European Athletics (EAA) – News – Cross country medals could be on their way back to Moscow

Russia will send 25 runners to this year’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal, on December 12, with the 2009 junior women’s silver medalist Gulshat Fazlitdinova looking to go one better than in Dublin.

Fazlitdinova lead the Russian juniors to a team gold medal 12 months ago, ending Great Britain’s reign at the top after four successive years, and she and her colleagues could be vying with the British for top spot again this year.

Joining the 18-year-old from Bashkortostan, who is also the current Russian 5000m junior champion, in the team is: Viktoriya Voronko, Anastasia Mikhailova Viktoriya Ivanova, Albina Chinchikeyeva.

Chinchikeyeva is the Russian 3000m steeplechase junior champion and, like Fazlitdinova, is only 18 and can compete again next year.

The Russian senior women’s squad consists of Yelizaveta Grechishnikova, Irina Sergeyeva, Oksana Belyakova and Olga Golovkina.

Sergeyeva was the under 23 silver medalist last year and also lead the Russian team to silver medallists in that category.

Two of Sergeyeva’s team mates from last year, Alfiya Khasnova and Natalya Vlasova – ninth and 16th respectively in Dublin – are still young enough to compete in the under 23 race and will be joined by Lyudmila Lebedeva, eighth in last year’s junior race, which makes Russia a good bet for team medal in this category as well.

One the men’s side, places on the podium may be harder to get.

The senior men’s team has the famous Rybakov twins, Anatoliy and Yevgeniy, in their ranks.

The pair dominated the junior men’s races at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships for several years, Yvegeniy getting the gold and Anatoliy the silver in 2002 and 2003, with the pair finishing in the same order but beaten to the line by Hungary’s Barnabas Bene in 2004.

They also lead Russia to junior men’s team wins all three years and Russia has not been on the podium in this category since 2004.

However, the brothers have not had quite as much success on the continental stage as seniors.

Yegor Nikolayev is the only Russian runner in the under 23 men’s race but he will be aiming for a top 10 finish after coming home 12th last year.

European Athletics (EAA)