Zersenay Tadese Wins Castelbuono Race

Three years ago at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Zersenay Tadese was able to force  Kenenisa Bekele out of gear and stop his dream to win a sixth consecutive title. On July 26 a similar phenomenon occurred in Castelbuono…..

Asmara, 27 July 201- Three years ago at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Zersenay Tadese was able to force  Kenenisa Bekele out of gear and stop his dream to win a sixth consecutive title. On July 26 a similar phenomenon occurred in Castelbuono, where Olympic Marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, a pre-race favourite, was forced to stop early in the race by Zersenay.

Competing for the first time in Sicily, Zersenay Tadese, winner of the last four IAAF World Half Marathon titles and the World record holder over the distance at 58:23, took the honors at the 85th Giro di Castelbuono, one of the oldest road races in Europe. It’s a very challenging race, given the hilly course of ten 1.13km loops. Just after the start of every lap the runners actually have to climb a very though uphill.

Zersenay ran briskly from the start. By the end of the first lap he had already created a gap on pursuers Abraham Cherkos and Vincent Kipruto. At that point Wanjiru was far behind and during the third lap he dropped out, claiming a problem in his chest.

The Eritrean kept pushing hard alone and by halfway had built a 19 seconds advantage over his closest rivals. Only in the final lap did he slow down to cheer the win with the large crowd that traditionally fills the streets along the course.

“The course was very hard,” Zersenay said. “It’s the first time I’ve run here, I’m very happy I won.”

Leading Results (11.3 km)
1. Zersenay Tadese (ERI) 34:20
2. Abraham Cherkos (ETH) 34:31
3. Vincent Kipruto (KEN) 34:34
4. James Kwambai (KEN) 35:17
5. Gabriele De Nard (ITA) 35:35
6. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (KEN) 35:54
DNF – Samuel Wanjiru (KEN)