World Relays - Yokohama - Day 1

First Day - Saturday, May 11

by Mark Cullen/Trackerati.com © 2019 All Rights Reserved

The Day 1 World Relays highlight came in a semi-final, not a final, as Denmark's women's 4x100m relay team reminded us of why we run the races.

Mathilde Kramer of Denmark anchors the 4x100m relay to a heat win
and place in the final.
Roger Sedres for the IAAF

With podium favorites Great Britain/Northern Ireland and France dropping the baton, and with Canada disqualified, Denmark more than took advantage of their competitors' miseries as they ran a superb race with crisp passing, and they set a national record of 43.90. The joy - and shock - was evident on the face of anchor Mathilde Kramer, caught in the magnificent image by Roger Sedres for the IAAF.

In the other heats, the United States ran a world leading 42.51, and Denmark finds itself as the 7th-fastest qualifier in Sunday's final. Denmark has drawn lane 3 for the final, next to the United State in lane 4; this could be mightily to Denmark's advantage. A podium finish would set off a celebration royale.

Shuttle hurdles: more arms in the air.

Devon Allen anchoring the US to victory in the shuttle hurdles.
Roger Sedres for the IAAF

After a withdrawal by Jamaica and a false start by Australia, only Japan and the United States were left to duke it out for the win. Japan started strongly and held a surprising lead going into the 3rd leg when Sharika Nelvis reminded everyone of which country dominates the women's hurdles. She restored order by surging into the lead, and Devon Allen anchored going away.

What are they going to do with the bronze medals?

2x2x400m Relay - A new event in need of explanation.

Donavan Brazier anchoring the US to victory in the 2x2x400m relay.
Roger Sedres for the IAAF

2x2x400m
The first '2' refers to the number of athletes running: one woman and one man. The '2x400m' refers to the total distance each athlete runs.
That's right, each runs 400m twice.
But not in succession.
The two athletes alternate 400m, so the key is judging how fast to run the first one when you'll be starting the next in approximately 50 seconds.
You also get to choose who goes first - the woman or the man?

It's little like the last workout before State: two incredibly high level repetitions on short rest.

The US team of Donavan Brazier and Ce'Aira Brown won with Australia a delighted 2nd; Joshua Ralph's spectacular anchor took the Aussies from 5th to silver. Japan took bronze, to the thunderous approval of hometown fans, while Kenya was disqualified after having led for the first three laps.

There were few other major surprises in the rest of today's races, all of which served as qualifying for Sunday's much-anticipated seven finals. Japan will field teams in the finals of the men's 4x400m as well as the women's 4x200m, and in the heats of the men's 4x200m. Their best opportunity for a podium finish is in the M 4x400m, though they are seeded very evenly in the M 4x200.

The social media highlight of the day came when Japan - a heavy favorite to medal in the 4x100m in front of the home crowd in Yokohama - botched the 3-to-4 pass, Yuki Koike to Yoshihide Kiryu.

But they did so with elegance, style, and creativity. There has never been a pass like this and there will never be another. 'Arming' the relay pass is a whole new concept.

Here is video of the pass in a link to Steven Mills' @Trackside2019 page on twitter: https://twitter.com/i/status/1127189017248841728

You just watched it, didn't you?!

Doha Diamond League

by Mark Cullen/Trackerati.com © 2019 All Rights Reserved

Caster Semenya was the star of the 2019 Diamond League opener - on the track as well as off. Generous and gracious in the face of those who are not, Semenya let her running do the talking as she won the 800m in a blistering 1:54.98 against a field that featured all the medalists from the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Championships.

Caster Semenya after winning the ISTAF Title in Berlin, 2018
Photo credit: Gallery4/ISTAF

The depth of the results was remarkable as 1:59.07 was Raevyn Rogers’ time in 5th place; ahead of her in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th were Francine Niyonsaba, Ajee Wilson, and Nelly Jepkosgei.

“For me, I believe nothing is hard in life because it is up to you how you take life,” said Semenya, referring to the CAS (Court for Arbitration of Sport) decision against her this week.

