Past winners Ayalew and Medhin return to Cross de Atapuerca

Hiwot AyalewEthiopia’s Hiwot Ayalew and Eritrea’s Teklemariam Medhin will line up for the Cross de Atapuerca looking to add another victory to their tally when the IAAF Cross Country Permit series gets underway in Burgos on 16 November.

World cross silver medallist Ayalew ended the summer season as the best steeplechaser in the world and she will now look to continue that form on the cross country.

Having won in Burgos for the past two years, she is bidding to become the first three-time winner of the women’s race at the Cross de Atapuerca.

But her task won’t be easy as she will be up against her fellow Ethiopian Belaynesh Oljira, who finished just one place behind her at the 2013 World Cross Country Championships.

Oljira, who is also the world bronze medallist over 10,000m, is coming fresh from a victory at the Great South Run, where she set a PB of 52:40 for 10 miles. She finished second in  this race in 2011 and will aim to improve on that.

Read more at: IAAF.org