Burundi&rsquo;s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Kenya&rsquo;s Eva Cherono captured convincing victories at the 38th Cross Internacional de la Constituci&oacute;n in Alcobendas, Spain, on Sunday (24), the third stop of the 2019-20 World Athletics Cross Country Permit series held over a dry surface despite the previous days&rsquo; rains.
A creditable ninth at this year&rsquo;s World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, the 22-year-old from Burundi managed his first win of the season in his third appearance on Spanish soil this cross country campaign while Cherono was an overwhelming victor ahead of Bahrain&rsquo;s Rose Chelimo to become the second woman to take back-to back titles in the history of the event alongside Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meselech Melkamu.
In the men&rsquo;s 10.06km race, Uganda&rsquo;s Thomas Ayeko set the early pace, closely followed by compatriots Maxwell Rotich and Timothy Toroitich, plus the Burundian pair of Ndikumwenayo and Rodrigue Kwizera while Spain&rsquo;s Abdessalam Oukhelfen still travelled in the leading pack by the third kilometre.
After successive 2.3km loops covered in 6:46 and 6:38, Ayeko had opened a 10-metre gap on Ndikumwenayo, himself two seconds clear of Rotich, while Kwizera, who finished 11th in Aarhus, and Toroitich travelled another 10 metres behind.
Ndikumwenayo caught Ayeko half way around the penultimate circuit while Kwizera overtook Rotich to move into third. By the bell (6:45 for the lap) the Burundian led with Ayeko running at his shoulder while the 19-year-old Kwizera passed six seconds behind the leader but two ahead Rotich.
Over the closing loop, the Spain-based Ndikumwenayo managed to get rid of Ayeko and just 1.2km home it became clear he would be the eventual victor. Compatriot Kwizera broke away clearly from a fading Rotich with Toroitich back in fifth but still ahead of European U23 5000m bronze medallist Oukhelfen.
At the tape the victor was timed at 29:23 to finish four seconds ahead of Ayeko with Kwizera completing a classy podium another four seconds adrift.
Speaking in reasonable Spanish, having lived for three years in the Mediterranean city of Castell&oacute;n de la Plana, Ndikumwenayo said: &ldquo;This is my first success at a World Athletics event so I&rsquo;m more than joyful. I would like to compete at the World Indoors in Nanjing next March over 3000m and then I&rsquo;ll prepare to compete in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics&rdquo;.
Coached in Italy under the guidance of Massimo Pegoretti, who is also the coach of European 10,000m bronze medallist Yemaneberhan Crippa, Ndikumwenayo also spoke of his weekly routine. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m working hard with daily double sessions for an overall 170-180 kilometres,&rdquo; said the winner, who has a 3000m PB of 7:41.04 but failed to finish the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha.
<h3>Cherono in a class of her own</h3>
In the women&rsquo;s race, Portugal&rsquo;s European U20 3000m bronze medallist Mariana Machado set the early pace alongside 2017 world marathon champion Rose Chelimo. After the opening kilometre this pair was marginally ahead of Portugal&rsquo;s Carla Salom&eacute; Rocha and Cherono, who had decided to take it easy in the early stages.
However, the 23-year-old Kenyan soon took command of the race and with seven minutes on the clock heated up the rhythm to open a sizeable margin over the rest in a matter of few hundred metres. 
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Eva Cherono in action in Alcobendas</div>
&nbsp;
A 7:42 2.3km loop from Cherono effectively ended the hopes of any other competitor as she had built a 10-second margin over Chelimo and Machado by halfway, this tandem another eight seconds clear of Rocha. At the bell, with 2.3km left, the World Cross seventh-place finisher had a clear lead over Chelimo, who had finally managed to break away from the 19-year-old Machado while her fellow Portuguese Rocha had been caught by Spain&rsquo;s steeplechase specialist Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano.
At the tape Cherono had increased her lead to 18 seconds on Chelimo, herself 21 seconds ahead of Machado, while Rocha finally got the better of the Spaniard over the last kilometre.
&ldquo;I think today&rsquo;s win has been much easier than last year&rsquo;s when the circuit was really muddy,&rdquo; said 23-year-old Cherono, who was fresh from a 48:15 15km performance in Nijmegen for third last Sunday. &ldquo;My next event will likely be a road race in Vienna next month but for now I&rsquo;ll return to Kenya. I would like to make the Kenyan team (for the Olympics), but the standard is extremely high. I still have to decide on whether I&rsquo;ll pick the 5000m or the 10,000m.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Men (10.06km) 1 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI) 29:23 2 Thomas Ayeko (UGA) 29:27 3 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 29:31 4 Maxwell Rotich (UGA) 29:54 5 Timothy Toroitich (UGA) 30:03 6 Abdessalam Oukhelfen (ESP) 30:13 7 Fernando Carro (ESP) 30:54 8 Hamid Ben Daoud (ESP) 30:56 9 Mohamed Ali Jelloul (ESP) 31:02 10 Jos&eacute; Ignacio Gim&eacute;nez (ESP) 31:10
Women (8km) 1 Eva Cherono (KEN) 27:10 2 Rose Chelimo (BRN) 27:31 3 Mariana Machado (POR) 27:39 4 Carla Salome Rocha (POR) 27:56 5 Irene S&aacute;nchez-Escribano (ESP) 28:02 6 Mar&iacute;a Jos&eacute; P&eacute;rez (ESP) 28:29 7 Beatriz &Aacute;lvarez (ESP) 28:30 8 Azucena D&iacute;az (ESP) 28:38 9 Diana Mart&iacute;n (ESP) 28:45 10 Dunia Mahassim (ESP) 28:51

Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Kenya’s Eva Cherono captured convincing victories at the 38th Cross Internacional de la Constitución in Alcobendas, Spain, on Sunday (24), the third stop of the 2019-20 World Athletics Cross Country Permit series held over a dry surface despite the previous days’ rains.


Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Kenya’s Eva Cherono captured convincing victories at the 38th Cross Internacional de la Constitución in Alcobendas, Spain, on Sunday (24), the third stop of the 2019-20 World Athletics Cross Country Permit series held over a dry surface despite the previous days’ rains.
A creditable ninth at this year’s World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, the 22-year-old from Burundi managed his first win of the season in his third appearance on Spanish soil this cross country campaign while Cherono was an overwhelming victor ahead of Bahrain’s Rose Chelimo to become the second woman to take back-to back titles in the history of the event alongside Ethiopia’s Meselech Melkamu.
In the men’s 10.06km race, Uganda’s Thomas Ayeko set the early pace, closely followed by compatriots Maxwell Rotich and Timothy Toroitich, plus the Burundian pair of Ndikumwenayo and Rodrigue Kwizera while Spain’s Abdessalam Oukhelfen still travelled in the leading pack by the third kilometre.
After successive 2.3km loops covered in 6:46 and 6:38, Ayeko had opened a 10-metre gap on Ndikumwenayo, himself two seconds clear of Rotich, while Kwizera, who finished 11th in Aarhus, and Toroitich travelled another 10 metres behind.
Ndikumwenayo caught Ayeko half way around the penultimate circuit while Kwizera overtook Rotich to move into third. By the bell (6:45 for the lap) the Burundian led with Ayeko running at his shoulder while the 19-year-old Kwizera passed six seconds behind the leader but two ahead Rotich.
Over the closing loop, the Spain-based Ndikumwenayo managed to get rid of Ayeko and just 1.2km home it became clear he would be the eventual victor. Compatriot Kwizera broke away clearly from a fading Rotich with Toroitich back in fifth but still ahead of European U23 5000m bronze medallist Oukhelfen.
At the tape the victor was timed at 29:23 to finish four seconds ahead of Ayeko with Kwizera completing a classy podium another four seconds adrift.
Speaking in reasonable Spanish, having lived for three years in the Mediterranean city of Castellón de la Plana, Ndikumwenayo said: “This is my first success at a World Athletics event so I’m more than joyful. I would like to compete at the World Indoors in Nanjing next March over 3000m and then I’ll prepare to compete in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics”.
Coached in Italy under the guidance of Massimo Pegoretti, who is also the coach of European 10,000m bronze medallist Yemaneberhan Crippa, Ndikumwenayo also spoke of his weekly routine. “I’m working hard with daily double sessions for an overall 170-180 kilometres,” said the winner, who has a 3000m PB of 7:41.04 but failed to finish the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha.Cherono in a class of her own
In the women’s race, Portugal’s European U20 3000m bronze medallist Mariana Machado set the early pace alongside 2017 world marathon champion Rose Chelimo. After the opening kilometre this pair was marginally ahead of Portugal’s Carla Salomé Rocha and Cherono, who had decided to take it easy in the early stages.
However, the 23-year-old Kenyan soon took command of the race and with seven minutes on the clock heated up the rhythm to open a sizeable margin over the rest in a matter of few hundred metres. 
Eva Cherono in action in Alcobendas
 
