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December 2009
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Lamdassem, Morató to lead the Spanish charge in Soria |
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28.11.2009 |
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Rosa Morató is the top national runner at the 16th
Cross Internacional de Soria, to be held in Soria,
Spain, on Sunday.
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The
16th Cross Internacional de Soria - the second leg of the IAAF Cross Country
Permit Series 2009/10 - to be held in Soria, Spain, on Sunday, will serve as
the key selection race for the Spanish team for the SPAR European Cross Country
Championships - Dublin 2009.
In
the absence of Spanish national champion Alemayehu Bezabeh, who has decided to skip
Sunday's Cross Country meet to prepare for ‘Dublin 2009' in his native
Ethiopia, the local hopes will rest on Ayad Lamdassem. The Morocco-born 10,000m
specialist finished seventh in Atapuerca, and improved to fifth in Llodio. The
28-year-old was the top Spanish runner at the last Europeans finishing in the fourth
position.
Other local athletes eyeing Dublin ticket are Francisco Javier López, Manuel
Penas, Sergio Sánchez, Eliseo Martín and reigning European 5000m champion Jesús
España.
Kenya's Linet Masai is the overwhelming favourite in the women's race. The
in-form reigning World 10,000m champion is fresh from an emphatic win in Llodio
last Sunday.
The
Spanish contingent in Soria will be headed by the 30-year-old steeplechaser
Rosa Morató, who finished fourth in Llodio and a creditable fifth in Brussels,
2008.
The Spanish
men's team is looking for a hat trick of team gold medals following their success
in Brussels in 2008 and on the home soil of Toro in 2007.
Despite the absences of the three-time European Cross Country silver medallist
Juan Carlos De la Ossa, who underwent surgery last month and will miss the
entire winter season, and Chema Martínez, who has decided to focus on his
Marathon career, the Spanish armada is still reckoned as favourites for the
gold medal in Dublin.
Weather forecasters predict a cloudy day on Sunday, temperature ranging between
6ºC and 8ºC with a 100 percent likelihood of rain-fall.
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