2009 European Cross Country Championships
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - 2009 European Cross Country Championships
OR:
2009 European Cross Country Championships on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
competition that was held on 13 December 2009 near
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
city, Fingal in Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time that a major European
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
championships took place in Ireland. The six men's and women's races in the championship programme took place in Santry Demense on a looped course with flat and grassy ground. The 16th edition of the
European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...
featured 323 athletes from 30 nations.
Alemayehu Bezabeh Alemayehu Bezabeh Desta ( Amharic: አለማየሁ በዛበህ ደስታ; born c. 1986) is an Ethiopian-born athlete who represents Spain internationally. He competes in middle- and long-distance running on the track, and also in cross country ...
upset the defending champion (
Serhiy Lebid Serhiy Lebid or Serhii Lebid ( uk, Сергій Лебідь; born 15 July 1975 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian long-distance runner. Career He has won the European Cross Country championships on nine occasions, winn ...
) to win the men's senior race: it was his first medal at a major international competition and he was the first Spanish runner to win in the history of the championships. In the women's senior competition,
Hayley Yelling Hayley Higham (born 3 January 1974, in Dorchester) is a British runner. She is the sister-in-law of fellow British runner Liz Yelling. She works as a Maths teacher at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and runs ...
was a surprise winner, having come out of her competitive retirement just weeks before the race. The much favoured Portuguese team (which included
Jessica Augusto Jessica may refer to: Given name * Jessica (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Jessica Folcker, a Swedish singer known by the mononym Jessica * Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer known by the m ...
and
Inês Monteiro Inês Alexandra das Neves Monteiro (born 18 May 1980) is a Portuguese athlete who competes in middle and long-distance track running, as well as road running and cross country. She started out as a cross country runner, winning a silver an ...
) did not reach the individual podium but they took the gold in the team competition. Noureddine Smaïl and
Hassan Chahdi Sidi-Hassan Chahdi (born 7 May 1989) is a French long-distance runner who competes mainly in cross country running competitions. Born in Cluses,Jeroen D'Hoedt was the winner of the men's junior race.
Sultan Haydar Sultan Haydar (; born May 23, 1985 in Golerogi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian-born Turkish long-distance runner. The tall athlete at is a member of Enkaspor, where she is coached by Nikola Borić. Born Chaltu Girma Meshesha in Ethiopia, she star ...
won the women's under-23 race while
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (born 14 June 1990) is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She won bronze medals for the 10,000 metres at the 2016 European Championships, and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2018 Eu ...
added to her junior honours with a gold in the women's junior race, becoming the first Norwegian gold medallist of the championships' history. Almost 7000 spectators attended the championships and, in Europe, it was broadcast live on television for free by RTÉ, the Irish state broadcaster.


Bidding

Ireland's bid for the competition was first discussed in 2006 when Liam Hennessy, president of
Athletics Ireland Athletics Ireland, officially the ''Athletic Association of Ireland'' or AAI, is the governing body for athletics in Ireland, with athletics defined as including track and field athletics, road running, race walking, cross country running, mount ...
, proposed the idea at the European Athletics conference that year. After the proposal had gained the support of the Athletics Ireland board, Fingal County Council and the
Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...
, the state broadcaster ( RTÉ) agreed to show the event live on television for free across Europe.Ireland's first European athletics event: Story of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(6 December 2009). Retrieved 16 December 2009. The bidding process concluded in October 2007 at a presentation to the European Athletics Association in Malta. The Irish bid to host the championships was led by Mary Coghlan (Chair of Finance & Risk AAI), Senan Turnbull (Fingal Council's director of community, culture and sports), Liam Hennessy (President of AAI), Paddy Marlay (Competition Committee of AAI) and beat proposals from France and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Ireland had hosted the World Cross Country Championships in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
and 2002, but this was the first time that Ireland had ever hosted a major European
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
competition.


Course

The course was situated in Santry Demense Park adjacent the national
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
stadium,
Morton Stadium Morton Stadium, or the National Athletics Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Santry Demesne, Santry in Ireland. Often called Santry Stadium, it is the centre for athletics events in Dublin city and the home track of Clonliffe Harriers. It h ...
, which is the home stadium for
Clonliffe Harriers {{Use Irish English, date=February 2022 Clonliffe Harriers is a Dublin-based athletics club. They were founded in 1886, and are the oldest athletic club in Ireland. They have been based in Morton Stadium since the 1950s. The club has top-class int ...
– the oldest
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
club in Ireland. The course's looped design allowed for races of varying lengths through the use of laps. The four race lengths were: for the senior men's race, for the senior women's and men's under-23 competitions, for the under-23 women and junior men, and finally for the women's junior race. The ground of the course was grassy throughout and, while it did contain some slight dips and uphills, it did not feature any severe obstacles or inclines.