“As an athlete, I believe in sportsmanship, and what sports teaches you is to keep pushing on despite all odds. I know life could be difficult at times but I'm a believer and I believe there is always a way to resolve issues. One of my firm belief is that there is always a way out for everything. So if a wall is placed in front of me, I jump it. I'm going to keep enjoying my life and live it. I will keep on training and running. To me, impossibility is nothing.”

“It's all about inspiring the world,” she said, further, in an interview on the Olympic Channel. “When you are a living testimony of God, you cannot let things affect you personally.”

So strong were today’s performances that it was hard to tell it was the first week of May.

Delilah Muhammad set the tone for the day in the first track event, the 400m hurdles, as she blew past the field coming around the final turn and won going away in 53.61, a 1.11 margin of victory over a stellar field. World indoor and outdoor champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Spencer (US), Olympic relay bronze medalist Anna Ryzhykova (UKR), and World and Olympic Games finalist Janieve Russell (Jam) have some work to do.

Sweden’s Daniel Stahl set the Diamond League discus record with his 71.29/233-10 statement, one which drew scant response from his competitors, as he won by over two meters. Setting the DL record is no small feat when we consider who has thrown before him, and he gains a huge advantage by achieving this in the World Championships ring.

“I had great power and I have been working on my technique a lot and training hard in the gym so I expected it and I am really happy,” he said. “I hope to return here for the IAAF World Championships and win again. The big focus though is always to have fun and big power.”

Sam Kendricks won the pole vault in 5.80/19-¼, while 2016 Olympic Champion Thiago Braz (BRA) finished a strong second. His attempts to return to his Olympic heights may finally be coming to fruition.

A surprise in the women’s long jump was that Tianna Bartoletta did not qualify for the final. There went an intriguing matchup against the 2018 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year, Caterine Ibarguen (COL), who scored a narrow win over Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, 6.76/22’2¼ - 6.74, with Australia’s Brooke Stratton another centimeter behind in 3^rd.

The women’s high jump had “star is born” written all over it.  Let’s let Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh say it in her own words.  

“I was so surprised that I won because I am the youngest competitor here,” she said, “so I am extremely happy to take the win and to jump a personal best.”

1.96m/6’5”

She is 17.

Remember her name in October.

Five men broke 1:45.00 in the 800m; the resurgent Nigel Amos won in 1:44.29. Donavan Brazier (US) seemed to be moving into perfect placement with 180m to go when he had to steady himself when some jostling took place. Still, he recovered nicely to work his way back from 5th to 3^rd at the finish.

Brianna McNeal is the World and Olympic Champion in the 100m hurdles. That was hard to tell today as the field blew by her over the 7th and 8th hurdles and she finished a surprising 7th in 12.94. Jamaica’s Danielle Williams’ 12.66 ruled the day.

“I didn't expect that,” said Williams. “It was a big surprise so I am very happy. It was a big step forward for me, I am so happy I got the win, I went for glory. Now, I just need to remain consistent and stay injury free.”

Hilary Bor (US) won everything except the last 100m of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. He took the lead with 600m to go but stutter-stepped repeatedly as he approached the final barrier and Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali sprinted past to win, 8:07.22 to 8:08.41 – a personal best for Bor. 

Nonetheless, the manner in which Bor took control of the race in its latter stages was impressive, and he served noticed that he’ll be a medal contender in October.

“Finish second behind Soufiane (El Bakkali) a world silver medalist, is a great achievement and it means I’m doing something right,” said Bor. “My goal now is to go back and study the race and see how I can improve… I love the stadium and the atmosphere here tonight is great.”

Put him in a 100m race and he’ll be taking attendance from behind. Put him in a 200m race and you have an Olympic Champion. Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev ran a scintillating early-season 19.99 to win going away. He led coming off the turn and was never challenged.

