Six years after the closest European 5,000 meter final in history, its first two classifieds, Ilias Fifa and Adel Mechaal, Spaniards of Moroccan origin, will face off again this Thursday, now at 10 kilometers from the Cross de Cantimpalos (Segovia).
Nationalized Spanish in July 2015, Ilias Fifa reached the pinnacle of his career just one year later at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, giving a lap of honor wrapped in the Spanish flag after being proclaimed the 5,000-meter European champion.
A close inspection of the finish photo gave the Fifa victory ahead of Mechaal and German Richard Ringer, all with the same mark (13:40.85), separated by thousandths.
It was the second double for Spain in a 5,000 European final. The first, in Budapest’98, was achieved by Isaac Viciosa from Palencia and Manuel Pancorbo from Jaen.
Since July 10, 2016 when three medals finished in the same hundredth of a secondthe paths taken by one and the other followed other paths.
While Mechaal cherished the national titles (1,500, 3,000, 5,000, cross), one from Europe in the 3,000 indoors, the European record 3,000 indoors (7:30.82), fourth place at the World Championships and fifth in the Olympic Games of Tokyo -both in the 1,500-, FIFA was arrested in October 2017 in the course of the Chamberí Operation against doping and ended up being suspended for four years by the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency.
In May of this year he returned to the slopes, when his suspension ended, and on November 27, at the age of 33, FIFA repeated his success in the Barcelona Jean Bouin classic that he had already won in 2011. Cantimpalos with victory in his most recent race, same as Mechaal, winner on Sunday in Sonseca (Toledo).
The cross of the Segovian pig town celebrated its 50th anniversary this Thursday. Cantimpalos, the oldest race in Castilla y León, will face Mechaal again in FIFA six years after the battle in Amsterdam.
Both arrived successful, outside the Spanish team that three days later will compete in the European cross-country in Turin, and with the common goal of finding a victory that proves their solvency to return to the top of the Spanish long midfielder.
The National Association of Cross Crossing Organizers (ADOC) announced that Mechaal and FIFA will have to face Spanish-Uruguayan Santiago Catrofe, which came from the victory at Granollers; David Bascuñana, Yahya Aouina, Rául Celada and Nasser Oukhelfen (older brother of the international Abdessamad), and the Moroccan -obstacle specialist- Younes Kniya, who was third last month in the 10K of Alcobendas (Madrid ) will also fight for victory.
The Segovian Idaira Prieto, daughter of the legendary Antonio Prieto, “El Taca”, will try to prove once again her success in the women’s category, against Cristina Ruiz, Laura Luengo, Azucena Díaz, Beatriz Álvarez, Lidia Campo, Claudia Estévez, Tere Urbina or Clara Viñarás, among others.
Source: La Verdad
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