Posted: April 2, 2006

Athletics: Calgary’s Malindi Elmore cracks top-20 at world cross country running championships

April 2 2006, FUKUOKA, Japan - Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele earned an unprecedented 10th consecutive title on Sunday at the world cross country running championships while Malindi Elmore of Calgary was the top Canadian finishing 19th in the women’s four kilometre race.

In the women’s four kilometre, Gelete Burika Bati of Ethiopia took the gold in 12:51 with Priscah Jepleting Ngetich of Kenya second in 12:53 and Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia third in 12:54. All the races Sunday were held in high winds which provided a stiff challenge to the runners.

Elmore clocked 13:21 for 19th place, Carmen Douma-Hussar of Cambridge, Ont., was 22nd in 13:25. Courtney Babcock of Chatham, Ont., 24th in 13:27, Megan Metcalfe of Edmonton 50th and Tara Quinn-Smith of Toronto 57th.

All the Canadians except Metcalfe competed at the Commonwealth Games which concluded last Sunday in Melbourne.

‘’I was wondering whether I would be ready to race four kilometres here after preparing for the 1,500 on the track at the Commonwealth Games most of the year,’’ said Elmore. ‘’I’ve done a lot of work over the last six months, I’m very fit and that carried through today. This was a harder race than my last participation two years ago especially with the strong winds. I had to stay relaxed and not fight myself.’’

In the team standings, the Canadian women were seventh out of 14.

‘’Our goal as a team was to win back the bronze medal from two years ago,’’ said Douma-Hussar. ‘’We knew we could all run strong together and be in position for it. That didn’t work out today but we’re still very pleased with our results.’’

In the men’s 12 kilometre race, Bekele led Ethiopia to a 1-2 finish clocking 35 minutes and 40 seconds. He has won both the four and 12 kilometre races at the last five worlds.

Ryan McKenzie of Windsor, Ont., was 76th, Steve Osaduik of Nanaimo, B.C., 92nd, Cristiano Mauricio of Leamington, Ont., 95th, Jeff Scull of Jordan Station, Ont., 99th, and James Nielsen of Toronto 125th.

In the junior men’s eight kilometre race, Mangata Kimai Ndiwa led Kenya to a 1-2 finish clocking 23:53.

Marcus Dillon of Toronto was 61st, Sean Fleming of Regina 75th, Allan Brett of Ottawa 77th, Kyle Boorsma of Guelph, Ont., 86th, Joseph Brunsting of Stirling, Ont., 88th while Cory Currie of Brantford, Ont., did not finish.

‘’What we’ll remember most from these cross country worlds are Kevin Sullivan’s superb performance (13th in the men’s four kilometre on Satuday) and the women’s team performance in the four kilometre which was better than the result indicates,’’ said Martin Goulet, Director, Endurance Programs for Athletics Canada. ‘’There was great team spirit especially on the junior women’s squad. They’ll have great memories from these worlds and will be motivated to pursue excellence in their careers.

‘’Next year the short distance races will be removed form the cross country worlds program. Since 1999 our focus has been on the shorter distances therefore we will need to evaluate our situation and have a realistic approach for the future. Surely the new programs at the NACAC cross country championships will fill a void. Regardless cross country running will remain a great way to develop middle and long distance runners. We won’t forget that.’’

Athletics Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of track and field including cross-country running and road running.

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