Hiwot Ayalew wins Campaccio cross country race

Albert Rop (Bahrain) and Hiwot Ayalew (Ethiopia) took the honours at the 57th Campaccio cross-country race in San Giorgio su Legnano, an IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting, on Monday (6).

Rop crossed the finish-line in 28:19 in the men’s 10km race, beating world cross-country champion Japhet Korir by three seconds and 2011 world cross-country champion Imane Merga (Ethiopia) by six seconds.

Rop, who set a Bahraini record and Asian junior record of 12:51.96 for 5000m last summer, started pushing hard in the early stages of the race, going through the first kilometre in 2:49, followed by Merga and 8:03 steeplechase runner Jairus Birech. They formed the leading quartet together with Italian 3000m steeplechase champion Jamel Chatbi.

Ayalew just too good

Six women pulled away from the start of the race; 2009 world 10,000m champion Linet Masai, world cross-country silver medallist Hiwot Ayalew, 2010 Asian Games 5000m champion Mimi Belete, Ethiopian teenager Senberi Teferi and Kenyans Josephine Chepkoech and Goretti Chepkoech.

After clocking 3:30 for the first kilometre, Masai continued to run at the front ahead of Belete, Ayalew, Teferi and Chepkoech and they passed the 2km mark in 6:47, eight seconds ahead of world steeplechase champion Milcah Chemos, who was in seventh.

The leading group was whittled down to just four runners – Masai, Ayalew, Belete and Teferi – and they went through 3km in 9:47.

During the last lap, Ayalew, Masai and Teferi surged away from Belete. With 16 minutes on the clock, Ayalew pushed the pace, pulling away from Teferi and Masai and continued to increase her gap in the final stages to seven seconds, romping home in 18:59.

World junior bronze medallist Teferi finished runner-up in 19:06, three seconds ahead of Masai. Belete was a distant fourth in 19:17, beating Chepkoech (19:41) and Chemos (20:23). Read more