European Athletics (EAA) – News – Arslan reigns supreme again at the European Mountain Running Championships

Turkey's Ahmet Arslan took his sixth successive European Mountain Running Championships title on home soil in Denizli-Pamukkale on Saturday, covering the 12.2km course in 49.46.

Arslan, still only 26, remains unbeaten at the event since he made his debut in 2007.

He won by 13 seconds from his compatriot Ercan Muslu, who got a surprise silver medal. Romania's Ionut Alin Zinca, 11th in 2011 when Turkey also staged the event in Bursa-Uludag, finished third in 50:19.

Muslu and Italy's 2011 silver medallist Gabriele Abate pushed the pace from the second kilometre on the first descent and had a slight lead of three seconds at the end of the first of three laps with Arslan back in third.

However, Arslan made his move in the early stages of the climb at the start of the second lap and reached the summit nine seconds ahead of Muslu, as Abate struggled to stay with the leaders and the Italian also saw Zinca go past him.

The leading quartet, with Abate eventually finishing fourth in 50:33, remained in the same positions during the second half of the race.

Muslu closed the gap slightly on the second descent but then Arslan showed his prowess as a climber by extending his advantage to 33 seconds at the third and final summit before being able to relax a little on the last descent and he was able to ease off in the final two kilometres.

Despite Italy missing out on an individual medal in the senior men's race for the first time since the event made its debut on the European Athletics calendar in 2002, they continued to be the continent's top team for the 11th successive year.

Lead home by Abate in fourth, the 2004 champion Marco De Gasperi – who has also been three times a silver medallist – was fifth and the 2009 world junior champion Xavier Chevrier completed the scoring trio in seventh place to give Italy a total of 16 points.

Despite having the gold and silver medallists, hosts Turkey had to wait until Mehmet Akkoyun came home in 16^th place to complete their scorers and they took the team silver medals with 19 points. France were third with 48 points.

Switzerland's Martina Stähl was unable to defend the senior women's crown she won last year but the title stayed in Swiss hands as Monika Fürholz won in 39:54.

Fürholz was an audacious early leader in the 8.3km race and hit the summit on the first of two laps seven seconds clear of her nearest rival Russia's Nadezhda Leshchinskaia.

However, the British pair of Emily Clayton and Mary Wilkinson, 21 and 36 seconds adrift of Fürholz at the first check point, decided to take up the challenge and flew down the first descent to finish the first lap seven seconds in front of the Swiss runner and Czech Republic's Pavia Schorna.

However, the British pair proved to be better going downhill than climbing and saw a succession of runners go pass them in the next two kilometres.

Fürholz quickly regained the lead on the second ascent and reached the top a huge 25 seconds clear of Leshchinskaia, who had clearly caught her second wind and was battling for the silver medal with Schorna.

Spain's Veronica Perez moved up to fourth another 10 seconds further back as Clayton and Wilkinson drifted back to fifth and sixth.

Like Arslan in the men's race, Fürholz could relax in the final two kilometres coming down the hill for the final time and she finished nine seconds ahead of Leshchinskaia.

The Russian crossed the line in 40:03 but only clinched the silver medal in the final two hundred metres as she pulled away from Schorna to finish four seconds clear of her Czech rival.

Wilkinson impressed on the descent, going past Perez and Clayton, who were to finish fifth and sixth respectively, and almost reeled in Schorna but finished three seconds shy of a place on the podium in 40:10.

Italy's slight pre-race Anotella Confortola, who was second last year and also fourth two years ago, failed to feature among the medal contenders this time and finished seventh.

Great Britain also ended the Italian women's reign as the team champions after they had taken the title for the past three years.

Wilkinson and Clayton were followed home by Katie Walshaw in 10^th place to put together a total of 20 points and regain the team crown they last won in 2008.

In a tight battle for the other medals, Italy and Russia both finished with 30 points but the former took the silvers while the latter had to settle for the bronze medals owing to the fact that the last Italian scorer, Maura Trotti in 14^th place, finished higher than her Russian counterpart. Czech Republic finished a close fourth with 31 points.

Turkey's 2011 world junior champion Adem Karagoz fulfilled his role as the junior men's favourite as he won over the 8.3km course in 35:18.

However, he was pressed harder than he might have expected for much of the race by his compatriot Mazlum Aydemir.

Karagoz had a nine second lead at the end of the first of two laps but Aydemir had caught up with him by the summit on the second lap, only for Karagoz to push hard on the second descent and come home eight seconds in front of his team mate.

Germany's Anton Palzer was a distant third, exactly a minute behind Aydemir in 36:26.

With Yetkin Tunctan coming home in sixth place, Turkey won the junior men's team title for the third successive year with just nine points. Russia were second with 29 points and Czech Republic got the bronze medals with 30 points.

In sharp contrast to the junior men's race, there was a big shock in the junior women's 4.4km race.

Great Britain's Annabel Mason won by almost a minute and emphatically beat the host nation's two favourites: 2011 World Mountain Running Championships junior women's silver medallist Yilmaz Cesminaz and the 2011 European Mountain Running Championships junior women's bronze medallist Eytemis Sevilay.

Mason went straight to the front in the early stages of the race and built up an 18 seconds lead over Sevilay at the summit and halfway point on the one lap circuit, with Cesminaz another 26 seconds further back.

The trio were to stay in that order on the descent and through to the finishing line, which Mason crossed in 20:25.

Sevilay moved up a place from 12 months ago and took the silver in 21:14 with Cesminaz coming home 31 seconds later.

Britain's Melanie Hyder finished fourth in 22:25 which meant that, with only two to score in the junior women's team competition, both Turkey and Great Britain had five points but the hosts got the verdict on the tie-break rule and retained the junior women's team title for the fourth successive year.

Bulgaria took the bronze medals with 12 points Marinela Nineva and Militsa Mircheva finishing fifth and seventh.

Full results can be found on the website of the 11th edition of the European Mountain Running Championships (in English and Turkish) here.

 

European Athletics (EAA) – News