A 7:42 2.3km loop from Cherono effectively ended the hopes of any other competitor as she had built a 10-second margin over Chelimo and Machado by halfway, this tandem another eight seconds clear of Rocha. At the bell, with 2.3km left, the World Cross seventh-place finisher had a clear lead over Chelimo, who had finally managed to break away from the 19-year-old Machado while her fellow Portuguese Rocha had been caught by Spain’s steeplechase specialist Irene Sánchez-Escribano.
At the tape Cherono had increased her lead to 18 seconds on Chelimo, herself 21 seconds ahead of Machado, while Rocha finally got the better of the Spaniard over the last kilometre.
“I think today’s win has been much easier than last year’s when the circuit was really muddy,” said 23-year-old Cherono, who was fresh from a 48:15 15km performance in Nijmegen for third last Sunday. “My next event will likely be a road race in Vienna next month but for now I’ll return to Kenya. I would like to make the Kenyan team (for the Olympics), but the standard is extremely high. I still have to decide on whether I’ll pick the 5000m or the 10,000m.”
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAFLeading results
Men (10.06km) 1 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI) 29:23 2 Thomas Ayeko (UGA) 29:27 3 Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI) 29:31 4 Maxwell Rotich (UGA) 29:54 5 Timothy Toroitich (UGA) 30:03 6 Abdessalam Oukhelfen (ESP) 30:13 7 Fernando Carro (ESP) 30:54 8 Hamid Ben Daoud (ESP) 30:56 9 Mohamed Ali Jelloul (ESP) 31:02 10 José Ignacio Giménez (ESP) 31:10
Women (8km) 1 Eva Cherono (KEN) 27:10 2 Rose Chelimo (BRN) 27:31 3 Mariana Machado (POR) 27:39 4 Carla Salome Rocha (POR) 27:56 5 Irene Sánchez-Escribano (ESP) 28:02 6 María José Pérez (ESP) 28:29 7 Beatriz Álvarez (ESP) 28:30 8 Azucena Díaz (ESP) 28:38 9 Diana Martín (ESP) 28:45 10 Dunia Mahassim (ESP) 28:51

Alcobendas cross country 2019 Ndikumwenayo Cherono

Ndikumwenayo and Cherono prevail in Alcobendas

Uganda&rsquo;s Maxwell Rotich and Portugal&rsquo;s Mariana Machado raced to victory at the 26th &lsquo;Cross Internacional de Soria&rsquo;, the second leg of the 2019-20&nbsp;World Athletics Cross Country Permit&nbsp;series held in the outskirts of Soria, Spain, on a cloudy and cold Sunday (17).
In doing so, the 21-year-old Rotich secured the seventh consecutive victory in the men&rsquo;s race by a Ugandan, in the footsteps of compatriots Dickson Huru (2013), Timothy Toroitich (2014, 2015 and 2016) and Jacob Kiplimo (2017, 2018) while the reigning European U20 3000m silver medallist Machado, a late addition to the line-up, upset Bahrain&rsquo;s world marathon silver medallist Rose Chelimo by the narrowest of the margins.
<h3>Men&rsquo;s race &ndash; Africans keep Oumaiz at bay</h3>
Spain&rsquo;s Ouassim Oumaiz led during the early stages of the men&rsquo;s 10km event with the five Africans on show running comfortably at his shoulder - the Ugandan quartet of Thomas Ayeko, Toroitich, Rotich and Albert Chemutai plus Burundi&rsquo;s Thierry Ndikumwenayo.
The second 2000m circuit witnessed how Ayeko stepped up the pace to force his rivals to run in crocodile file behind with Oumaiz closing the group but it was the Spain-based Burundian who moved to the front on the third lap closely followed by Rotich. By then the tandem was some 15 metres clear of Chemutai, Oumaiz, Ayeko and Toroitich who had already faded back.
By the bell Rotich pushed hard with only the long-legged Chemutai for company while Ndikumwenayo was a lonesome third three seconds behind. Over the closing loop Rotich proved to be the strongest leaving Chemutai behind midway through the lap. Meanwhile a fast-finishing Ndikumwenayo overtook the Ugandan some 700m from home to secure the second spot, three seconds behind Rotich but four seconds ahead of Chemutai.
Meanwhile Oumaiz, the surprise winner in Atapuerca last weekend, had to settle for fourth on this occasion 12 seconds adrift of the winner.
&ldquo;I had scheduled to compete in Atapuerca last weekend but finally a visa problem prevented me from running there so I was eager to come to Soria and prove I&rsquo;m in fine form,&rdquo; said the winner, who was 27th at the World Championships last March. &ldquo;In addition I&rsquo;ve kept the Ugandan dominance here so I can&rsquo;t ask for more.&rdquo;
<h3>Teenager Machado outsprints Chelimo</h3>
The women&rsquo;s 8km event kicked-off quite conservatively with a large pack heading the race after the opening 2000m lap. It was Chelimo who ruled the race by then with Spaniards Teresa Urbina, Mar&iacute;a Jos&eacute; P&eacute;rez and Ana Lozano close behind alongside a late addition to the line-up in the guise of Portugal&rsquo;s Machado.
&nbsp;
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Mariana Machado (r) edging Rose Chelimo in Soria</div>
&nbsp;
Shortly after the halfway point, Chelimo, the 2017 world marathon champion, broke away easily from the rest of the leading contenders and cemented a solid margin which seemed to be insurmountable with Machado, Urbina and P&eacute;rez fighting for the minor places on the podium, the Portuguese always at the forefront of the triumvirate.
By the bell, Chelimo, who had a below-par performance last weekend in Atapuerca where she had to settle for the 15th spot, led her pursuers by seven seconds. Yet, already inside the closing kilometre the gap between Chelimo and Machado, who had already dropped the Spaniards, decreased dramatically until the Portuguese managed to pip Chelimo inches before the finish line to pull off the surprise of the day.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;ve just won a World Athletics permit ahead of the favourite Rose Chelimo,&rdquo; said the Braga-born Machado, who celebrated her 19th birthday earlier this week. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my second win this cross country season as I won in Palencia (Spain) two weeks ago so I&rsquo;m on the right path ahead of the European ~Championships to be held in my country.&rdquo;
The victor, who is coached by Sameiro Araujo, boasts lifetime bests of 4:10:61 (1500m) and 8:58:61 (3000). At last July&rsquo;s European U20 Championships, she bagged bronze in the 3000m and barely six hours later finished fourth in the 1500m. In the latter she missed bronze by just 0.44, obviously hampered by the 3000m effort.
Machado is the daughter of Albertina Machado, who placed ninth at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 10,000m who recorded a career best of 31:52.04 for the distance.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
Leading results Men (10km) 1 Maxwell Rotich (UGA) 29:16 2 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (BDI) 29:19 3 Albert Chemutai (UGA) 29:23 4 Ouassim Oumaiz (ESP) 29:28 5 Thomas Ayeko (UGA) 29:46 6 Timothy Toroitich (UGA) 29:51 7 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 29:54 8 Toni Abad&iacute;a (ESP) 30:01 9 Fernando Carro (ESP) 30:11 10 Yemane Haileselassie (ERI) 30:11
Women (8km) 1 Mariana Machado (POR) 27:49 2 Rose Chelimo (BRN) 27:49 3 Teresa Urbina (ESP) 28:01 4 Ana Lozano (ESP) 28:05 5 Mar&iacute;a Jos&eacute; P&eacute;rez (ESP) 28:11 6 Azucena D&iacute;az (ESP) 28:14 7 Cristina Espejo (ESP) 28:18 8 Diana Mart&iacute;n (ESP) 28:19 9 Dunia Mahassin (ESP) 28:26 10 Estela Navascu&eacute;s (ESP) 28:31
&nbsp;

