World Cross Preview - MST still cares!
So, thankfully do Athletics Weekly, who will be tweeting proceedings from Punta Umbria this Sunday. Jason Henderson and his team may also be one of a very select few of British journalists actually present in Spain…
Anyway enough lambasting and lamenting. There is some serious racing business to be done.
Senior men
With 2010 winner Joseph Ebuya not even making the Kenyan team, the standout athlete here is possibly Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai. A serious talent, who wins big when he wins. Mutai is a prize fighter whose international marathon wins have netted him some serious winnings and some seriously impressive times. But on the international XC stage Mutai is unproven, and the Spanish World Cross theatre may prove a unnerving for the 29 year-old.
Geoffrey Mutai (106) on his way to a storming win at the Kenyan trials
As ever the Kenya / Ethiopia rivalry will be fierce and the Ethiopian challenge will come from Humegaw Mesfin. The youngster won the Ethiopian trails easily and will relish the distance. His raw speed will also test Mutai, whose prowess lies in the longer distances.
This excellent AW preview also points out Ethiopian hope Yenew Alamirew who ran an absolutely scintilating 7:28.70 for 3000m indoors recently. However, Alamirew could be found wanting in the later stages if the race is at a high sustained pace.
From a GB & NI perspective trials winner Andy Vernon has hinted at a desire to go top 40 in Punta Umbria. Given the Aldershot man’s form over the last three months and his pretty good track speed, we feel that Andy could well be there or thereabouts and be in the top handful of European finishers.
Tom Gayle is also another whose passion for British athletics extends to XC, and he catches-up once again with GB team member Ryan McLeod, who is part of the 6-man senior team, for a chat over at the athleticos site.
Senior women
Undoubtedly the senior women’s race will see a sea of red Kenyan vests at the front. There will be an expectation from the proud nation for some dominant performances (from a team perspective) and hopes for a repeat of the awesome show of power in Poland last year.
Masai at this year's Great XC in Edinburgh
Individually, Kenya’s Linet Masai has not had much joy at the World Cross. Twice runner up in 2009 and 2010, the format of the races has been a history of Masai pulverising the field with her long-striding style and front running tactics, and a team mate sitting on her shoulder, only to romp away in the last kilometre to leave Masai tasting silver.
This winter has seen her find a new arch nemesis in the form of Vivian Cheriuyot. It is 2-1 to Masai at the moment, but expect the diminutive Cheriuyot to be right there come the last 500m – surely though Masai cannot finish runner-up again?
Charlotte Purdue
Charlotte Purdue has been a real breath of fresh air in the British 2010/11 XC campaign. After kicking off her winter as a junior, and the demolition of the opposition at the European Cross Country Champs, Purdue went on to completely dominate domestic cross country on senior level. We think that if all things go to plan and she runs a sensible pace early on, she could come back from her first senior international XC with a top 25 finish.
Full GB & NI teams
- Senior Men: Luke Gunn, Derek Hawkins, Tom Humphries, Ryan McLeod, Andy Vernon, James Walsh.
- Senior Women: Julia Bleasdale, Hatti Dean, Charlotte Purdue, Gemma Steel, Stevie Stockton, Naomi Taschimowitz.
- Junior Men: Ian Bailey, Ben Connor, Tom Curr, Richard Goodman, Jonny Hay, Ross Matheson.
- Junior Women: Beth Carter, Emelia Gorecka, Annabel Gummow, Ruth Haynes, Georgia Peel, Louise Small.
Follow the racing on AW’s twitter feed and no doubt some online live-stream outlets, and post-race reporting from the IAAF.
