Europea Athletics (EAA) – News – European cross country champion Augusto to chase Vienna course record

Portugal’s Jessica Augusto, the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships women’s gold medallist, will follow up her excellent marathon debut in London last month with an outing at the Austrian Women’s Run over 5km in Vienna on Sunday.

Augusto drops down dramatically in distance after having clocked 2:24:33. in the Virgin London Marathon and she will try to challenge the course record of 15:29.4, which was set by Latvia’s Jelena Prokopcuka two years ago, a feasible target for someone who can boast of a best of 14:37.07 on the track.

However, the 29-year-old Augusto will also have to work hard just to cross the line first.

Her main rivals look like being her compatriot Dulce Félix and Germany’s Sabrina Mockenhaupt.

Félix, 28, returns to the Austrian capital after finishing second in the Vienna Marathon last month and the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships bronze medallist, finishing two places behind Augusto on home soil in Albufeira last December, is also the fastest women in Europe over 10000m on the track this year.

Mockenhaupt, 30, knows the Vienna race well having won in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Last year, the German soldier was her country’s fastest woman over the 5000m, 10000m, half marathon and marathon distances and also finished sixth over 10000m at the European Athletics Championships.

“It’s pretty exciting. The last time Jessica, Sabrina and Dulce all met was at the 2010 European Athletic Championships in Barcelona in the 10.000m race. They finished third, sixth and ninth respectively. It will be an exciting and fast race at the Women’s Run here in Vienna,” commented the race organiser Ilse Dippman.

Into the bargain, Dippmann has invited Great Britain’s Charlotte Purdue, 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships junior women’s winner.

Purdue, who doesn’t turn 20 until 10 June, was the first European home in this year’s World Cross Country Championships senior women’s race and is expected to be a serious contender for a 5000m or 10000m gold medal at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in July.

Local interest in Vienna will be provided by Austria’s rapidly improving Jennifer Wenth, who made both the 1500m and 3000m finals at last year’s World Junior Championships.

Wenth, also 19, showed an impressive range of distances when she won both the Austrain 800m and 1500m indoor titles in February.

Europea Athletics (EAA) – News