Podium pride for England cross country duo in Spain
The English Cross Country Association’s policy of sending ‘development teams’ to carefully selected major international meetings paid-off inspirationally – twice over – in Elgoibar, Spain, on Sunday 13 January: teenagers Beth Carter (Invicta East Kent AC) and Phillip Berntsen (Andover and District AC) marked their international debuts by preceding world medallists onto the podium.
Carter, aged only 15, finished a surprised second in the Junior Women’s 4.44km race while Berntsen celebrated his 18th birthday five days early by taking the third place prizes in the Junior Men’s 6.47km race at a meeting at which the senior winners were Leonard Patrick Komon, the 2006 World Junior Cross Country silver medallist, and his Kenyan compatriot, Priscah Jepleting, who won the 5000m bronze medal at last summer’s IAAF World Championships.
“The whole experience has been pretty fantastic,” said Berntsen, a student at the Peter Symonds College, Winchester, who was coached by James Coney at the Andover club until he switched to the guidance of Nick Anderson four months ago. “It’s something I can build on; I’m aiming for the Worlds in Edinburgh now!”
Berntsen made such impressive progress on the last lap that he got to within a couple of strides of the runner-up in a race won by Hassan Chahdi (France), who finished eighth in the Junior Men’s race at last month’s European Cross Country Championships in Toro.
“I was hoping for the top 10,” confessed Carter, who goes to Kent College, Canterbury, and is coached by James Roberts at Invicta. Cheered on by three generations of her family – her grandmother, parents and brother – she showed scant respect to her elders.
She said of her race: “I ‘sat’ with the fourth person for some time. But she was breathing really deeply so I got away from her and chased two racing side by side up ahead.”
On the climb up the only hill on the course, she overtook them and finished a dozen seconds behind winner Cristina Jordan, who was Spain’s second counter in the Junior Women’s race at the Euro Cross in Toro.
Now both Carter and Berntsen will take the path well-trodden by generations of successful endurance runners – the South of England Championships at Parliament Hill on 26 January, the Saucony English National at Alton Towers on 23 February and the UK Inter-Counties Championships, incorporating the World Trials and UK Cross Challenge Finals, at Nottingham on 15 March.
Leaders and ECCA representatives in Elgoibar:
Men (10.68km): 1 Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) 31:54; 2 Bernard Kiprop Kypyego (Kenya) 32:07; 3 Cuthbert Nyasango (Zimbabwe) 32:14; 9 Tom Humphries (England / Cannock and Stafford AC) 33:16; 12 Matthew Watson (England / Bingley Harriers) 34:10; 15 Mark Hood (England / Sunderland Harriers) 34:44; 21 Andy Livingstone (England / Thurrock Harriers) 36:08.
Women (6.47km): 1 Priscah Jepleting (Kenya) 21:19; 2 Wude Ayalew Yimer (Ethiopia) 21:19; 3 Mariya Konovalova (Russia) 21:39; 5 Rachel Townend (England / Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) 22:35; 14 Charlene Thomas (England / Wakefield Harriers) 24:39. [The Sparke twins, Jessica and Katherine, were unable to make the trip through injury and illness.]
Junior Men (6.47km): 1 Hassan Chahdi (France) 20:48; 2 Guillem Duran (Spain) 21:02; 3 Phillip Berntsen (England / Andover and District AC) 21:03; 9 Ben Hunter (England / Southend on Sea AC); 21 Michael Williams (England / Leeds City AC) 22:33. [The fourth of England’s selections, James Robinson (West Norfolk AC) had the misfortune to slip on ice on his last training run last week and was forced to pull out of the trip.]
Artical by Trevor Frecknall
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