Jakob Ingebrigtsen, hard to handle in the European Cross

Norway dominated the Piedmont-La Mandria Cross Country Championship again with another dream double. They come off the back of last year’s Dublin-Fingal Continental triumph and have successfully defended their European crowns.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karoline Grovdal proved to be a step ahead of the rest with his golds in Turin and his next challenge is the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona on December 31.

For its part, Spain emerged from the European Championship with a good haul of five medals (two gold, one silver and two bronze)., improving the two silver medals obtained last year and a single medal from the best historical year, which continues to be Albufeira 2010 with 6 medals. Mo Katir was the best of the Spaniards with ninth place.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, last year’s champion in Dublin-Fingal, arrived in Turin in top form after completing a specific preparation of four weeks at the altitude of Flagstaff (Arizona, United States). A preparation in which he was also accompanied by the female winner, Karoline Grovdal. Ingebrigtsen controlled the race at all times from the front positions.

Hardened by a thousand battles, he knows how to resist the nerves and attacks of his rivals to maintain a consistent rhythm and reach the final lap with strength.. The British Emile Cairess was in danger of finding the surprise, but he was unable to take the Norwegian at any time. Despite not winning, his courage was rewarded and he finished in second position ahead of Belgian Isaac Kimeli.

At the back, Mo Katir was far from the first and had no chance to fight for the medals. The Murcian, coming off bronze at the Oregon World Cup (1,500) and silver at the Munich European Championship (5,000), faced the cross as part of his preparations for next season which will have two notable events, the Indoor European Championship in Istanbul in March and the Outdoor World Cup in Budapest in August.

Spain went to the European Championships with a powerful team of 40 members, the maximum possible to, as national coach Pepe Peiró assessed, “aim for everything with a very strong team”. The representatives of the absolute men’s team achieved a creditable third place according to the country with Mo Katir (9), Abdessamad Oukhelfen (10), Carlos Mayo (17), Roberto Alaiz (18) and Nassim Hassaous (25).

Grovdal edged out Klosterhalfen in the women’s race

The full women’s event of the Piedmont-La Mandria European Cross Country Championships was a show of power by Norwegian Karoline Grovdal and German Konstanze ‘Koko’ Klosterhalfen. Both athletes made the race one-on-one and the other rivals had no choice.

The Piedmont-La Mandría Cross Country Championship, located outside Turin, presented a difficult circuit, with a very hard surface conditioned by low temperatures and with a complex profile with a long climb of 300 meters and a dangerous descent that caused many falls.

The final victory went to the Norwegian, who put another gear on the last lap to let go of the German, who had just won the Valencia Half Marathon with the third best European time in history (1h05’15).

Exactly, Germany is the best of the countries and in a unique way, with four athletes in the first six classified, Koko Klosterhalfen (2), Alina Reh (3), Hanna Klein (4) and Miriam Dattke (6).

Spain are close to making it onto the podium, but are only five points behind Ireland. None of the national runners made it into the top ten, with veteran Irene Sánchez-Escribano best classified in 15th position.

María Forero, European Under-20 champion

Before facing two full races, the Spanish athletes finished a great day at the European Championship in Turin with a total of four medals and two continental titles. María Forero is the big news of the morning with her victory in the Under-20 category and also the gold of the teams thanks to the total results of the other national members, Iraia Mendia (9), Antía Castro (11) , María Vicious ( 24), Marta Serrano (43), Inés Docampo (53).

In the mixed relay, Spain achieved a famous silver medal close to gold. In the final meters of the final relay, Rosalía Tárraga crossed the finish line in first position, but Italian representative Gaia Sabbatini ran with all her might to beat the Spanish woman by a few seconds. The men’s Under-20 representatives also managed to leave Turin with a bronze medal, with Jaime Migallón (6) and Mario Monreal (8) ranked in the top ten.

completely masculine

1) Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 29’33
2) Emile Cairess (GBR) 29’42
3) Isaac Kimeli (BEL) 29’45
4) Yemaneberham Crippa (ITA) 29’47
5) Philimon Abraham (GER) 29’49
6) Bastien Augusto (FRA) 29’52
7) Yann Schrub (FRA) 29’52
8) Yohanes Chiappinelli (ITA) 30’03
9) Mohamed Katir (ESP) 30’06
10) Abdessamad Oukhelfen (ESP) 30’08
…

17) Carlos Mayo (ESP) 30’27
18) Roberto Alaiz (ESP) 30’30
25) Nassim Hassous (ESP) 30’44
34) Sergio Paniagua (ESP) 30’54

medal table

1 Great Britain 10 (5/4/1)
2 Italy 4 (2/2/0)
3 Spain 5 (2/1/2)
4 Norway 3 (2/1/0)
5 France 5 (1/1/3)

group classification

1) France 24
2) Italy 25
3) Spain 36
4) Belgium 36
5) Norway 45