Similarly, Dina Asher-Smith dominated the women’s 200m with her 22.26 world leader. Jamile Samuel of the Netherlands was a big surprise in 2^nd in 22.90 over Phyllis Francis and Blessing Okagbare among others in a deep field. Asher-Smith won triple gold at the European Championships in Berlin last summer, but she has yet to mine World or Olympic metal. This serves notice to notable absentees Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bah) and Jenna Prandini (US) that Asher-Smith is a force to be reckoned with in 2019.

With an 800m split of 1:53.32, it was surprising to see 11 men still in contention 300m later at the bell of the men’s 1500m. In a mild upset, Elijah Manangoi held off Timothy Cheruiyot in the area that had been Cheruiyot’s strength in his domination of the 2018 season, the last 120m. The top 7 finishers were from Kenya.

Anticipation for this meet had been high after a stellar indoor season was capped by outstanding performances on the outdoor and relay circuits, most notably by Ryan Crouser’s 22.74-74 7¼ world leading shot put at Long Beach. As noted here before, he seems well on his way to a world record this year, and today he won with apparent ease at 22.13. However, New Zealand’s Thomas Walsh put him on notice that it won’t be quite so easy, as he finished a scant 7cm behind.

In a stellar concluding event, Hellen Obiri outsprinted Genzebe Dibaba (these are words you don’t hear often) in a women’s 3000m race that saw the top 6 break 8:30. The 2019 World Cross Country champion held off the 2008 and 2009 U20 World XC titleist, 8:25.60 to 8:26.20. I would have used the term “down the stretch they come” as two of the greatest distance runners in history battled it out, but tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby, so that phrase is already taken.

It was 88 F (31 C) degrees inside the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium and 99 (37 C) outside the stadium, so while 88 is hot, it could have been worse. This is of import not only for track and field’s September/October World Championships but for the 2022 soccer World Cup as well.

A sophisticated cooling system has been installed in the stadium, and several track and field journalists noted how surprised they were at how much difference it made, one indicating that he felt cold in the media tribune (press row) near the top of the stadium. Cold! The system is so strong that it is turned off as competition begins so there will not be interference from the wind it generates.

Next Diamond League stop: Shanghai on May 25^th.

Thanks to IAAF for making the flash quotes available.

This Royal Runs

Denmark's Crown Prince Changes His Nation 
as Aarhus 2019 Changes Cross Country

by Mark Cullen/Trackerati.com © 2019 All Rights Reserved

Sebastian Coe and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in Aarhus
Photo Credit: Lars Moller

Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik inspires not only by who he is but what he does. Frederik - an ardent runner - led a national running challenge called The Royal Run in honor of his 50^th birthday last May.

Races were held in five different cities.

He ran in all five - on the same day. Four one-mile legs and a 10k anchor for an impressive total of 10 miles.

An engaging and accessible monarch-to-be, Frederik, 50, has inspired many in his country to higher levels of fitness and health. It is reliably estimated that over 63,000 Danes ran the inaugural Royal Run, and the event was front page news in Denmark.

Widely known as an engaging, enthusiastic, and accessible man, the Crown Prince makes a visible commitment to the people he was born to serve. His informal manner commands enormous respect and generates remarkable levels of popularity.

Late at night after the World Championship XC races had finished, a server at my restaurant in Aarhus sang her crown prince’s praises for inspiring her to raise her fitness game. She participated in the 2018 Royal Run, has been running consistently ever since, and looks forward to competing in the second iteration of the event. 

The 2019 edition will be held over the course of 10 days, with the bulk of the running on June 10. Princess Margrethe will lighten the Crown Prince’s load by running one of the races. Well over two months in advance, three of the five legs are sold out.

Crown Prince Frederik presenting the silver medal to Ethiopia's 
Dera Dida

Awaiting her gold medal: Hellen Obiri, Distance Queen

Photo Credit: Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly

My mother was Dutch - I lived in the Netherlands for two years as a child - and I came to understand the emotional power a royal family can have in even progressive countries like the Netherlands and Denmark. The royals have the opportunity afforded them by fate to do good in this world; think of Lady Diana’s crusade against landmines.