Competition

Prior to the championships, eight-time gold medal winner
Serhiy Lebid Serhiy Lebid or Serhii Lebid ( uk, Сергій Лебідь; born 15 July 1975 in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian long-distance runner. Career He has won the European Cross Country championships on nine occasions, winn ...
was the favourite for the men's race, with Great Britain's
Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...
representing the greatest challenge to him. For the women's race, reigning champion
Hilda Kibet Hilda Kibet (born 27 March 1981 in Keiyo District) is a Dutch runner of Kenyan birth. She is the sister of Sylvia Kibet and the niece of Lornah Kiplagat. She obtained Dutch nationality in October 2007. Kibet's longtime partner is Dutch marathon ...
had decided not to compete. This left the women's senior competition without a clear favourite: Portugal's
Jessica Augusto Jessica may refer to: Given name * Jessica (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters with this name * Jessica Folcker, a Swedish singer known by the mononym Jessica * Jessica Jung, a Korean-American singer known by the m ...
and
Inês Monteiro Inês Alexandra das Neves Monteiro (born 18 May 1980) is a Portuguese athlete who competes in middle and long-distance track running, as well as road running and cross country. She started out as a cross country runner, winning a silver an ...
, along with former champions
Hayley Yelling Hayley Higham (born 3 January 1974, in Dorchester) is a British runner. She is the sister-in-law of fellow British runner Liz Yelling. She works as a Maths teacher at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and runs ...
and Tetyana Holovchenko, comprised the likely medallists, while
Mary Cullen Mary Teresa Cullen (born 17 August 1982) is an Irish long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres on the track, and cross country running. She holds the Irish record over 3000 m indoors. Early career Bor ...
was the home favourite. On the day of the race, an estimated 7000 spectators were in attendance and a total of 323 athletes represented 30 European nations.Dublin shows the diversity and strength of European distance running
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(14 December 2009). Retrieved 16 December 2009. Although the championships only accepts athletes who are citizens of European countries, African-born athletes were highly represented among those who reached the podium: Ethiopian-born runners
Alemayehu Bezabeh Alemayehu Bezabeh Desta ( Amharic: አለማየሁ በዛበህ ደስታ; born c. 1986) is an Ethiopian-born athlete who represents Spain internationally. He competes in middle- and long-distance running on the track, and also in cross country ...
and Sultan Haydar Sultan, and Algerian-born Noureddine Smaïl all took gold medals, while Atelaw Yeshetela and Somalian-born athlete
Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...
won minor medals.


Men's race

There was a slow start to the men's senior race, with a large leading pack reaching the 2.5 km mark. However, soon after that point, Mo Farah made clear his intention to win the race, increasing the pace and accelerating away from the pack. He remained the leader for the first half of the race, with Alemayehu Bezabeh following closely and Lebid a little further behind.Senior Men's Final: Bezabeh becomes Spain's first champion, Lebid third
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(13 December 2009). Retrieved 18 December 2009. Bezabeh, competing in only his second European championships, overtook Farah in the fourth lap and began to create a lead for himself. Farah made ground on the leader in the final lap, but he tired towards the end. Bezabeh went on to win his first major title, becoming the first Spaniard to win the championships.Wenig, Jörg (13 December 2009)
Bezabeh stops Farah and Lebid – European XC, MEN’s Races
IAAF. Retrieved 18 December 2009. Coming in second place, Farah collapsed after the finish line and missed the medal ceremony as he received medical assistance. Although ahead of the rest of the pack, Lebid was a clear third and was some way off the two frontrunners – an injury two weeks prior to the race had affected his preparations and he was pleased to receive the bronze medal. Spanish runners Sergio Sánchez and
Ayad Lamdassem Ayad Lamdassem (born October 11, 1981) is a Moroccan-born long distance runner who competes for Spain internationally. He has represented Spain twice in the 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics (2008 and 2012) as well as the European Athletics ...
took fourth and fifth places, all but guaranteeing Spain the men's team gold medal.


Women's race

The women's senior race also had an unexpected winner: Hayley Yelling of Great Britain (the 2004 championships winner) had retired from athletics after a poor showing at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships, but she returned to competition in December 2009 with a win at the British selection race for that year's race. Yelling started with a quick pace, rapidly building up a lead over the pack of runners in the early stages of the race.Senior Women's Final: Britain's Yelling back with a bang
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(13 December 2009). Retrieved 19 December 2009. During the second lap, the Portuguese runners, along with
Rosa María Morató Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: People *Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) *Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places * 223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, ...
and
Adriënne Herzog Adriënne Herzog (born 30 September 1985, Amersfoort) is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She has had most of her success in cross country running, being twice a bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Championships (2009 and 201 ...
, remained in pursuit but Ireland's Mary Cullen had faded behind.Wenig, Jorg (13 December 2009)
Yelling’s golden comeback – European XC, WOMEN’s Races
IAAF. Retrieved 19 December 2009. Yelling, still leading, maintained her fast speed after the halfway point while Augusto and Morató filled out the medalling positions. Morató pulled away from Augusto, but never managed to make up the six-second gap between her and Yelling. The Briton took the gold medal and Morató was next to come in, receiving the silver medal. Meanwhile, Herzog overtook a tired Jessica Augusto for the bronze. Augusto, Monteiro, and
Ana Dulce Félix Ana Dulce Ferreira Félix (born 23 October 1982) is a Portuguese long distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events. She ran the Olympic marathon in 2012 and 2016 and placed 21st and 16th, respectively.
of Portugal filled out the top six finishers; although they had failed to reach the individual podium, the trio and tenth-placed
Sara Moreira Sara Isabel Fonseca Moreira (; born 17 October 1985) is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country, road running and in middle-distance and long-distance track events. She represents Sporting CP at club level. After ...
won the team gold medals by a significant margin.