Uganda’s Maxwell Rotich and Portugal’s Mariana Machado raced to victory at the 26th ‘Cross Internacional de Soria’, the second leg of the 2019-20 World Athletics Cross Country Permit series held in the outskirts of Soria, Spain, on a cloudy and cold Sunday (17).

Rotich Machado win Soria Cross Country

Rotich and Machado prevail in Soria

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey smashed the world best for 15km at the Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Run) in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on Sunday (17).
Gidey, this year's World Championships 10,000m silver medallist, clocked 44:20, more than a minute better than the previous world best of 45:37 Joyciline Jepkosgei set in Prague two years ago en route to her first world record in the half marathon.
Covering the first five kilometres in a quick 15:09, the 21-year-old upped the pace over the next five kilometres, closing that stretch with a stunning 2:44 10th kilometre, to reach the 10km point in a remarkable 29:44. She slowed over the next two kilometres but shifted gears again in the waning stages, closing with kilometre splits of 2:49, 2:52 and 2:50. She covered the last 10km in a stunning 29:12, the fastest 10-kilometre stretch ever produced under any conditions.
"I felt I was in good form in preparation for the (race) and my legs felt good all through the race," said Gidey, who rose to prominence in the U20 ranks after taking back-to-back world U20 cross country titles in 2015 and 2017. "I was quite surprised to see how much time I was able to get off the previous world (best) to be honest but I had great legs and it was a really nice race."
Stephen Kissa of Uganda won the men's race in 41:49 to become the seventh fastest ever over the distance.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h3>Lonyangata and Melese regain Shanghai Marathon titles</h3>
Kenya&rsquo;s Paul Lonyangata and Yebrgual Melese of Ethiopia took the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s title at the Shanghai International Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (17).
The 26-year-old Lonyangata broke clear before 35km and led alone the rest of the way to hit home with a clocking of 2:08:11, 57 seconds shy of the 2:07:14 course record he set in the Chinese city in 2015.
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Kenyan distance runner Paul Lonyangata</div>
&nbsp;
&ldquo;It has been five years since I run here last time,&rdquo; Lonyangata said. &ldquo;I noticed nobody had broke my course record so I came back to break it myself. But the weather was much hotter than five years ago.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The temperature was around 15 degrees when the race started but rose quickly. When the men&rsquo;s leaders reached 20km 1:00:12, it was already near 20 degrees.
A group of 12 runners led the race to a fast pace in the early stages, reaching 5km in 14:57 and 10km in 29:58. When the leaders passed the 15km mark in 45:01 they were already 47 seconds ahead of the course record, and by 20km they were still six seconds ahead.&nbsp;
But the pace slowed after 20km and when the last pace maker left the seven-runner leading pack, the leaders were 43 seconds behind the record time.
&ldquo;I think the pacers stopped too early. One of the two pacers stopped after 11 kilometres and the other left by 25km. Because of the weather and the pace maker, I did not break the course record,&rdquo; said Lonyangata, who decided to control the race with his own pace after 30km and pulled clear by 35 km before breaking the tape in style to celebrate his first marathon victory of the year.
Hassan El Abbassi of Bahrain, who set the Asian record of 2:04:43 last year in Valencia, finished second in 2:08:58, followed by Lmenih Getachew of Ethiopia with a clocking of 2:09:14.
Defending champion Yebrgual Melese also managed to confirm her favourite status in the women&rsquo;s race although the winning time of 2:23:19 is more than two minutes slower than the 2:20:36 course record she achieved 12 months ago.
As the fastest entrant in the field with a personal best of 2:19:36 set last year in Dubai, the 29-year-old Melese was among a six-athlete leading group in the first half of the race. When she arrived at the 25km water stations in 1:24:12, only countrywoman Waganesh Mekasha managed to keep up with the chasers trailing 16 seconds behind.