Crown Prince Frederik’s commitment to his nation’s health is visible: he lent not only his name but his time and his presence to the World Cross Country Championships. While he was scheduled to run in the Mass Race Relay at the end of the day, Frederik sat this one out - due to a back injury - in favor of June's big event. 

However, Danes took note of his royal stamp of approval, and his presence was one of many factors that inspired 10,000 spectators to come to Aarhus to witness the birth of a new generation of cross country.

“As a keen runner, who celebrated his 50^th birthday last year by participating in mass participation road races all over Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik is a man after my own heart," said IAAF chief Sebastian Coe. "The Royal Run has now claimed an annual place in the Danish sporting calendar and the prince’s enthusiasm for health and fitness sets a great example."

Jakob Larsen, Championships Meet Director, Director of the Danish Athletics Federation, and course design genius, said, “Having the Crown Prince present is a tremendous boost for us as organizers, not only because he is royalty but also given his role as an IOC (International Olympic Committee) member. His presence adds credibility at the national level, and gives us even more leverage when telling the story of cross country.”

This from the man who, with his inspired and inventive Aarhus course design, changed how the story of cross country itself will henceforth be told.

"At the IAAF we also want to inspire people around the world to be fitter and healthier," said Coe, "which is why we are encouraging mass participation events alongside our elite championships."

"At the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus... thousands of recreational runners had the chance to run in the footsteps of our great distance running champions on the official world championships course," Coe continued. 

"We will be offering more such opportunities in the future as it’s a great way to connect our elite athletes with the global running community and inspire more people to join our sport.”

It had been announced well in advance that the Crown Prince would be present; I was quite surprised that he stayed for four hours. The warmth of the friendship between Coe and Prince Frederik was evident as they hung out in the infield and enjoyed the races, the atmosphere, and the medal ceremonies. Someone observing them without context might have thought that two good friends were having a remarkably good time, and wondered how they got such good seats.

Coe and the Crown Prince
Photo Credit: Lars Moller

As Championship Saturday continued and Frederik emerged as a visible part of the fabric of the day, I began to think it might be interesting to get his take on this cross country festival. I enlisted the aid of the Director of Communications, Henriette Leth Nielsen, in seeing if an interview could be arranged. I’m grateful for her efforts on what surely was one of the busiest days of her life. It turned out to be too late as it was after 15:00 and the Crown Prince was about to leave. We both were quite disappointed. 

If only I’d thought of it earlier.

I gave up - for a few moments.

About to leave?

There's an opportunity.

I bolted from the finish line press tribune and walked a long way around several fenced off security areas. I tried to keep my eye on the prince as I hurried over. By the time I reached the road and the exit gates from the infield, I had lost sight of him and thought he had left.

But two cars - not limousines, exactly, but tastefully understated jet black S-Class Mercedes Benzes with deeply frosted windows - crept by as if expecting someone. I thought he was in one of them, but it was hard to tell.

To my surprise, Frederik emerged from behind the immense start/finish line structure. He had stayed for one more victory ceremony.

I glanced at him and back at the cars and wondered which exit gate he would use. I picked the one that seemed most logical and planted myself in front of it.

“This is either going to work or it’s not,” I said to myself.

He made a beeline for my exit and was there in moments. 

I raised my press pass so he could see I was credentialed and he slowed. I extended my hand and he took it as I introduced myself and asked if he had a moment to speak with me.

His reply was a gracious, thunderous, "Yes."

Everything that happened in the next minute happened very quickly. In fact, the time on my voice recorder says 1:28, but our exchange really didn't last that long.

Three times back and forth.

After two exchanges, a very strong hand clasped my left shoulder from behind. Firm and directive, with a gracious but clear message: "There's only so much unscheduled time you get with royalty."

Think of it this way: how much time would you get with Queen Elizabeth?

We concluded our third exchange and I said a simple, “Thank you very much,” to which he replied, “No worries.”

An older couple standing immediately to my left beamed as the Crown Prince approached, and were thrilled that he stopped so close to them. The looks we exchanged afterwards needed no translation.

I scurried back and found Nielsen.

"I got it," I said.

