Bekele and Burka make light of frozen Holyrood hills to retain titles

Published on Sunday 13 January 2008 21:02

A PAIR of old hands topped the podium at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country after producing their familiar bursts of class on the frosty inclines of Edinburgh's Holyrood Park, but was a fresh face which did most to warm the cockles on Saturday and provide hope of triumphs to come amid pessimistic times for British athletics.

Kenenisa Bekele, the imperious Ethiopian, sped clear in the final 600 metres of a pulsating men's race to see off Eritrea's world champion Zersenay Tadese and take this title for a third successive year, covering the 9.3km circuit in 27mins 42secs. "It's fantastic to win," the Olympic gold medallist declared, having bided his time at the rear of a group of four which included the Kenyan pair, Eliud Kipchoge and Joseph Ebuya. "I waited until the last lap because I felt it was the right thing to do. There were four of us all together, but I thought if I made a push near the finish it would be the right tactic."

Gelete Burka was in no need of such tactical perils in the women's 6km race, breezing away with extraordinary ease to create what would ultimately be an 18-second margin over Kenya's Linet Masai.

Yet the primary intrigue would develop behind the leading pair, and it centred on the flourishing talents of Steph Twell, the 18-year-old Anglo-Scot. The plan, devised in conjunction with her coach Mick Woods, was to see how she might fare going head-to-head with the established names with one eye on her return to Edinburgh on 30 March to chase the junior title at the World Cross-Country Championships.

To her delight, she held her own, and then some, leading at one point before ceding third place only in a sprint finish with the vastly experienced Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot. "This was important for me for my confidence so that when I meet them on the track, I won't have any fear about it," Twell explained.

"My aim was to start controlled and keep my composure. As it went on, I felt strong and I wasn't fighting to keep up with that pace. The fact that the ground wasn't too muddy helped. But I thought that given I'm coming back here in March, I didn't want to miss the chance to test what kind of performance I can do."

Twell was the first Briton, well ahead of early pacesetter Liz Yelling, but there was disappointment for Edinburgh's Kathy Butler, who failed even to crack the top 15. "I just couldn't get going," admitted the Athens Olympian, who last night arrived back at her training base in Colorado with the intention of returning to the UK for the world cross trials. "With the fast pace in that temperature, everything tightened up. My body felt fine but my legs didn't. Training's been going all right, but this didn't feel so good."

There was better news for fellow Briton Andy Baddeley, who produced a late surge to take a thrilling victory in the men's 4.4km race. The 1,500m world championship finalist looked to be heading for a shock defeat when Andy Vernon made a breakaway 800m from home. But Baddeley kept his composure to burst through in the final straight.