Sunday, January 13, 2008

Big Names Athletes To Clash in World Cross Country Championships.

The world's leading cross country runners face off on Friday in what is billed as the most significant curtain-raiser to this year's World Cross Country Championships.

And what's more, defending world men's long course champion Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea, former holder Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya's potential champion Eliud Kipchoge will meet at Saturday's Great Edinburgh Cross Country Championships on the same course that will host this year's global competition on March 30.


In the women's contest, the challenge will pit Ethiopia's Gelete Burka against Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot.

The meet is the fifth of the 11 permit meetings in the 2007/2008 IAAF series.

Tadese caused a major upset when he profited from Bekele's mid-race withdrawal at the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa last March to take the gold medal bringing an end to the Ethiopian's five-year reign as long course champion
But Bekele bounced back from his Mombasa disappointment to land his third successive world 10,000m crown in Osaka and has since been in intensive training.

The Eritrean is gradually developing as a genuine rival to the previously all-conquering Bekele.

He may have had to settle to fourth in the 10,000m to the Ethiopian in Osaka but he showed his all-round endurance ability by successfully defending his World Road Running title in Udine, Italy, last October.

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