IAU – 22nd 100km IAU European Championships 27th April 2013 – Belves, France

The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) is pleased to bring the 22nd 100km IAU European Championships to Belves, France.
France has been one of our foremost nations when it has come to organizing Major IAU Championships. Last time IAU held a MIAUC in France was for the very successful 24 Hour World and European Championships held in Brive in May 2010.

History of the IAU
The International Association of Ultrarunners came into existence in 1984. Today there are more than a thousand ultra races around the world with more than a hundred thousand ultra runners. It is no more an unrealistic event. The IAAF granted its patronage to the IAU in 1988 and the 100km race became a
standard distance recognized by the Federation.

Today IAU organizes 4 major events (excluding continental championships): 100 km World Championship, 24 Hour World Championship, The Trail World Championship and the 50 km World Trophy Final. IAU is also a strong supporter of the Commonwealth Championships. This is in addition to the IAU labels that are attached to several races around the world.

With 57 member federations and thousand of elite athletes having participated in its events over the years, IAU has respectfully upheld its mandate of developing the sport of ultrarunning.

While it continues to serve the ultrarunning community, the IAU is looking forward to the next 23 years as it envisions reaching its 50th Anniversary.

Report: 22nd 100km IAU European Championships (Belves, France)

The 22nd 100km IAU European Championships take place on April 27th 2013.
Current European silver medalist Alberico Di Cecco and European Champion Kajsa Berg are the current podium finishers entered at the championships that takes place in Bleves, France.
 
The 22nd 100 km IAU European Championships takes place in Belves, France. The championship event taking place on April 27th 2013 will feature ninety seven athletes from nineteen countries.
France has been a long time organizer of the Major IAU events. The most recent one was the 24 Hour World and European Championships in Brive (2010). Belves is located about 200 kilometers from Bordeaux and is known for its beautiful castles which will be well represented on the race course.

2012 world bronze medalist Albericco Di Cecco (ITA) will be returning to the 100km European Championships. In the absence of multiple time world champion and his teammate Giorgio Calcaterra, Di Cecco with a personal best of 6:28:48, certainly leads the field and will be one of the frontrunners at the start.

Olek Holovnytskyy (UKR) with a best of 6:37:00 and Asier Cuevas (ESP) having run 6:38:46 are also going to be in the mix. Not to forget, former top 5 finisher Pieter Vermeesch (BEL) and Regis Raymond (FRA), who will also compete for a podium finish.

In the women's event, 2012 world silver medalist Kajsa Berg is going to vie for a gold medal spot. She has a personal best of 7:35:23 and is the defending European Champion from Seregno 2012.

Irina Antropva (RUS) has run 7:33:05 and Marija Vrajic (CRO) with a best of 7:37:40 will be running up with the leaders. Also, Marina Zanardi (ITA) and former 24 Hour Champion Anne Cecile Fontaine (FRA) will be competing to get on the podium as well.

The race is 100km looped course that takes athletes to neighbouring town of Sarlat in the Dordognes Valley. Racers will get to see five different castles in the region.

Race starts at 8am and will also have a 50km race as part of its schedule. Report on 26th IAU 100km World and European Championships: Calcaterra and Sproston win the 26th IAU World and European Championships Giorgio Calcaterra (ITA) and Amy Sproston (USA) win the 26th IAU World and
Championships.

The race was held in Seregno, Italy on 22nd April 2012. In addition, Calcaterra and Kajsa Berg (SWE) win the men and women's European championships, respectively. Italy won the men's world team title and United States of America won the women's team title. In the European Championships, Italy and Russia win the men's and women's team titles respectively.

On April 22nd, Seregno in Italy was the host of the 26th IAU World and European Championships. Seregno is a city in the northern part of Italy, about 30 minutes, from Milan. In addition to the World titles, these championships also served, as the European Championships.

220 athletes participated from 36 countries. The latter was a new record for Major IAU World Championships. The increase in numbers in recent years is a fair indication of the growing popularity of the sport. The race was organized on a 20km loop through Seregno and the outskirts of the city.