After another four kilometres, the 27-year-old Mekasha began to fade gradually. Melese was leading by 14 seconds at 30km and kept widening the gap until wrapping up her fourth title over the classic distance.
Mekasha, a 2:22:45 performer, finished second in 2:25:37 while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Obse Abdeta, 19, finished third in 2:27:47 in her marathon debut.&nbsp;
Vincent Wu for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h3>Jelagat breaks course record at Boulogne-Billancourt half</h3>
Kenya&rsquo;s Nancy Jelagat broke the women&rsquo;s course record at the 23rd Boulogne-Billancourt Christian Grangier Half-Marathon, a World Athletics Bronze Label road race, on Sunday (17).
Jelagat took advantage of the perfect conditions to clock 1:08:25 and smash her personal best by almost two minutes as well as improving by five seconds the previous course record set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Rahma Rusa two years ago.
Jelagat, who recorded two others PBs this year --32:05 in the 10km and 2:36:22 in the marathon-- produced a solo performance here. From the gun, she established a small lead over Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mehdin Beyene. Although Jelagat was shadowed by Beyene throughout the race, she never faded, ultimately erasing her previous best of 1:10:18 she set when winning in Hamburg in 2018.
Beyene finished second 14 seconds adrift in 1:08:38, also a career best. Deborah Samum rounded out the podium in 1:09:57, ten seconds ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Silenat Ysmaw. Both bettered their respective lifetime bests.
In our preview yesterday, we wrote that the men&rsquo;s course record of 1:00:11 set by Franklin Chepwony in 2013 shouldn&rsquo;t be in jeopardy. Felix Kipkoech however produced an impressive display of strength and came tantalisingly close.
From the gun the 21-year-old Kenyan headed a group of six, including defending champion Taye Girma, Precious Mashele of South Africa, newcomer Selemun Kashsay and Briton Jake Smith. The leaders reached 10km in 29:10, suggesting a finish time of about 1:01:30.
But with Kipkoech as the driving force, the tempo was ratcheted up soon after. As a consequence, Kashsay and Smith were dropped at about 12 kilometres with Girma following suit two kilometres later. That left Kipkoech and Mashele, who finished third at last&rsquo;s year edition, to battle it out for the win.
They covered the next five kilometres in 14:08 to reach 15km in 43:18. Kipkoech then made his final move in the waning stages to pull off the victory in 1:00:12, just one second shy of the course record. He also improved his previous career best of 1:01:24 set in Rabat in April by more than a minute.
Mashele came home second in 1:00:28 as Girma held on to round the podium in 1:00:50.
Smith was fifth in 1:02:02 to lop 1:04 from the UK U23 record of 1:03:06 set by Callum Hawkins in 2014.
Leading results MEN 1 Felix Kipkoech (ETH) 1:00:12 2 Precious Mashele (RSA) 1:00:28&nbsp; 3 Taye Girma (ETH) 1:00:50 4 Selemun Kashsay (KEN) 1:01:41 5 Jake Smith (GBR) 1:02:02 WOMEN 1 Nancy Jelagat (KEN) 1:08:24 2 Mehdin Beyene (ETH) 1:08:38 3 Deborah Samum (KEN) 1:09:57 4 Silenat Ysmaw (ETH) 1:10:07 5 Asmae Ghizlan (MOR) 1:12:11
Quentin Guillon for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h3>Yamaguchi and Kusuro take Kobe marathon titles</h3>
Haruka Yamaguchi of Japan and Ugandan Geoffrey Kusuro cruised to decisive victories at ninth Kobe Marathon, a World Athletics Bronze Label road race, on Sunday (17).
Yamaguchi, an unsponsored runner who clocked a 2:33:06 lifetime best in Sydney in September, pulled away early and was never threatened en route to her 2:27:39 victory. her performance also slashed nearly four minutes from the 2:31:38 course record set last year by Kenyan Susan Jerotich.
Further back, Ethiopians Sisay Meseret and Tesfanesh Merga finished second and third, respectively, clocking 2:31:30 and 2:31:43.
Kusuro, who had Kenyan Eliud Barngetuny for company for the first half, pulled away in the second en route to a 2:08:46 victory, also a personal best and well under the 2:12:42 course record set in 2017 by Morocco&rsquo;s Khalil Lemciyeh. Kusuro, 30, warmed up for the race with a 59:54 run at a half marathon in Belfort, France, on 29 September. He set his previous marathon best of 2:10:53 at the Ljubljana Marathon last year.
Barngetuny was second in 2:12:23 and further back Junichi Tsubouchi of Japan was third in 2:14:05.

