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Dec-31-2005
Dinkesa, Ochichi Cruise to Wins at Bolzano
by Bob Ramsak
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
Running in cold conditions, Abebe Dinkesa and Isabella Ochichi cruised to comfortable victories at the 31st Corsa Internazionale di San Silvestro "Boclassic" in this South Tyrolian alpine town.
Dinkesa took the lead in the fourth lap of the eight lap 10 km race to win convincingly in 28:38.9, more than 10 seconds ahead of Kenyan John Cheruiyot Korir, who reached the line in 28:49.6. Five-time winner and defending champion Sergiy Lebid, who was visibly struggling early on, was a distant third in 29:07.0.
"I'm very happy with this win," said the 21-year-old Ethiopian, who also defeated Lebid in their last meeting at the Lotto CrossCup in Brussels on December 18. "It was very cold, but it's also cold now Ethiopia, so it did not bother me."
Against a stunning backdrop provided by the jagged Dolomites, Wilson Busienei of Uganda and Gabrielle de Nard of Italy set the early pace, leading a relatively tight nine-man pack for the first three laps that wind through the city's narrow cobblestone streets. After Abderhaim Goumri of Morocco briefly forged to the front at the midway point to claim a 500 euro premium, Dinkesa and Korir broke from the pack, with the Ethiopian gradually building a lead that would soon prove insurmountable. Encouraged by the boisterous crowd assembled in the central St. Walther Square, Lebid regrouped in the last lap to hold off Goumri's challenge.
After the race, Lebid, who is fluent in Italian, thanked the large crowd for their support. "Thank you, Bolzano," the six-time European cross country champion said, sharing a wide smile. "But I'm sorry I was only third."
Lebid's pre-race build-up was apparently slowed in recent weeks by bad weather in his native Ukraine.
Dinkesa said he will now head back to Addis Ababa for a training stint with the national team, after which he hopes to qualify for the upcoming World Cross Country Championships. Dinkesa indicated that he might contest the Cross Internacional in Seville, Spain on Jan. 15. Dinkesa wouldn't say which racing surface was his favorite, but did say that he was looking forward to next summer's track season. "I want to make very good results in the 5000 and 10,000," he said. This year, he produced 12:55.58 and 26:30.74 personal bests on the track, and finished seventh in the latter at the world championships.
Both Dinkesa and Korir were late additions to the field, filling the void left by Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini and American Dathan Ritzenhein who were forced to withdraw last week due to injury.
Ochichi's win in the women's 5 km was just as dominating. Indeed, by the time she built a five-second lead over Hungary's Aniko Kalics midway through the third of four laps, it appeared that her strongest challenge this weekend would be the several flight cancellations that delayed her arrival here until just a few hours before the race.
Kalovics took the early lead, with Ochichi a step behind, and fellow-Kenyan Susan Chepkemei and Briton Jo Pavey in contention for most of the first lap.
Ochichi moved to the front for good less than two kilometers into the race.
She built a three second lead on Kalovics by the end of the first lap, and extended it to more than eight by the end of the third, before finishing in 15:53.6, nearly 11 seconds ahead of the Hungarian (16:04.5).
"It was very cold," Ochichi, the reigning Olympic silver medallist at 5000 meters, said. "But I felt very strong. So now I hope I'm on the right track training for cross country."
Pavey was a distant third in 16:11.3 while Chepkemei, running in her first race since finishing runner-up at the ING New York City Marathon last month, was never a factor beyond the first lap, and finished fourth (16:13.0).
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