- Almond Blossom Cross Country
-
Almond Blossom Cross Country
The race takes place in a touristic town in the AlgarveDate Early March Location Albufeira, Portugal Event type Cross country Distance 12 km (7 mi) for men
8 km (5 mi) for womenEstablished 1977 The Almond Blossom Cross Country (Portuguese: Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor)[1] is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, Portugal in early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.[2] It is held in co-operation with the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve (Algarve Athletics Association).[3] The race gets its name from the white blossom which appears on the almond trees native to the Algarve region during the spring.[4]
Contents
History
The competition was first organised in 1977 through a joint partnership of the Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo (Portuguese Athletics Federation), the District of Faro and Turismo de Portugal, with the aim of promoting both sport and tourism in the region.[5] The race relocated to Vilamoura, another town nearby, in 1996 and the competition remained there until 2003. The 2004 edition was not held due to financial problems, causing the race's annual history to be interrupted for the first time. The Almond Blossom Cross returned to its original home in Albufeira in 2005 and has been held there annually ever since.[6]
The race takes place at the Açoteias Cross Country course; a looping track which is 2 km (1.2 mi) in length and comprises sections of both grass and sand.[7][8] The race distances have traditionally been 10 km (6 mi) for men and 6 km (4 mi) for women, but this was extended in the 2010 edition to 12 km (7 mi) and 8 km (5 mi).[9]
The Almond Blossom Cross Country competition is international in its nature, attracting a large number of foreign athletes each year, but it is also a significant draw for Portugal's top domestic runners.[10] Among the past winners in the men's race are Portuguese world medallists Fernando Mamede and Paulo Guerra, track world champion Charles Kamathi, and Serhiy Lebid – a multiple European champion. On the women's side, past winners include Olympic champions Fernanda Ribeiro and Gabriela Szabo, the 1996 World Cross Country champion Gete Wami, and world champion in the 10,000 m Berhane Adere. Only two Portuguese athletes have won at the World Cross Country Championships (Carlos Lopes and Albertina Dias) and both have been victorious in Albufeira: Lopes won the first ever Almond Blossom race in 1977 while Dias won the 1989 women's race.[9]
The Açoteias Cross Country course was also used to host the European Clubs Cross Country Cup in 2008, as it had done a number of times in the 1980s and 1990s.[8][11] During the Almond Blossom's time in Vilamoura, it served as the tester race for the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, which was held on the same course a month later.[12] The competition itself was selected in 2010 to host the Portuguese national cross country championship, in which Yousef El Kalai and Ana Dulce Félix took the honours in the men's and women's races, respectively.[13]
Past senior race winners
Key: Portuguese championship race
Distances: 12 km and 8 km races 8 km and 5 km races 4 km race (10 km for men and 6 km for women where not stated)Edition Year Men's winner Time (m:s) Women's winner Time (m:s) 1st 1977 Carlos Lopes (POR)
? — — 2nd 1978 Greg Meyer (USA)
29:44 Rosa Mota (POR)
? 3rd 1979 Frank Zimmermann (GER)
30:09 Penny Yule (GBR)
13:19 4th 1980 Fernando Mamede (POR)
28:44 Wendy Smith (GBR)
13:02 5th 1981 Fernando Mamede (POR)
31:04 Wendy Smith (GBR)
? 6th 1982 Christoph Herle (GER)
30:03 Aurora Cunha (POR)
13:20 7th 1983 Fernando Mamede (POR)
? Aurora Cunha (POR)
? 8th 1984 Frank Zimmermann (GER)
? Aurora Cunha (POR)
? 9th 1985 António Leitão (POR)
? Rosa Mota (POR)
? 10th 1986 António Leitão (POR)
? Ruth Partridge (GBR)
? 11th 1987 Vincent Rousseau (BEL)
? Ria Van Landeghem (BEL)
? 12th 1988 José Regalo (POR)
30:02 Angela Tooby (GBR)
20:01 13th 1989 José Regalo (POR)
23:42 Albertina Dias (POR)
16:46 14th 1990 Dionísio Castro (POR)
29:39 Jeanne-Marie Pipoz (SUI)
20:06 15th 1991 Richard Chelimo (KEN)
30:05 Catherina McKiernan (IRL)
20:04 16th 1992 Fita Bayisa (ETH)
29:06 Luchia Yishak (ETH)
19:37 17th 1993 Ondoro Osoro (KEN)
29:00 Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
19:48 18th 1994 Ondoro Osoro (KEN)
29:10 Catherina McKiernan (IRL)
19:34 19th 1995 Paulo Guerra (POR)
29:21 Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
