From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Sep 08 2009 - 16:04:43 EDT
"The men's team competition was won by Eritrea with 24 points with Italy
second (39 points) and Turkey rounding out the medals with 75 points.
The U.S. men finished in sixth (117 points)."
RunnersWeb.com - Runner's and Triathlete's Web News
Posted: September 8, 2009
(RWire) Athletics: Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team Wins Silver, Bronze
at World Championships in Italy
Kusoro, Desco world champions; Megan Morgan earns individual Junior
silver; U.S. Senior women team bronze
By Nancy Hobbs
MADESIMO, Italy - (September 6, 2009) - The 25th running of the World
Mountain Running Championships were held under clear and crisp blue
skies with temperatures in the upper 50s for the start of the
competition on Sunday. The venue was in the winter ski village of
Madesimo, Italy, located three hours by bus from Milan. The course was
lined with fans not only from the host country, but with worldwide fans.
The sound of ringing cowbells and pulsating air horns filled the air. A
total of thirty-five countries were represented in the four races.
The Junior women started the day with a single lap of the 4.3K course.
The runners were tested with steep climbs and some rocky sections on the
descents. The terrain was a mixture of grass, packed dirt trail and
grassy sections with some rocks and roots to keep the athletes focused
on their footing. In order to run well the athletes would have to be
strong climbers, fearless descenders and able to transition between the
various grades.
Megan Morgan, 17, Del Mar, CA, was the first U.S. athlete of the day to
cross the finish line, earning a silver medal - the best individual
Junior finish following last year's bronze medal by Californian Alex
Dunne. Turkey's Can Yasemin won the gold medal 22 minutes, 18 seconds
with Morgan just 17 seconds back. Angelica Mach of Poland was the bronze
medalist in 22:56. Robyn Arnold, 16, Redlands, CA, rounded out the U.S.
scoring taking 23rd in 25:39. Alex Dent, 17, Scott Depot, WV, was unable
to finish after taking a spill on a road crossing approximately two
miles into the race. In all, 42 Juniors (at least 16 in the year of
competition and not yet 20) completed the course.
Turkey captured the Junior girls team title with five points (the top
two finishers on the team count in the scoring). Romania placed
runner-up with 13 points and Poland finished in bronze medal position
with 20 points. The next three teams were all separated by just one
point. Team USA finished in seventh position with 25 points. A total of
14 full teams competed in the Junior women's division. This was the
second best finish for the Junior girls trailing only the 2007 team that
took the silver.
The Junior men were up next, with two circuits and 8.6K to complete. The
teams from Turkey and Italy had a close battle with Italian Xavier
Chevier taking a decisive victory, crossing the line in 38:26 nearly a
minute up on his closest challenger. Turkish teammates Mzaffer Bayram
and Alper Demir, took second and third respectively in 39:22 and 39:32.
Nineteen seconds later Brandon Lord, 17, Hixson, TN, crossed the line
after running a controlled race starting in ninth position and moving to
eighth after the first loop and picking off other competitors to move up
in the standings. Lord bettered Tim Smith's fifth place from 2008 and is
now the all-time top placing U.S. Junior man. This is all the more
impressive as this was Brandon's first mountain race. Dan Nafziger, 18,
Harrisonburg, VA and Brian Rooney, 19, Arlington, VA were the next two
U.S. finishers closing out the team scoring in 39th and 41st places
respectively. They finished 12 seconds apart in 44:11 and 44:23. Tim
Smith, 19, Roanoke, VA, took 55th place in 46:10 in the field of 68
finishers.
Turkey was the top Junior boys team with 14 points (three runners score)
with Italy just two points back. Great Britain took home the bronze with
52 points. The U.S. team finished 8th among the 17 countries; the 8th
place finish ties the second best all-time (2006).
The Senior women were the third to compete over two loops of the course
which featured 1,800' of climb and descent. Average grades on the climb
were 20% and 10% on the descent. The U.S. women ran packed tightly
together passing through the first lap with the four athletes each in
the top 20. That grouping would not change by the finish with all four
crossing within 48 seconds. Elisa Desco (43:39), Valentina Belotti
(44:04) and Maria Grazia Roberti (44:23) all used their "home field
advantage" to lead Italy to a total domination of the team scoring
(three runners score) with a perfect score of 6 points.
For the USA, Brandy Erholtz, 32, Bailey, CO, led the way finishing tenth
in 45:23 and followed by Christine Lundy, 39, Sausalito, CA, (45:41)
13th; Megan Kimmel, 29, Silverton, CO, (45:46) 15th and Megan Lund, 25,
Basalt, CO, (46:11) 17th who earned the bronze medal with 38 points.
They finished 16 points behind the silver medal squad from Great
Britain. The third place finish trails only the two gold medal finishes
of 2006 and 2007. There were 69 finishers representing 14 countries.
The final race of the day was the Senior men's three grueling circuits
of the course, all between 5,000' and 6,300'. The African teams moved to
the front in the early going. Geoffrey Kusoro of Uganda forged a 54
second lead by the end, crossing the line in 54:51. Azerya Teklag
Weldemariam of Eritrea took the silver in 55:45 with the final medal by
James Kibet of Uganda in 55:54.
The U.S. team was led by former Junior team member (12th place 2006)
Andrew Benford, 21, Roanoke, VA. He moved into the top 15 and passed
teammate Joe Gray, 25, Lakewood, WA with approximately a mile to go.
Benford placed 13th in 58:09 with Gray finishing 16th in 58:43. The
final four team members all finished in a tight pack in places 42, 46,
47 and 48, with only 12 seconds separating them. Matt Byrne, 34,
Scranton, PA and Zac Freudenberg, 31, St. Louis, MO were the scoring
members in 1:01:26 and 1:01:34 in a field that featured 138 finishers.
Rickey Gates, 28, Boulder, CO and Tim Parr, 27, Gunnison, CO crossed
seconds later in 1:01:36 and 1:01:38.
The men's team competition was won by Eritrea with 24 points with Italy
second (39 points) and Turkey rounding out the medals with 75 points.
The U.S. men finished in sixth (117 points).
25th World Mountain Running Championship
Campodolcino e Madesimo, ITA, Sunday, September 6, 2009
SENIOR MEN - 12.9K
1) Geoffrey Kusoro (UGA), 54:51, Gold
2) Azerya Teklag Weldemariam (ERI), 55:45, Silver
3) James Kibet (UGA), 55:54, Bronze
U.S.
13) Andrew Benford (USA), 58:09
16) Joe Gray (USA), 58:43
42) Matt Byrne (USA), 1:01:26
46) Zac Freudenberg (USA), 1:01:34
47) Rickey Gates (USA), 1:01:36
48) Tim Parr (USA), 1:01:38
TEAM (top four score)
1) Eritrea, 24 points
2) Italy, 39
3) Turkey, 75
6) USA, 117
SENIOR WOMEN - 8.6K
1) Elisa Desco (ITA), 43:39, Gold
2) Valentina Belotti (ITA), 44:04, Silver
3) Maria Grazia Roberti (ITA), 44:23, Bronze
U.S.
10) Brandy Erholtz (USA), 45:23
13) Christine Lundy (USA), 45:41
15) Megan Kimmel (USA), 45:46
17) Megan Lund (USA), 46:11
TEAM (top three score)
1) Italy, 6 points
2) Great Britain, 22
3) USA, 38
Complete results at: www.wmrc2009.org.
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_news_frameset.html?http://www.runne
rsweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090908_RWire_Mountain.html
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