"Got what?" was her reasonable reply, as my simple declarative statement  had seemed so unlikely only minutes earlier.

On the day that was the culmination of several years' work, she was visibly moved.

While I was in the media center transcribing the interview, a volunteer
staffer named Jakob came in. I paused the recorder, took off my headphones, and said, "You might be interested in this.”

I pressed 'play' and immediately and without hesitation, Jakob said, "The Crown Prince."

Jakob turned beet red.

When I first published my brief interview on race day, I presented the verbatim transcript but realized soon afterwards that the words by themselves did not effectively communicate the nature of our conversation. By themselves, they came across as stiff and formal, and our conversation was hardly that.

There was a laugh or a chuckle of appreciation from the Crown Prince after each statement. There was thoughtful energy in our exchanges. He was gracious and welcoming, but also, in concert with his security detail, able to signal non-verbally when our encounter was about to end.

Here is my brief interview with Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, after he served as starter and medal presenter for many of the World Championship Cross Country and community races in Aarhus on March 30. 

MC - Would you please say a few words about what you thought of the event today?

"The event is a big success for everybody - I hope you ask some of the participants (for their perspective), too!"

I nod in agreement.

"This is a major event for this country, we have amazing surroundings, we have a lot of backup, a great audience, and the weather was also looking our way."

He chuckles a bit at their good fortune.

MC - People came from around the world for this...

"Yes, I don't have a country count..."

MC - 70, I believe.

"...but there are beautiful colors and flags and sportswear (representing these countries)."

Clearly, he enjoyed the spectacle of the day.

MC - I assume that Denmark would like to host events like this again in the future.

(The hand appears on my left shoulder as Frederik makes eye contact with his security personnel over my right.)

"Yes, it's not the first time..."

He pauses.

"We've hosted big world championship events in a variety of sports, 
so it's going to happen again."

(It’s time for me to go.)

MC - Thank you so much.

“No worries!”

He finishes with a grin and a handshake. He seems bemused and in fact charmed that I would step forward to make this request of him, and he is genuinely pleased to have been helpful.

Later that evening, the same server at my restaurant says of my royal encounter, “This is a once in a lifetime experience, isn’t it?”

Indeed. 

It is inspiring to witness what happens to his nation when this royal runs.

I am deeply grateful to those who took time out of schedules which remained intensely busy after the World Championships to support this article: Jakob Larsen, Sebastian Coe, Henriette Leth Nielsen, Jane Monti, and IAAF Director of Communications Nicole Jeffery.

Mange tak!

Epic World Cross Country

Historic Performances

on a 
Once-in-a-Lifetime Course

by Mark Cullen/trackerati.com © 2019 All Rights Reserved

U20 Men in the Mud Pit
Photo Credit: Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly

On the day of the greatest presentation of the sport, two athletes embraced their opportunities and defined their careers. One confirmed what we already knew and placed herself forever in the upper echelons of the sport. The other was celebrated by even his celebrated opponents for redeeming himself from cross country’s most heartbreaking moment of the last quarter century.

Senior Women

Crowning Glory for Hellen Obiri

Champion
World Indoor Track
World Outdoor Track
World Cross Country
photo credit: Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF

Kenyan Obiri joins none other than Kenenisa Bekele as the only two to have achieved this indoor, outdoor, and cross country "Triple Crown." By any measure, this stamps her as one of the greatest runners in history. 

Obiri fought off stiff challenges by a young Ethiopian duo and pulled away on the final downhill to win by two seconds. That duo, Dera Dida (21) and Letesenbet Gidey (20), applied consistent pressure throughout the race and gave Obiri an unexpected scare. They had finished 1-2 in the Ethiopian Trials and are certainly stars in the making.World Cross is a breeding ground of new talent and often the place where stars of the future reveal themselves. 

Ethiopia’s sweet consolation was a four-point team win over Kenya, 21-25, with country of the meet Uganda 3^rd with 36 points.

The US team had a dismal 8^th place finish. Many of our best runners bailed on this race; the US women's all-time 10,000m lists were rewritten at Stanford this weekend almost as World Cross was taking place.
Imagine Emily Sisson and Molly Huddle on this US team.

