Posted: December 22, 2005

Athletics: Ritzenhein Joins Edinburgh Field

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

American Dathan Ritzenhein will join the field for next month's VisitScotland Great Edinburgh International Cross Country, organizers announced today.

The 22-year-old Ritzenhein's Jan. 14 appearance in the Scottish capital will be his third international race in less than three weeks. On New Year's Eve, he will contest the Boclassic 10 km road race in Bolzano, Italy, and will defend his title at the Belfast International Cross Country race on Jan. 7.

"Dathan beat some very useful Kenyans when winning at Stormont [last January] and I know he is looking forward to defending that title," said Matthew Turnbull, elite athletes director of the Edinburgh meeting. "Belfast is a week before our race, so it does make sense for him to remain in this country and test himself in what I know again will be a very competitive race at Holyrood Park."

Last February, Ritzenhein won the long course title at the U.S. Cross Country championships, but faltered at the world championships where he finished 62nd, bothered by foot blisters. A foot injury sustained while playing soccer kept him from the U.S. Outdoor Championships, thus preventing him from earning a spot for last August's World Championships in Helsinki. A 2004 Olympian in the 10,000, Ritzenheim won the 2003 NCAA title in the event while at the University of Colorado, and has a 27:38.50 personal best.

Ritzenhein emerged as a top U.S. distance prospect at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships, where he finished third in the junior race, winning the first American medal in the junior competition since Keith Brantley's bronze medal-earning effort 20 years earlier. That race was won by a then little-known Kenenisa Bekele.

In Edinburgh, Ritzenhein will again face Bekele, who has won every world senior cross country title since. The field also includes Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea and Ukraine's six-time European champion Sergiy Lebid.

"Of course I'm not expecting him to win the race," Turnbull said, "the opposition is awesome and there's still another couple of top names to be added to the start list. But this will give him a great opportunity to rub shoulders with the world's best runners and I'm sure he'll be out to highlight his future pedigree. He stands out as America's top cross country performer and I believe has earned his spurs with his consistency and particularly his Belfast win, to deserve a place in our race."