Posted: April 2, 2006

Athletics: Dibaba Upset, Bekele Victorious At WXC Day 2

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Parker Morse

FUKUOKA (02-Apr) -- Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia successfully completed his fifth consecutive double victory by winning the 12-K long race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships here today, ending the 4-K/12-K two-race era and forever being remembered as its dominant athlete. His teammate, Tirunesh Dibaba, was not so fortunate in her attempt to be the first woman to twice complete the double, dropping out halfway through the women's short race while her teammate, Gelete Burka, ran to victory. In the men's junior race, Mangata Ndiwa and Leonard Komon led the Kenyan team to their eighth consecutive victory.

While morning rain showers stopped at the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park shortly before the beginning of the races, they were replaced by a brisk wind pushing against the runners at the start and finish. With a large group of women including Dibaba, Burka, Australia's Benita Johnson, the Netherlands' Lornah Kiplagat, and Kenya's Priscah Jepleting in contention at the end of the first lap, Dibaba, who had complained of stitches yesterday, veered off the course and back into the athlete's starting area.

Burka professed to be unaffected. "She was behind me," she explained. "I didn't know if she was there or not."

Into the second lap, Burka asserted herself more strongly, and by the final kilometer found herself alone with Jepleting. She pushed hard with the wind behind her, before turning into the wind for the finish, and established a lead she would hold to the end. Jepleting, running hard to the end, finished two seconds behind, with Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu closing quickly for third. Johnson, as in the long race yesterday, finished fourth. Kiplagat, yesterday's silver medalist, finished fifth.

Without Dibaba, Ethiopia's team title seemed in jeopardy, but strong running from Bezunesh Sertsu (9th) and Teyba Erkesso (12th) allowed them to eke out a one-point victory over Kenya, 25-26. Powered by Johnson's 4th place finish, Australia took the bronze with 69 points. As she was in the long course race yesterday, Blake Russell was the best American finisher in 18th; the U.S. team took its third fifth place of the weekend. Malindi Elmore (19th) led Canada's 7th place team.

The men's long-course race looked like the early stages of a marathon with a huge pack of athletes running together through the first three of six laps. Approaching the end of the fourth lap, Bekele and his teammate who fell yesterday, Sileshi Sihine, began to assert themselves, winnowing the pack to six: two Ethiopians (Sihine and Bekele,) two Kenyans (Martin Irungu and Mike Kigen) and two Eritreans (Yonas Kifle and Zersenay Tadesse). This group stuck together into the final lap, and again Bekele moved with the wind behind him, overtaking Tadesse who was leading at that point and pulling his teammate Sihine along with him. As he rolled over the final hills, he looked positively joyful, and approaching the line he counted from one to five--his years of senior victories--on each hand, reaching ten as he crossed the line.

With five consecutive long-course victories, Bekele equals the achievement of Kenyan Paul Tergat; his ten wins, together with his junior victory in 2001, make him the most-decorated athlete in World Cross history. Starting next year, however, there will be no short course, and Bekele will have to win his titles one at a time, as Tergat did.

Despite their apparent weakness at the front, Kenya still took the team victory, their fourth in six races. Irungu in third led the team to a 24-point finish. Eritrea was the only team to place all four scoring runners in the top 10, scoring 28 points for second, and despite the one-two finish of Bekele and Sihine, Ethiopia wound up third with 42 points. Mexico was 9th with 199, the USA 12th with 206, and Canada 17th with 362.

Kenya's other victory today came in the junior men's race, won in the closing sprint by Mangata Kimai Ndiwa (5th in 2005) over his teammate Leonard Patrick Komon. Bekele's younger brother Tariku, 6th in 2005, improved to 3rd this year, but bid to win in the closing stages. Unfortunately, his decision to move early left him pushing into a headwind alone, vulnerable to the Kenyans' attack.

"I think I did make a mistake; I think if I had waited I would have been better able to challenge at the end," admitted the younger Bekele.

Fukuoka event organizers announced attendance of 9,000 spectators on Saturday and 11,000 on Sunday.

Day 2 Summary of Medalists: Sr. Women Short Course:
Individuals -
1. Gelete Burka, ETH: 12:51 Gold
2. Pisca Jepleting Ngetich, KEN: 12:53 Silver
3. Meselech Melkamu, ETH: 12:54 Bronze

Teams -
1. Ethiopia: 25 points Gold
2. Kenya: 26 points Silver
3. Australia: 69 points Bronze

Sr. Men Long Course:
Individuals -
1. Kenenisa Bekele, ETH: 35:40 Gold
2. Sileshi Sihine, ETH: 35:43 Silver 3. Martin Irungu Mathathi, KEN: 35:44 Bronze

Teams -
1. Kenya: 24 points Gold
2. Eritrea: 28 points Silver
3. Ethiopia: 42 points Bronze

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