Nonetheless, the USA fielded a strong team here with outside hopes for a medal. It was painful to see this team squander a golden - well, bronze - opportunity to make a name for themselves. 

Senior Men

Redemption for Joshua Cheptegai

Cheptegai would not stay 4th for long.
Photo credit: Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF

Two years ago Uganda's Joshua Cheptegai had what only can be described as an authentically terrible experience in distance running, a sport in which truly abysmal experiences are few and far between. In the 2017 World Championships in front of his hometown crowd in Kampala, Uganda, Cheptegai established a substantial lead that sent his fans into a wild celebration that proved to be premature. In the lead with 800m to go, he fell apart and staggered to the finish as the podium receded with every step. 

Today, in a race for the ages, Cheptegai defeated the strongest of challengers, including two-time champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya, to win what he thought would have been his two years earlier. He led at the end of the 2^nd and 3^rd laps, but was two seconds behind on the 10k course entering the final one. 

In a stellar finish, he put 4 seconds on Jacob Kiplimo and 15 on Kamworor (who, granted, slowed noticeably when it was clear he would not win) to win the World title.

While I had thought that Uganda was a dark horse for a podium finish in the team race, here’s a sentence you don’t hear often: Uganda dominated Kenya and Ethiopia 20-43-46.

1-2 (Uganda) beats 3-6 (Kenya) every time.

It also beats 34-35, the places of the top two US runners. 

Team score? 198.

11^th place.

I volunteer to lead the inquiry.

U20 Women

Women's U20 Race

Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF

The women’s junior race produced one of the most unusual and unlikely results in cross country history. It’s not so unusual to have two athletes finish in the same time with the nod going to one runner over another.

But three?

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet has apparently not seen video of Molly Huddle’s legendary-for-all-the-wrong-reasons finish in the 2015 Beijing World Championships 10,000m race, when she raised her arms as she approached the finish line and Emily Infeld swept by on the inside to grab the bronze medal out of Huddle’s upstretched arms.

Here in Aarhus, up went Chebet’s arms as she approached the finish line. Ethiopia’s Alemitu Tariku and Tsigie Gebreselama swept by on either side.

Who won?

Chebet.

Then Tariku.

Then Chebet again.

All three are listed in 20:50; a lot can happen within a second.

Said the announcer, “By the width of a tissue.”

Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat and Ethiopia’s Girmawit Gebrzihair stopped the clock at 20:51 and 20:53 in 4^th and 5^th. With three in the top five and five of the top eight, Ethiopia won the U20 team title hands down. Note that with four scoring, Ethiopia had a displacer as soon as 8^th place!

U20 Men

Dinkalem Ayele (Eth) led after two laps, but the early swift pace was too much for him to sustain and he lapsed to 11^th at the finish – and 5^th on his team. 

Vanquished Vikings
U20 Men's Race
Photo Credit: Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF
(note Vikings on the right)

Tadese Worku took over the lead from his teammate to lead at the end of the 3^rd lap, but it was Milkese Mengesa who played the waiting game best on this 8k, 4-loop course. Never higher than 3^rd at any of the intermediate splits, he kicked to a decisive 2 second win over teammate Worku.

Ethiopia won the team battle handily over Uganda and Kenya, 18-32-34.

Mixed Relay

Ethiopia’s Kenbede Endale ran a sizzling 6:01 2,000m opener before handing off to teammate Bone Cheluke, whose 6:47 tied for fastest split among the women relayists. 

    Bone Cheluke

Ethiopian Relay Specialist

Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF

At this point Ethiopia led by 13 seconds and the only question was what their margin of victory would be: a striking 33 seconds two laps later as they scored a dominating win over Morocco and Kenya.

Perhaps the most telling moment for the US was Eleanor Fulton's terrific final leg in the mixed relay, which cemented the US position in 4th. 

This just in: Eleanor Fulton is not sponsored. Not in any way. Not by any shoe or apparel company. Nope. Nothing. Nada. In Danish, "ikke noget."

