Where Your Dreams Become Reality
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Where Your Dreams Become Reality |
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Maury, De La Ossa Headling Saturday's European Cup 10,000m By Bob Ramsak (c) 2005, Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved Defending champion Margaret Maury of France and Spain's Juan Carlos de la Ossa headline the fields for Saturday's ninth edition of the European Cup 10,000m in Barakaldo, Spain. The 30-year-old Maury, a finalist in the 5000 meters at last year's Olympic Games and national record holder in that event (14:43.90), will be aiming to improve on her personal best of 32:01.01 she set while winning the title last year in Maribor, Slovenia. De la Ossa, who captured the silver medal at the Spar European Cross Country Championships in December, will make his first track appearance of 2005. He clocked his personal best of 28:07.19 at this event in 2003. Maury's stiffest challenge should come from a strong Portuguese contingent, including three members of the bronze-winning long course team from the IAAF World Cross Championships two weeks ago: Adélia Elias, Inês Monteiro and Mónica Rosa. Two-time winner Fernanda Ribeiro, the 1996 Olympic champion at the distance, is on the Portuguese squad as well. Past winners include Briton Paula Radcliffe, another two-time winner, who set the competition record of 30:40.70 in 1999. Germany's Dieter Baumann, the 1992 Olympic champion at 5000 meters, was also a two-time winner (1999 and 2002). The men's record is held by Spaniard Fabien Roncero who ran 27:14.44 in 1998. Saturday's event marks the fourth time Barakaldo has hosted this event. The competition, until this year called the European 10,000m Challenge, was inaugurated in the northern Spanish city situated near the Bay of Biscay in 1997, and returned in 1999 and 2001. The event was set up to give European athletes an early season opportunity to post qualifying performances for major summer competitions. Spain has won the men's competition four times, while Portugal has dominated the women's with six team titles.
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Cross Country Spikes 10% off Injured?
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