World Mountain Running Championships
Campodolchino, Italy
6 September
Altitude at start/finish: 1740m. Altitude at highest point on course: 1950m.
World Mountain Running Association race report: http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=54232.html
It was a tough day at the office for the Australian mountain running team at the World Championships in Italy on Sunday. Team members arrived only a few days beforehand and then competed at altitude with no time to acclimatise.
The most promising results came in the junior men\’s 8.7 kms where Jordan Nelson finished 20th and Stephen McShane 28th, but were 3rd and 5th respectively of those in the field born in 1992 or later. The team finished 11th but could have finished well up in the top ten but for pre-departure illness striking Tasmanian Junior World Orienteering representative Oscar Phillips who struggled to finish.
The senior women\’s team finished 10th after very solid mid-field runs by Jessamy Hosking (33rd), Kathryn Ewels (43rd) and Hubertien Wichers (50th). Scott McTaggart (75th) and John Winsbury (77th) also finished mid-field in the senior men\’s 13 kms but would have been disappointed not to finish higher up after top third races in previous years.
The junior women\’s 4.3 kms was won in a time within previous performances of Veronica Wallington, who was an 11th hour withdrawal from the team with a stress fracture. The Australian junior girls of Briony Shaw (36th) and Kimberley Duthie (41st) will benefit from their debut international experiences.
Men\’s 13,020km, elevation gain 825m
1 Geoffrey KUSURO UGA 54.51
2 Azerya WELDEMARIAM ERI 55.45
3 James KIBET UGA 55.54
4 Bernard DEMATTEIS ITA 56.02
5 Zemichael TESFAMICHAEL ERI 56.08
75. Scott McTaggart AUS 1.03.56
77. John Winsbury AUS 1.03.57
100. Stephen Brown AUS 1.07.36
Women\’s 8,680km, elevation gain 550m
1 Elisa DESCO ITA 43.39
2 Valentina BELOTTI ITA 44.03
3 Maria Grazia ROBERTI ITA 44.23
4 Sarah TUNSTALL GBR 44.48
5 Hulya BASTUG TUR 44.57
33 Jessamy Hosking AUS 48.30
43 Kathryn Ewels AUS 49.56
50 Hubertien Wichers AUS 52.11
65 Kate Siebold-Crosbie AUS 58.39
TEAMS
1 ITA 6
2 GBR 22
3 USA 38
4 TUR 44
5 SLO 48
10 AUSTRALIA 126
11 NEW ZEALAND 126
Junior men\’s 8,680km, elevation gain 550m
1 Xavier CHEVRIER ITA 38.26
2 Muzaffer BAYRAM TUR 39.22
3 Alper DEMIR TUR 39.32
4 Brandon LORD USA 39.51
5 Luca CAGNATI ITA 40.00
20 Jordan Nelson AUS 42.48
28 Stephen McShane AUS 43.24
54 Charles Brooks AUS 45.58
62 Oscar Phillips AUS 49.44
TEAM
1 TUR 14
2 ITA 16
3 GBR 52
4 CZE 62
5 SUI 67
11 AUSTRALIA 102
Junior women\’s 4,340km, elevation gain 275m
1 Yasemin CAN TUR 22.18
2 Megan MORGAN USA 22.35
3 Angelika MACH POL 22.56
4 Zeynep YOK TUR 23.05
5 Özlem KAYA TUR 23.15
36 Briony Shaw AUS 26.52
41 Kimberley Duthie AUS 29.15
TEAMS
1 TUR 5
2 ROM 13
3 POL 20
4 ITA 21
5 RUS 21
14 AUSTRALIA 77