Kenya’s Paul Lonyangata and Yebrgual Melese of Ethiopia took the men’s and women’s title at the Shanghai International Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (17).

Shanghai Boulogne-Billancourt Kobe 2019

Weekend road round-up: Gidey smashes 15km world best, Lonyangata and Melese win in Shanghai

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Just a month from today, the 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships will open in the magnificent Bercy Stadium in Paris. This will be the first act in a magnificent year for athletics which, will witness the 25th World Cross Country Championships on 23 March in Turin’s Parco del Valentino followed by the World Race Walking Cup in Podebrady/Prague on 19-20 April and will culminate in the celebration in August of the World Championships in Athens. In the meantime, the athletics world is heightening attention for Paris. Numerous stars have pushed forward their training programmes so as to be in shape to chase not only athletics glory but also the substantial economic rewards up for grabs at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy. For the first time in the history of athletics the winners - men and women - of a world indoor title will win $50,000, 2nd and 3rd pl, respectively $20,000 and $10,0000. For the relays, the awards will be: $60,000; $30,000 and $16,000. As amply demonstrated in the recent indoor meetings in Stuttgart, Erfurt and Madrid, the competitive condition of the athletes continues to improve, despite the fact that most of them had a particularly gruelling Olympic year. The most outstanding example came in Stuttgart from Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) and Haile Gebrselassie (ETH): their 1500m race ended in a new world record for the Moroccan (3:31.18) and a personal best for the Ethiopian (3:32.39). El Guerrouj’s talent as a fast middle distance runner is unquestionable and his duel with Noureddine Morceli (ALG) will be one of the highlights of the coming outdoor season. The Olympic 10,000m champion’s improvement in this event cannot fail to astound. Before his race on the Stuttgart indoor track, Gebrselassie had a best performance over 1500m of 3:34.64, outdoors at Chemnitz in 1996. The fact that he has been able to cut this time by more than two seconds on a track which - because of its length and the consequent increase in the curves - is still more difficult to run on as the pace increases, means that Gebrselassie should go under 3:30 outdoors. Haile Gebrselassie - who has run the 800 in 1:46 in training - is a revolutionary: he has created a new era in resistance running. On the same road, and at his heels, runs Daniel Komen (KEN), presaging 1997 as a year of great challenges and perhaps new sensational records in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000m. Some vision of which of the two will lead the race for records should come in Paris. Haile Gebrselassie will run in the 3000m in Bercy, at which distance he currently holds the world indoor record (7:30.72). A record which is likely to crumble at the next world championships. But not only the distance runners are progressing. The women’s Olympic long jump gold medallist Chioma Ajunwa (NGR) is showing constant improvement in this event and in the sprints. Together with Irina Privalova (RUS) and Merlene Ottey (JAM) she will make the 60m final a real thriller. The heptathlon (men) and pentathlon (women) will also be interesting in Paris. All of the world’s greatest specialists of these events invited by the IAAF have confirmed their participation, other than Dan O’Brien (USA) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA). The USA will be represented by Steve Fritz, placed 4th in Atlanta, and Chris Huffins in the heptathlon; Kelly Blair - 8th in the Olympics - and Kym Carter will compete in the women’s event. Denise Lewis (GBR), another rising star of British athletics will start strong favourite to win the $50,000 women’s first prize. But the first world record of the World Indoor Championships has been won by a particularly athletic category: the journalists. 535 have already received accreditation, a number which is destined to increase before the Championships and which demonstrates the excitement around this major event. &nbsp; ENDS Downloadable .PDF version of the original Press Release

First record for Paris World Indoor Championships broken by the Press: nearly 600 accreditations to date.


MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Just a month from today, the 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships will open in the magnificent Bercy Stadium in Paris. This will be the first act in a magnificent year for athletics which, will witness the 25th World Cross Country Championships on 23 March in Turin’s Parco del Valentino followed by the World Race Walking Cup in Podebrady/Prague on 19-20 April and will culminate in the celebration in August of the World Championships in Athens. 
In the meantime, the athletics world is heightening attention for Paris. Numerous stars have pushed forward their training programmes so as to be in shape to chase not only athletics glory but also the substantial economic rewards up for grabs at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy. For the first time in the history of athletics the winners - men and women - of a world indoor title will win $50,000, 2nd and 3rd pl, respectively $20,000 and $10,0000. For the relays, the awards will be: $60,000; $30,000 and $16,000. 
As amply demonstrated in the recent indoor meetings in Stuttgart, Erfurt and Madrid, the competitive condition of the athletes continues to improve, despite the fact that most of them had a particularly gruelling Olympic year. The most outstanding example came in Stuttgart from Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) and Haile Gebrselassie (ETH): their 1500m race ended in a new world record for the Moroccan (3:31.18) and a personal best for the Ethiopian (3:32.39). El Guerrouj’s talent as a fast middle distance runner is unquestionable and his duel with Noureddine Morceli (ALG) will be one of the highlights of the coming outdoor season. The Olympic 10,000m champion’s improvement in this event cannot fail to astound. 
Before his race on the Stuttgart indoor track, Gebrselassie had a best performance over 1500m of 3:34.64, outdoors at Chemnitz in 1996. The fact that he has been able to cut this time by more than two seconds on a track which - because of its length and the consequent increase in the curves - is still more difficult to run on as the pace increases, means that Gebrselassie should go under 3:30 outdoors. 
Haile Gebrselassie - who has run the 800 in 1:46 in training - is a revolutionary: he has created a new era in resistance running. On the same road, and at his heels, runs Daniel Komen (KEN), presaging 1997 as a year of great challenges and perhaps new sensational records in the 3000, 5000 and 10,000m. Some vision of which of the two will lead the race for records should come in Paris. 
Haile Gebrselassie will run in the 3000m in Bercy, at which distance he currently holds the world indoor record (7:30.72). A record which is likely to crumble at the next world championships. 
But not only the distance runners are progressing. The women’s Olympic long jump gold medallist Chioma Ajunwa (NGR) is showing constant improvement in this event and in the sprints. Together with Irina Privalova (RUS) and Merlene Ottey (JAM) she will make the 60m final a real thriller. 
The heptathlon (men) and pentathlon (women) will also be interesting in Paris. All of the world’s greatest specialists of these events invited by the IAAF have confirmed their participation, other than Dan O’Brien (USA) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA). The USA will be represented by Steve Fritz, placed 4th in Atlanta, and Chris Huffins in the heptathlon; Kelly Blair - 8th in the Olympics - and Kym Carter will compete in the women’s event. Denise Lewis (GBR), another rising star of British athletics will start strong favourite to win the $50,000 women’s first prize. 
But the first world record of the World Indoor Championships has been won by a particularly athletic category: the journalists. 535 have already received accreditation, a number which is destined to increase before the Championships and which demonstrates the excitement around this major event. 
  
ENDS Downloadable .PDF version of the original Press Release

The first record broken for Paris World Indoor Championships broken by the Press: nearly 600 accreditations