She ran faster than Kenya's anchor by 7 seconds.

How can the anchor of our our best performing team not be sponsored?

Ikke no get, either.

Such was the dominance of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda today that in that in only two races did they not constitute the top 3: the U20 women’s race in which Japan edged Uganda for bronze by a point, and Morocco's reinstated silver in the Mixed Relay after a not-worth-the-paperwork protest regarding an exchange.

Please see the star of the show - the course - in my slideshow tour: http://www.trackerati.com/2019/03/aarhus-world-cross-country.html. Please note, too, two-time World XC Champ Craig Virgin's kind comment at the end of the slideshow.

Photo Credit: Jiro Mochizuki for the IAAF

A picture is worth a thousand words
Photo credit Lars Moller

Think I'm done with Aarhus? Not even close. Coming up, two more pieces: on how my interview with Crown Prince Frederik occurred, and this epic week through a personal lens. 

Prince Frederik on World XC Championships

The Trackerati Interview

with

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark

Prince Frederik presenting silver medal to Ethiopia's Dera Dida

Awaiting her gold medal: Hellen Obiri, Distance Queen

Photo credit: Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly

Here is my brief interview with Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, after he served as starter and medal presenter for many of today's World Championship Cross Country and community races in Aarhus. He was gracious to pause and answer a few questions on his way out after a long day on the course.

Would you please say a few words about what you thought of the event today?

"The event is a big success for everybody - you should probably ask some of the participants (for their perspective), too! This is a major event for this country, we have amazing surroundings, we have a lot of backup, a great audience, and the weather was also looking our way.

People came from around the world for this...

Yes, I don't have a country count...

70, I believe.

...but there are beautiful colors and flags and sportswear (representing these countries).

I assume that Denmark would like to host events like this again in the future.

Yes, it's not the first time - we've hosted big world championship events in a variety of sports, so it's been happening. Thank you so much.

News You Can Use from Aarhus

World Cross Country Championships

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Aarhus, Denmark

Moesgaard Museum

(Museum?!)

See below for race analyses

Timetable/Schedule
In the US, Olympic Channel starting at:
2:30am Pacific
5:30am Eastern

Schedule in Aarhus time:
11:00 - 4x2k Mixed Relay
11:35 - U20 women 6k
12:10 - U20 men 8k
1:00 - senior women - 10k
2:00 - senior men - 10k

Photo credit: IAAF/Jan Kejser

Course
Want to "run" the course? 
Here's a Vimeo from Jakob Larsen and IAAF. It's in two parts: the first shows the distinctive characteristics of the course; the second follows a runner running the 2k loop. Crank up the great soundtrack and be ready to be inspired:
https://vimeo.com/323552186
(just under 5 minutes, well worth every second)

I have already published my course description with a slideshow of key features:
http://www.trackerati.com/2019/03/aarhus-world-cross-country.html

LetsRun.com's Jonathan Gault published a more discursive piece and features comments from course designer and meet manager, Jakob Larsen:
https://www.letsrun.com/news/2019/03/2019-world-xc-a-tour-of-the-toughest-cross-country-course-weve-ever-seen/

Australian team member Mat Baxter published a highly entertaining sequence on Twitter regarding the course and its effects on one's legs and one's psyche: https://twitter.com/MatRobertBaxter/status/1110521282855092224. Congrats to Mat on having his course descriptions cited by IAAF President Seb Coe at today's news conference.

Entries
Feast your eyes:
https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/1cbc6d1d-5711-4eb8-9b4f-7d29b06de2f0.pdf

Weather
There is a favorable forecast for Saturday's championship races. Highs will be in the mid to upper 50sF/13-14C. The wind is predicted to be 25mph/40km from the SW.

While it was cloudy and quite chilly with intermittent rain earlier in the week, Saturday's forecast is in many ways a best-case scenario for runners and spectators alike.
https://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Arhus/forecasts/latest


Race Previews
The women's side seems to be dominated by Hellen Obiri, and at today's press conference she was cautiously confident. Beatrice Chepkoech (Ken) flew to a steeplechase world record 8:44.32 in Monaco last summer; when she gets rolling, she doesn't stop. She won one of the IAAF XC races earlier this year by an astonishing 34 seconds - but Hellen Obiri (Ken) was not in the race.