19:31 20th 1996 Emerson Iser-Bem (BRA)
29:58 Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
19:45 21st 1997 Thomas Nyariki (KEN)
28:41 Elena Fidatov (ROM)
19:31 22nd 1998 Thomas Nyariki (KEN)
29:30 Julia Vaquero (ESP)
19:25 23rd 1999 Thomas Nyariki (KEN)
29:39 Zahra Ouaziz (MAR)
19:31 24th 2000 Charles Kamathi (KEN)
29:34 Getenesh Wami (ETH)
19:46 25th 2001 Patrick Ivuti (KEN)
20:34 Lydia Cheromei (KEN)
19:48 26th 2002 Thomas Nyariki (KEN)
29:48 Berhane Adere (ETH)
19:49 27th 2003 Patrick Ivuti (KEN)
29:33 Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)
20:12 — 2004 Not held — Not held — 28th 2005 Moses Mosop (KEN)
27:49 Nancy Kiprop (KEN)
19:35 29th 2006 Peter Kamais (KEN)
28:01 Jeļena Prokopčuka (LAT)
19:32 30th 2007 Serhiy Lebid (UKR)
29:15 Dorcus Inzikuru (UGA)
19:27 31st 2008 Josphat Kiprono Menjo (KEN)
29:08 Mariya Konovalova (RUS)
19:03 33rd 2009 Josphat Kiprono Menjo (KEN)
31:01 Jeļena Prokopčuka (LAT)
19:30 34th 2010 Mark Bett (KEN)
35:22 Ana Dulce Félix (POR)
26:09 35th 2011 Josphat Kiprono Menjo (KEN)
30:21 Anikó Kálovics (HUN)
19:38 Statistics
Winners by country
Country Men's race Women's race Total Kenya
16 3 19 Portugal
10 8 18 United Kingdom
0 5 5 Ethiopia
1 3 4 Germany
3 0 3 Romania
0 3 3 Belgium
1 1 2 Ireland
0 2 2 Latvia
0 2 2 Brazil
1 0 1 Morocco
0 1 1 Spain
0 1 1 Hungary
0 1 1 Switzerland
0 1 1 Russia
0 1 1 Uganda
0 1 1 Ukraine
1 0 1 United States
1 0 1 Multiple winners
Athlete Country Wins Years Thomas Nyariki Kenya
4 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002 Fernando Mamede Portugal
3 1980, 1981, 1983 Aurora Cunha Portugal
3 1982, 1983, 1984 Josphat Kiprono Menjo Kenya
3 2008, 2009, 2011 Wendy Smith-Sly United Kingdom
2 1980, 1981 Frank Zimmermann Germany
2 1979, 1984 Rosa Mota Portugal
2 1978, 1985 António Leitão Portugal
2 1985, 1986 José Regalo Portugal
2 1988, 1989 Ondoro Osoro Kenya
2 1993, 1994 Catherina McKiernan Ireland
2 1991, 1994 Gabriela Szabo Romania
2 1995, 1996 Patrick Ivuti Kenya
2 2001, 2003 Jeļena Prokopčuka Latvia
2 2006, 2009 References
- ^ Cross Challenge back with a bang in Vilamoura. IAAF (1999-02-05). Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ IAAF Cross Country Permits. IAAF (2010). Retrieved on 2010-02-12.
- ^ Calendário Regional. Associação de Atletismo do Algarve (2009). Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ (visitalgarve.pt/visitalgarve/vEN/NaoPerca/Detail/?EventoId=3619 33rd Almond Blossom International Cross-Country Race) [Blacklisted link]. VisitAlgarve. Retrieved on 2010-03-11.
- ^ Cardoso, Carlos (2000-03-16). Vilamoura's dream comes true as Carla waits in the wings. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ Costa, Paulo (2005-01-31). Kenyans Moses and Kiprop win in Algarve. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ Welcome Message from the President. 2008 ECCC Cup. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ a b Albufeira plays host to European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country. European Athletics (2008-02-01). Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ a b Civai, Franco (2009-03-09). Amendoeiras em Flor (Almond Blossom) 10 km and 6 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ Fernandes, António Manuel (2010-03-05). Focus on the locals as Portugal to select World XC squad at the Almond Blossom Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ European Clubs Cross Country Cup. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ Wallace-Jones, Sean (200-02-06). Wami and Kamathi repeat Seville victories on World Championship course. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
- ^ Fernandes, António Manuel (2010-03-08). Bett and Felix take Almond Blossom XC titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
External links
IAAF cross country permit meetings Cross de Atapuerca • Oeiras International Cross Country • Lotto Cross Cup Brussels • Great Edinburgh International Cross Country • Cross Internacional de Itálica • Antrim International Cross Country • Cinque Mulini • KCB Nairobi Cross • Chiba International Cross Country • Fukuoka International Cross Country • Eurocross • Almond Blossom Cross CountrySee also: IAAF World Cross Country Championships • Former meetings: Cross de Soria (2007-10) • Cross Valle de Llodio (2004–06) • Auchan Roncq Lille Metropole (2005)Categories:- Cross country running competitions
- Athletics competitions in Portugal
- Recurring sporting events established in 1977
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.