World Cross - Amman

deadlybuzz

Any thoughts / predictions on upcoming World C/C this weekend? Qatar are looking to challenge perennial powerhouses of Kenya and Etiopia this year. Shaheen and Shami are both slated to run.
Great to see Keneally getting the ticket to represent Ireland. Any Irish women competing there? McCambridge due to run Paris marathon, so just wondering if anyone else got the nod. in her place.
German Fernandez, much touted middle-distance prospect, will be representing US in the juniors.

Race will be shown on live on BBC interactive. Looking forward to it.

Rineanna

deadlybuzz wrote: »

Any thoughts / predictions on upcoming World C/C this weekend? Qatar are looking to challenge perennial powerhouses of Kenya and Etiopia this year. Shaheen and Shami are both slated to run.
Great to see Keneally getting the ticket to represent Ireland. Any Irish women competing there? McCambridge due to run Paris marathon, so just wondering if anyone else got the nod. in her place.
German Fernandez, much touted middle-distance prospect, will be representing US in the juniors.

Didn't realise Kenneally was going. Thought there'd be no Irish there. Are the likes of the Ffrench-O' Carrolls or Sara Treacy are going in the Junior race? I'm guessing nobody stateside, like Ledwith are going to be going to it.

cfitz

Rineanna wrote: »

Didn't realise Kenneally was going. Thought there'd be no Irish there. Are the likes of the Ffrench-O' Carrolls or Sara Treacy are going in the Junior race? I'm guessing nobody stateside, like Ledwith are going to be going to it.

Last I heard there were 4 Irish places - 2 senior women, 2 senior men. But that was before Kelly pulled out... Treacy isn't junior.

deadlybuzz

In Men's race, it looks quite open at the sharp end. No Bekele (ankle injury) this year, so Tadese and Shaheen are probably favourites. The Kenyans can never be discounted,but haven't had an individual winner in years. I don't know if Lebid is running, but one would think that he would prefer a muddier, hillier course, to make a real impact. Farah won't be there for Britain, but will be interesting to see how Steph Twell fares in the Senior Women's race.

I see that 2010 World Cross will be in Bydgoszcz (check my spelling!), Poland, so we could expect larger travelling party from these shores after the Euro-Cross in Santry.

Rineanna

Just to clear things up, from the entry lists posted on Championship's website, it seems Mark Kenneally and Linda Byrne will sport the Irish singlet at the weekend.

myflipflops

In normal circumstances, Id be calling Tadesse the winner all over. The guy is training for London though and so there's doubt over his ability to cope with a 12k cross country at this level a couple of weeks out from his first full go at a marathon. He under performed at the Great Edinburgh Cross too which also cast a doubt.

After that, it's an incredibly hard race to call for me. Moses Mosop, the Kenyan trials winner may be their leader but the month long Kenyan prep camp always turns the tables within their squad. Ethiopia look quite weak for me this year (Tariku Bekele is talked about in the IAAF preview but is not on the start list so i presume he;s not running). Yuo're looking at the Kenyans, Tadesse, Kipsiro from Uganda, Gebremariam from Ethiopia and the emigma that is Said Shaheen to be up there competing.

Without Bekele the older, it's the first really open race in years and as such I'm really looking forward to it.

On the women's side, without Dibaba and Defar, there's a gap for a new winner. Linet Masai looks comfortably the class of the field for me though. Lots of speed and all your standard Kenyan endurance. If Steph Twell finished in the top 12, I'd be very impressed.

deadlybuzz

Nice analysis pwhite... on paper, the Men's race does look very open. The conditions could still well play a part. I would have expected the course to very much suit the speedsters in the field, but according to this amusing little piece posted on IAAF site, there may be a fair share of muck flying about, due to recent heavy rain in the area.


"However, the relatively lush surroundings of the Bisharat Golf Course which lies south of Amman and plays host to the championships, in recent days has taken on the appearance of a traditional European cross country venue as heavy rains have turned the ground surface into the consistency of the sticky semolina type variant of couscous which is such a popular dish locally. And very delicious it is too! But whether the athletes will find such conditions under-foot as appetising is a different question. However, with a full day of sunshine today (Thursday) and only a chance of light rain on Friday evening (27) the organisers are confident that the competition route on race day itself will not turn into a quagmire of mud." (source IAAF.org)

Rineanna

pwhite587 wrote: »

On the women's side, without Dibaba and Defar, there's a gap for a new winner. Linet Masai looks comfortably the class of the field for me though. Lots of speed and all your standard Kenyan endurance. If Steph Twell finished in the top 12, I'd be very impressed.

Yeah, I think it's a two on two battle between Kenya and Ethiopia: Masai/Kiplagat vs. Burka/Melkamu. Kibet to do a top 10, and can't see Jamal getting amongst the leaders. There could be an upset from one of the lesser known Kenyans; it'll be an interesting race.

mrak

Will this be on telly?

deadlybuzz

mrak wrote: »

Will this be on telly?

Yes, senior races are being shown live. Saturday 1115-1415, BBC Interactive (red button) if you have it. BBCi is available on SKY Digital and maybe other formats.

deadlybuzz

Senior Womens Race:

Florence Kiplagat snatched the win on finishing incline, from fellow kenyan Masai, with Melkamu (ETH) in 3rd. Steph Twell went off with leading group of 20, but wheels rapidly came off, and finished 38th, being passed by other europeans and some aussies along the way. Linda Byrne maintained steady position in late 50's / early 60's , finishing 65th. 88 finishers.
Looked like very windy conditions, with dry stony surface underfoot.

deadlybuzz

Senior Mens:

Kenneally finished respectable 68th of 137.

At the front, there was a pack of 10 all going for the win with less than half a lap remaining. Gebremariam (ETH) pushed on with 300m remaining to take the victory. Kipsoro (UGA) was 2nd, with Tadesse 3rd. No individual medals for Kenyans, but they snatched the team gold on countback from Ethiopia.

mrak

wow great race at the front (the senior mens) didn't see the womens. Also I think it was a good run from Mark Keneally. That field is unreal and he beat all the british guys including their XC specialists like vernon and tickner which is a good sign.

Racing Flat

mrak wrote: »

Also I think it was a good run from Mark Keneally. That field is unreal and he beat all the british guys including their XC specialists like vernon and tickner which is a good sign.

That's great. Fagan and Tergat might not have it all their own way next week.