Obiri looks unbeatable as she defeated Chepkoech by 37 seconds in Spain in February. She won the 2017 London World 5,000m title going away, and last summer won the classic Rabat Diamond League 5,000 in 14:21.75 with 4 more behind her under 14:25!

Ethiopia sends its usual deep squad, though perhaps it's not as well-known as some squads of the past. Dera Dida won the Ethiopian Trials, while Letesenbet Gidey is one of the very few to have ever won the World Juniors XC twice.

Rhonex Kipruto (Ken) and Selemon Barega (Eth) are two of the brightest young stars of cross country and track. Berega ran his phenomenal 12:43.02 5,000m as an 18-year-old last August in Brussels, but Kipruto defeated him in a January IAAF XC meet in Spain by applying the pressure and drawing away from Berega 2/3 of the way through the race.

Many are picking Uganda's Joshua Cheptegai, but he lost to teammate Jacob Kiplimo by 16 seconds, also in January, when Kiplimo ran a 26:41 road race 10k (fully certified but slightly downhill) in Madrid. Cheptegai ran 26:57 and finished 2nd! But here it's not even the time as much as it is Kiplimo's margin of victory that counts. He also won the World Junior title in 2017.

Geoffrey Kamworor is the defending champion and Kamworor will achieve legend status with a third straight win. He wins everywhere he goes, and three of his five World titles are at the half-marathon distance. With that kind of strength - remember, this championship is contested over 10km for both men and women - Kamworor also looks unbeatable on the relentless terrain of Moesgaard.

But looks can be deceiving. Anyone who is able to make a break here on Saturday will have a huge psychological edge as this is a front runner's course. I don't see anyone who has been dropped by the lead pack finding his or her way back. So, while it may seem crazy to say that a 12:43 5,000m runner is not the favorite, Barega's strength is running 7 laps in a row at 4:00.1 per mile pace on a flat track at the end of a 5,000m race, not over hill and dale and hill - and over 10k. He's not there - yet.

I'll go with Kamworor and Obiri. Obiri feels like the stronger choice, with Kiplimo and Kipruto not unexpected champions should Kamworor falter.

Notes:
- I like steeplers on a course like this, and look for Courtney Frerichs (US) to snag a top-ten finish.
- Kenya's women did the impossible two years ago and swept places 1-6 in an event that allows only 6 entrants per team. Unlikely we'll see that again.
- Just a hunch: watch out for Uganda's Albert Chemutai who is a reasonably solid steeplechaser.
- Uganda has a stealth men's team. Looking forward to seeing them on the podium.

Three-Time World Cross Country Champion
Lynn Jennings
IAAF Heritage Exhibit
Aarhus, Denmark

Five-Time World Cross Country Champion
Paul Tergat
at World XC Championships course
with local students he had coached the day before

Why Don't You Just Meet Us in the Middle?

Peru's National Teams

Prospects Dim with Addition of Guy in the Middle

Thursday in Aarhus got off to an auspicious start when I was offered a ride to Moesgaard Museum and the site of the 2019 World Cross Country Championships.

It's always helpful when the person offering the ride is Henriette Leth Nielsen, Director of Communications of the host Danish federation.

We were joined by noted journalist Geshom Nyathi, of Zimbabwe and now the UK, who has written for The Guardian among many others.

Said Nyathi, "I am here for the love of sport."

As soon as we arrived at the start/finish line, we encountered the Peruvian teams coached by none other than the brother of distance pioneer and three-time world record setter, Tegla Loroupe.

Part of the fun of these Championships is what happened next.

Geshom and I offered to take photos of the entire group. Then I found myself standing on the edge of their teams for one last group photo. 

Or so I thought. 

They insisted on my placement as shown above.

It's important to have a theme song for moments like this.