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News19 Feb 1999


Loroupe makes a date with Chiba Cross Challenge

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19 February 1999 MonacoThe IAAF Cross Challenge makes a rare excursion outside Europe this Sunday (Feb 21) with the 34th edition of the Chiba International Cross in Japan, less than two weeks before Maebashi welcomes the world’s best indoor specialists for the first ever IAAF World Indoor Championships to be held in Asia.

Well organised and supported, the Chiba International has no problems attracting a number of top athletes from outside Asia. This year’s edition is noteworthy for the participation of the great Kenyan marathon runner Tegla Loroupe, who ran 2:20:47 in Rotterdam last year, the fastest time ever recorded for the distance.

Although primarily a road runner now, Loroupe started her career as a cross country runner and has mentioned the possibility of trying to make the Kenyan team for Belfast: "I won in Chiba in 1997 and really enjoy competing in Japan", she said in a telephone interview from Chiba. "I don’t know whether I will run in Belfast yet – I am getting a little old for this (she is now 26!), but will certainly be thinking about it."

In Chiba, Loroupe’s toughest opponents over the 8km course could be one of the Japanese contingent, led by Chiemi Takahashi and Kumiko Takemoto, or perhaps the Mexican runner Nora Rocha, currently 7th in the Cross Challenge rankings.

The men’s race will be enhanced by the presence of two great cross country specialists -Wilson Boit Kipketer and Damian Kallabis. Boit Kipketer briefly held the world record back in 1997 while Kallabis made a dramatic breakthrough last season to win the European title and the World Cup in Johannesburg - where he surprisingly beat Kenya’s Bernard Barmasai. There is no great cross country tradition in Germany, so Kallabis is bucking the trend, even if he fails to claim more Kenyan scalps this time. Portugal’s Jose Regalo, currently 11th in the Cross Challenge rankings, is the top man on paper - but that counts for less than usual in cross country.

Full results will be posted on  www.iaaf.org

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