The Road to Toro: Senior men’s preview

In the absence of the three individual medallists for 2006, the spot light in the Senior men's race falls on the Ukraine's six-time former champion Sergey Lebid and the Swedish Steeplechase star, Mustafa Mohamed.

After losing his crown last year to Britain's Mo Farah, who sadly suffered a groin injury three weeks ago, Lebid is coming to Toro with renewed determination to prove himself once again as the king of European Cross Country running after spending more than half of 2007 trying to recover from a foot injury.

"I hope to improve on my performance of last year (when he came 12th after suffering stomach problems), I want to return to the Ukraine with at least a medal in my hands. Due to the injury I had, I was not capable of training properly for much of the year but I can only see things getting better from here," reflected Lebid recently.

Lebid has competed in all 13 previous editions of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships and he has a special affection for the event.

"I think it is an essential event for all European runners and even more important for me because I have always started my (winter) season competing at the European Cross Country Championships. The event always gives me a very good idea of how I'm feeling physically and how my preparation has been," added the 32-year-old runner.

Unlike Lebid, Mohamed has already shown his face this winter, finishing as the leading European finisher at the European Athletics Cross Country permit meeting in the northern French town of Leffrinckroucke on November 25.

"I felt very strong but was missing a little speed. However, it was a good dress rehearsal for the Europeans," commented Mohamed, who finished fourth in San Giorgio su Legnano 12 months ago and who was also the third European finisher at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships last March.

Mohamed caused a huge stir during the summer by running 8:05.75 for the 3,000m Steeplechase, by far the fastest time by a European this year and the second fastest mark of all-time by someone from the continent.

The 28 year-old has prepared for Toro by escaping from the chilly autumn weather in Sweden and training for more than a month between October and November in South Africa.

Running on home soil, there are high hopes from the Spanish team that at least one of their men can get on the podium and continue a streak that stretches back to 2001.

This year, their very strong six man squad includes Alberto Garcia, the 2005 SPAR European Cross Country Championship silver medallist; Jesus Espana, the reigning European 5,000m champion; and Chema Martinez, the 2002 European 10,000m champion and a silver medallist at the last Championships in 2006.

"Anything less than a win in the team competition will be a failure for a squad as good as this. We have an experienced team, very powerful, and if we add to the fact that we are competing at home and that the circuit should suits us, if we don't win then we deserve to be crucified," said Martinez on Tuesday, sticking his neck firmly on the line.
mohamed_mustafa.jpg
Europe's second all-time fastest 3,000m Steeplechase
star, Mustafa Mohamed (SWE).
Photo by Picture Alliance.

"I've also got a feeling that we, as a country, are going to get several individual medals. I'm hoping one of the medals will be mine," he added.

Toro will be the ninth time that Martinez has competed in the SPAR European Cross Country Championships but despite his many achievements on the track he has only team medals, including golds from Spanish wins in 2001 and 2002, to show for his frequent appearances.

"I am fortunate that the Europeans this year will be at home. It is a competition that I've never performed to my best in, for a variety of reasons. However, I have trained well in recent months and I am in perfect condition. I am optimistic. We also know we will all have the public behind us. We know they will be cheering for us, and if you are going through a bad moment that can be a big help," commented the 36-year-old man from Madrid.

If Spain are to regain the Senior men's team title they last won in 2002 then they will have to defeat France who have won it for the last four years.

The French team going to Toro does not have quite the same dominating aura about it of recent years and repeating their success of 12 months ago, when they placed three men in the top eight, may be a tall order but Les Bleus do include Mokhtar Benhari, sixth in 2005, and the Kenyan-born French foreign legionnaire Simon Munyutu, who was the fourth European home at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March.

Munyutu will be making his debut at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships this coming Sunday and there are several other interesting names having their first appearance as well.

Finland's 2002 European Marathon champion Janne Holmen, who was also an impressive ninth and the second European home in the oppressively hot and humid IAAF World Championships Marathon in Osaka just over three months ago, will contest the event for the first time.

Rui Silva – not to be confused with Rui Pedro Silva who finished sixth last year and who is also in the Portuguese team making the short trip over the border – has won a host of global and continental championship medals over 1,500m on the track, both indoors and outdoors, and has now decided to try to add a Cross Country medal to his collection.

Even if Silva doesn't achieve his ambition in an individual capacity, he has a good chance of standing on the podium after the points have been tallied for the team competition as Portugal have been among the medals on four of the last six occasions and this year are sending a team which could well get their four scorers inside the top 20.

Source/Courtesy
European Athletics (EAA)
https://www.european-athletics.org/
EAA