at the Cross della VallagarinaVilla Lagarina, ITA - Ethiopia dominated the 33rd edition of the Cross della Vallagarina near Rovereto on Sunday (17) by taking the win in both the men’s race with Abere Chane and the women’s race with Asmeraworch Bekele.<br /><br />Men’s race -<br /><br />Chane killed off the competition with a gun-to-tape race taking the lead from the early stages of the 8.8 km race. Abere, who finished fifth at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto in the 10,000m and has run a PB of 27:47 over the distance, went to the lead during the first lap. The only athlete who was able to follow the Ethiopian was Ukrainian 2:10:36 marathoner Vasyl Matvichuk who tried to close the gap on Chane during the first lap. <br /><br />Matvichuk, who is planning to run the Marathon at the European Championships in Barcelona next summer, managed to keep up with Chane briefly on the downhill section of the course during the first lap but his effort probably took its toll uphills when Chane pushed the pace increasing his gap to 20 metres. <br /><br />Meanwhile the chasing group formed by Italian runners Stefano La Rosa, Gabriele De Nard, Yuri Floriani, Gianmarco Buttazzo and Martin Dematteis fought for third place but they were well behind. During the second lap Chane continued to push the pace carving out a solid margin over Matvichuk which proved to be decisive. The Ethiopian continued to pull away lap after lap with a margin of more than 20 seconds at the bell. During the last lap he continued his stroll taking the win at a canter in 25:52 by 29 seconds over Matvichuk. During the third lap Matvichuk suffered from a stitch but managed to hold on defending his second place in 26:21 prevailing by five seconds over Stefano La Rosa, third overall and first among the Italians. <br /><br />“It was a very good race. It was a easy win but the course was tough with a lot of ups and downs. I am now returning to Ethiopia for the National Cross Country Championships”, said Chane, who won the Vienna Silvester race on 31 December.<br /><br />Women’s race -<br /><br />In the women’s race a quartet formed by 2006 European Cross Country Championships Tatyana Holovchenko, the two young Ethiopians Asmeraworch Bekele and Tizita Bogale, and local favourite Federica Dal Ri went to the front from the early stages. Holovchenko was the first to launch an attack during the first lap. The Ukrainian kept the pace in the front closely followed by the two young Ethiopians and Dal Ri, who won last year in Vallagarina ahead of Holovchenko. <br /><br />Bogale, who was born in 1993 and finished fifth in the 800m at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone last summer, and Bekele launched their decisive attack during the second lap breaking away from the European pair of Dal Ri and Holovchenko. Dal Ri managed to pull away from Holovchenko uphill during the second lap. <br /><br />Bogale and Bekele battled it out for the win during the third and last lap. They ran a neck-to-neck race until the final metres when Bekele edged out her compatriot in a dramatic final sprint into the finish-line. They shared the same final time of 18:37. Dal Ri, who finished 19th at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin and third at the Campaccio on 6 January, took third place to the delight of local crowd and the local Quercia Rovereto athletics team for which the Italian runner started her career. Holovchenko finished a distant fourth in 19:17, 25 seconds behind Dal Ri.<br /><br />Bekele was born in 1991. She has clocked 4:10 in the 1500m but is planning to run over longer distances in the future. She finished ninth in the 1500m at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz 2008. During 2009 she finished fourth in the 1500m at the Ethiopian Championships and seventh at the National Cross Country Championships. More recently she won the Vienna Silvester Race on 31 December. <br /><br />“I am returning to Ethiopia for the National Cross Championships. I am aiming at qualifying for the World Cross Country Championships in Bydszgoxz on 28 March. The half marathon may become my distance for the future,” the young Ethiopian said. <br /><br />Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF <br /><br />Leading Results:<br /><br />MEN (8.8 km) -<br /> 1. Abere Chane, ETH 25:52<br /> 2. Vasyl Matvich, UKR 26:21<br /> 3. Stefano La Rosa, ITA 26:26<br /> 4. Gabriele De Nard, ITA 26:29<br /> 5. Yury Floriani, ITA 26:42<br /> 6. Gianmarco Buttazzo, ITA 26:44<br /> 7. Martin Dematteis, ITA 26:49<br /> 8. Stefano Scaini, ITA 26:57<br /> 9. Bernard Dematteis, ITA 27:01<br />10. Josef Katib, GER 27:17<br /><br />WOMEN (5.5 km) -<br /> 1. Asmeraworch Bekele, ETH 18:37<br /> 2. Tizita Bogale, ETH 18:37<br /> 3. Federica Dal Ri, ITA 18:52<br /> 4. Tetyana Holovchenko, UKR 19:17<br /> 5. Renate Rungger, ITA 19:36<br /> 6. Simona Santini, ITA 19:37<br /> 7. Livia Toth, HUN 19:39<br /> 8. Ivana Iozzia, ITA 19:44<br /> 9. Barbara La Barbera, ITA 19:45<br />10 .Silvia La Barbera, ITA 19:49<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2726778587857947192-518158270445124431?l=blog.addisportal.com%2Fsport.html' alt='' /></div>bloggernoreply@blogger.com0