Under-23 and junior races

In the men's under-23 race, there was a large group of runners at the front up until the 3.5 km mark, at which point a pack of three runners led the race throughout: Atelaw Yeshetela of
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and
Hassan Chahdi Sidi-Hassan Chahdi (born 7 May 1989) is a French long-distance runner who competes mainly in cross country running competitions. Born in Cluses,Under 23 Men's Final: France's Smail proves he can run Cross Country
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(13 December 2009). Retrieved 19 December 2009. The three took turns in leading the race and remained close. However, in the final lap, Smaïl broke away from the other two runners and was unchallenged at the finish line, proving his abilities after a disappointing race in 2008. Chahdi was the silver medallist and Yeshetela took third place, while Frenchman Florian Carvalho was fourth, setting up France as the team gold medallists of the race. Great Britain and Belgium took the team silver and bronze respectively. As she had done in the previous year's competition, Sultan Haydar of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
took the lead early on in the women's under-23 competition.Under 23 Women's Final: Turkey's Haydar gets it right this time
.
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(13 December 2009). Retrieved 18 December 2009. By the halfway mark she was thirteen seconds clear of the other runners, but her pace started to slow. Irina Sergeyeva quickly reduced the Turkish runner's lead and on the final lap she threatened to take first place. However, Sergeyeva was beaten by Haydar's sprint finish in the final
home straight {{about, the element of a track, , Straight (disambiguation) In many forms of racing, a straight or stretch is a part of the race track in which the competitors travel in a straight line for any significant time, as opposed to a bend or curve. The ...
. Jessica Sparke took the bronze, and her teammates Charlotte Browning and Hollie Rowland followed shortly after to continue Great Britain's unbeaten run of gold medals in the women's under-23 team competition. In the junior races,
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal (born 14 June 1990) is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She won bronze medals for the 10,000 metres at the 2016 European Championships, and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2018 Eu ...
became the first Norwegian to win at the European Championships. The European Junior Champion quickly took control of the women's race and managed to hold off Gulshat Fazlitdinova to win the title. Kate Avery was the bronze medallist in the individual race, and Russia, Great Britain and Germany were the team medallists. Grøvdal's compatriot Sondre Nordstad Moen failed to make it a junior double for Norway in the men's race. Moen led the race for the first three laps with a comfortable pace, but Jeroen D'Hoedt pulled ahead for the final lap. Nick Goolab made up significant ground to pip teammate James Wilkinson for the silver at the finish line. Moen ended up fourth, but he won a team bronze with Norway. Britain and France won the gold and silver team medals, respectively.Junior Men's Final: Belgium's D'Hoedt turns back the clock
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(13 December 2009). Retrieved 19 December 2009.


Race results


Men's senior

*''Note: Scores are calculated by combining the finishing positions of a country's top four athletes. The country with the lowest cumulative score wins.'' *Totals: 67 entrants, 65 starters, 62 finishers, 10 teams


Women's senior

*Totals: 53 entrants, 51 starters, 50 finishers, 8 teams


Men's under-23

*Totals: 82 entrants, 81 starters, 75 finishers, 11 teams


Women's under-23

*Totals: 61 entrants, 61 starters, 59 finishers, 8 teams


Men's junior

*Totals: 89 entrants, 89 starters, 88 finishers, 15 teams


Women's junior

*Totals: 76 entrants, 76 starters, 76 finishers, 11 teams


Total medal table

*Note: Totals include both individual and team medals, with medals in the team competition counting as one medal.


References

;General
Results – Senior Men
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-16.
Results – Senior Women
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-17.
Results – Under 23 Men
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-17.
Results – Under 23 Women
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-17.
Results – Junior Men
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-17.
Results – Junior Women
European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...
(2009-12-13). Retrieved 2009-12-17. ;Specific


External links


Official websiteEuropean Athletics website
{{coord, 53, 24, 06, N, 6, 14, 49, W, region:IE-D_type:event_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...
European Cross Country Championships Athletics in Fingal Cross country running in Ireland 2009 in Irish sport December 2009 sports events in Europe International athletics competitions hosted by Ireland