&nbsp;A memorable battle will be fought on Sunday on the fields of Albufeira, in Portugal. This will be the scene of the 21st edition of the "Cross Internacional Das Amendoeiras" - Almond Blossom Cross Country, 7th stage of the IAAF World Cross Challenge, and it looks set to be a closely fought battle between Portugal and Kenya. The Portuguese are some of the greatest European fans of cross country and have produced a great number of top class runners over the years, and also the legendary Carlos Lopes - three time world champion. Lopes matured his talent patiently, reaching Olympic glory in Los Angeles, in the marathon, at the age of 37. The following year, in 1985, he managed two other notable exploits: he won the Rotterdam Marathon in a new world record time of 2:07.12 (still the 4th best time ever) and won his third cross country world champion&rsquo;s title. This latter success, in Lisbon, was also the last by a non African. On Sunday, Kenya will be presenting an impressively strong and coherent line-up: Richard Kosgei, James Kariuki, Tom Nyariki, Joseph Kipruto, Benson Masya, Elija Lagat and the winner of the Tourcoing Cross on 1 Feb, Bernard Barmasai, who has a 3000 steeplechase best of 8:10.84. The Portuguese team will be led by Paulo Guerra, ex-European champion and will include Domingos Castro, Alfredo Bras, Carlos Monteiro, Carlos Patricio and Jos&eacute; Ramos. There will also be a strong British team, with Paul Evans, John Nuttall, Rob Denmark and Andrew Pearson. Just as exciting as the men&rsquo;s race (over 10 km), will be the women&rsquo;s event (over 6 km). Although Portugal will be able to count on the talent of Fernanda Ribeiro, Olympic gold in the 10,000m, Concei&ccedil;ao Ferreira, Marina Bastos and Ana Dias, Kenya will be fielding Tegla Loroupe, a great marathon runner and sixth in the 10,000m in Atlanta, and Joyce Chepchumba. But the danger for both will come from the East: from Elena Fidatov (ROM), current leader of the IAAF World Cross Challenge (which offers a total of $160,000 in prize money, including $25,000 dollars each to the winners of the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s events in 1997) who seems likely to dominate this season&rsquo;s cross country scene.

A memorable battle will be fought on Sunday on the fields of Albufeira, in Portugal. This will be the scene of the 21st edition of the "Cross Internacional Das Amendoeiras" - Almond Blossom Cross Country, 7th stage of the IAAF World Cross Challenge, and it looks set to be a closely fought battle between Portugal and Kenya. 

Portugal vs Kenya: fight to the last Albufeira in the IAAF World Cross Challenge

p>MONTE CARLOMonaco Haile Gebrselassie
(ETH) recorded one of Athletics&#146; most outstanding
performances with his record-breaking 5000m run in Stockholm on
Thursday evening. Ten years ago - on 22 July 1987, in Rome -
another outstanding performer, Saïd Aouita (MAR) was the first
to go below the 13 minute mark in the 5000m outdoors, on a tartan
track in the Roman Olympic stadium. But there is a great
difference between achieving that time on a 400m track and
running 12:59.04 on a 200m track as Gebrselassie did in
Stockholm. The tighter bends of the short track limit mechanical
effectiveness considerably.

Haile Gebrselassie, who holds the world
outdoors record for the 5000m with his mark of 12:44.39, has
shown that he is capable of reducing considerably the record for
the event. The race for the new record will be particularly
exciting as the formidable Ethiopian will be running against
young Kenyan talent Daniel Komen and Salah Hissou of Morocco as
well as against the clock.

Hissou is likely to be Haile
Gebrselassie&#146;s strongest threat in the 3000m in the
forthcoming World Indoor Championships in Paris (7-9 March). The
Ethiopian is on top physical and psychological form and ready to
take the title and further improve the world record time of
7:30.72 he set last year. 

&nbsp;

ENDS

Downloadable .PDF version of the original Press Release

p>MONTE CARLOMonaco Haile Gebrselassie
(ETH) recorded one of Athletics most outstanding
performances with his record-breaking 5000m run in Stockholm on
Thursday evening. Ten years ago - on 22 July 1987, in Rome -
another outstanding performer, Saïd Aouita (MAR) was the first
to go below the 13 minute mark in the 5000m outdoors, on a tartan
track in the Roman Olympic stadium. But there is a great
difference between achieving that time on a 400m track and
running 12:59.04 on a 200m track as Gebrselassie did in
Stockholm. The tighter bends of the short track limit mechanical
effectiveness considerably.


Haile Gebrselassie, who holds the world
outdoors record for the 5000m with his mark of 12:44.39, has
shown that he is capable of reducing considerably the record for
the event. The race for the new record will be particularly
exciting as the formidable Ethiopian will be running against
young Kenyan talent Daniel Komen and Salah Hissou of Morocco as
well as against the clock.


Hissou is likely to be Haile
Gebrselassies strongest threat in the 3000m in the
forthcoming World Indoor Championships in Paris (7-9 March). The
Ethiopian is on top physical and psychological form and ready to
take the title and further improve the world record time of
7:30.72 he set last year. 


 


ENDS

Downloadable .PDF version of the original Press Release

Meeting Name	Venue	Country	Date
Medio Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP	Valencia	ESP	27 Oct 2019
Changsha International Marathon	Changsha	CHN	27 Oct 2019
Volkswagen Ljubljana Marathon	Ljubljana	SLO	27 Oct 2019
Around Taihu International Race Walking 2019	Suzhou	CHN	20 Oct 2019
EDP Maratona de Lisboa	Lisboa	POR	20 Oct 2019

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