The men's division was won by pre-race favourite and returning champion Giorgio Calcaterra (ITA). He ran 6:23:20 to take home the gold and top honours. He was followed in by the former two-time European Champion, Jonas Buud (SWE) who finished in 2nd place in 6:28:57. Calcaterra's teammate Alberico Di Cecco (ITA) finished in 3rd place with a time of 6:40:30.
Calcaterra ran a very strong race running in a close pack with Di Cecco and Asier
Ettcheto Cuevas (ESP) for the first two loops. After completion of about forty kilometres,
Calcaterra made a strong move creating some gap between him and the other two front
runners to take the lead. Calcaterra increased his lead as the kilometres went by and
finished strongly.

Buud, on the other hand, ran a very conservative race. He started further down in the field
but as the race worn on, Buud moved up the field, finishing in 2nd place and replicating
his performance from the World Championships in 2010. Di Cecco had a very consistent
race running in 3rd place for the majority of the event. He finished in the bronze medal
position.

This race also doubled as the European Championships, and the World Championship podiums, repeated in the European podiums. Calcaterra winning gold, with Buud and Di Cecco, winning silver and bronze respectively.

In the women's race, Amy Sproston (USA) won the gold medal in a time of 7:34:08.
Kaisa Berg (SWE) finished in the silver medal spot in 7:35:23. Irina Vishnevskaya (RUS)
finished 3rd with a time of 7:36:01.

Sproston in her second world championships improved on her ranking from last year finishing top of the podium. She ran a very strong race coming from a top 10 placing earlier on in the race to move up the field and finish in the gold medal spot.

Berg in her first world championship ran consistently throughout the event. Being a
relative newcomer to the sport, she was a model of consistence and patience, as the race
wore on. Vishnevskaya, in finishing third, has become one of the steadiest performers in
the 100km world championships. She has had several podium finishes on the
international level.

In the European Championships, Berg took the gold, followed by Vishnevskaya in silver and Judit Nagy Foldingne in bronze.
 
In the team competition, Italy won the men's competition followed by United States of America and France who took silver and bronze, respectively. In the European championships, Italy took gold while France took silver and Germany the bronze medal.
United States of America took home the gold in the women's World Championship. Japan took silver and Russia took home the bronze. In the European Championship, Russia took the gold with Italy and Germany taking silver and bronze, respectively.

This race also had a Masters component alongside the main event. The masters section was done in collaboration with the World Masters Athletics. Medals were awarded in 5- year age groups.

Nadeem Khan
IAU, Director of Communications

 

Results 100km World & European Championship 2012 Seregno (April 22, 2012)

 

Men:
Gold — Giorgio Calcaterra ITA 6:23:20 (1st European Championship)
Silver — Jonas Buud SWE 6:28:57 (2nd European Championship)
Bronze — Alberico Di Cecco ITA 6:40:30 (3rd European Championship)
4th Place — Asier Ettcheto Cuevas ESP 6:44:54
5th Place — David Riddle USA 6:45:19

Women:
Gold — Amy Sproston USA 7:34:08
Silver — Kajsa Berg SWE 7:35:23 (1st European Championship)
Bronze — Irina Vishnevskaya RUS 7:36:01 (2nd European Championship)
4th Place — Meghan Arbogast USA 7:41:52
5th Place — Pam Smith USA 7:43:04
6th Place — Judit Nagy Foldingne HUN 7:43:55 (3rd European Championship)

Future of the Championship
The 100km World & European Championship has been IAU's longest running world
event. These championships have been run under the patronage of the IAAF.

The entrant numbers in the 100km championships have been on the rise in the recent past. Ultrarunning is striking interest in the mainstream athletic community and the century distance is not an unfathomable event anymore.
At the 26th edition of the event, 222 athletes representing 36 nations participated. The latter was a new record for the number of nations attending the world championships.
 
The future of the sport and the Championship looks very bright. We hope that future years will bring more federations in our folds and more athletes competing at the 100km World & European Championships.

Report By: Nadeem Khan
IAU Director of Communications
nadeem.khan@iau-ultramarathon.org
+1-716-392-6657