Bekele is unchallenged in Venta de Baños
Sunday 19 December 2004
Venta de Baños, Spain – Ethiopia’s World and Olympic 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele captured a convincing win in the ‘25th Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños' held today (Sunday) on a windy and cold (7ºC) morning.
MEN – Bekele dominant; Martinez impressive
The 22-year-old star had a handsome margin of 17 seconds (100 metres) over Spain’s European 10,000m champion José Manuel Martínez who was himself another 19 seconds ahead of fellow countryman Juan Carlos de la Ossa, who took the silver medal at the European Championships one week ago.
On his first outing of the winter season, the three-time double World Cross country champion started cautiously and for the first two kilometres ran in the middle of a large leading group. Soon afterwards it was Martínez who injected a brisk pace which only five more athletes managed to live with: Bekele, Portugal’s Fernando Silva and the Spanish trio of De la Ossa, Ricardo Serrano and Juan Carlos Higuero, with Britain’s Karl Keska a few further metres behind.
Martínez’s lethal pace soon paid off and with 12 minutes on the clock (4th km.) only Bekele and Higuero remained on his heels.
It was exactly at halfway that Bekele took charge of the race for the first time with Higuero losing ground one kilometre afterwards as a result.
Throughout the penultimate 2.1km lap, the excited crowd witnessed how Martínez was able to get back in touch with the current maestro of distance running but in the closing loop Bekele proved to be the strongest by far running majestically, and building a huge gap over Martínez in a matter of few strides.
Bekele’s win was effortless. He clapped many spectator’s hands as he passed them during the last lap, smiling and at ease all the time. Bekele’s winning time was 30:26, while Martínez clocked 30:43 for a praiseworthy second place.
“I’m surprised because I didn’t expect to feel so good so early in the season; Martínez’s resistance until the last lap also surprised me”, said Bekele after the race.
The 33-year-old Spaniard only came 32th at the Europeans last week due to a cold he caught on the eve of the race. Martínez built a massive 19 seconds gap over third placer De la Ossa with the latter’s training mate Ricardo Serrano in fourth another seven seconds adrift. Portugal’s Fernando Silva overtook a fading Higuero in the closing stages, and Britain’s Karl Keska equalled his seventh position from the Europeans.
Asked on his plans for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in St-Etienne/St-Galmier, France on the weekend of 19/20 March 2005 Bekele remained adamant:
“I’ll only contest the long race there. I’ve been three times the double World champion and have nothing more to prove”. Bekele’s next appearance will be on 15 January at the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country.
WOMEN - Britain’s Kathy Butler unopposed
The women’s race became a two-way fight in the third kilometre when Portugal’s Ines Monteiro and Britain’s Kathy Butler broke away from the field with ease. The key moment came with 12 minutes on the clock when the 31-year-old Briton increased the pace and left Monteiro with no chance of winning. From then on, Butler’s advantage became bigger and bigger and she romped home with some 50m (10 seconds) over Monteiro, who finished seventh at the Europeans last Sunday.
Morocco’s Bouchra Ghezielle (4:04.19 1500m specialist) completed the podium 16 seconds behind Butler.
The winner declared, “I felt great throughout the race and hope this is a good beginning for a marvellous 2005 season for me”.
Kathy Butler came 12th at the Athens Olympics over 10,000m and set PB at 5000m (15:05.51), 10,000m (31:36.90) and Half Marathon (1h11:24) last year after a superb 11th position (first European-born) in the long race at the Cross Country Worlds in Brussels.
Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF
Results
Men (10.6 km.)
1. Kenenisa Bekele (Eth) 30:26
2. José Manuel Martínez (Esp) 30:43
3. Juan Carlos de la Ossa (Esp) 31:02
4. Ricardo Serrano (Esp) 31:11
5. Fernando Silva (Por) 31:19
6. Juan Carlos Higuero (Esp) 31:27
7. Karl Keska (Gbr) 31:41
Women (6.6 km.)
1. Kathy Butler (Gbr) 20:38
2. Inés Monteiro (Por) 20:48
3. Bouchra Ghezielle (Mar) 20:54
4. Ana Días (Por) 20:58
5. Jacqueline Martín (Esp) 21:01
6. Helena Sampaio (Por) 21:06
7. Alexandra Aguilar (Esp) 21:11