A top Senior Women’s race is ensured at the Antrim IAAF International Cross Country at Greenmount on January 22ndwith Charlotte Purdue to take on Kenyan Grace Momanyi. The event is organised by Athletics Northern Ireland and sponsored by Antrim Borough Council while part of the UK wide McCain Cross Challenge. An incredible $15,000 is on offer in prize money this year for the senior races- $7500 each according to new IAAF regulations.
Please note FINAL entries will close this Friday 14th January and no entries will be taken on the day as chipped timing is in operation!
Purdue is currently the top GB Cross Country runner after finishing 4th at Edinburgh last Saturday 11seconds ahead of Hatti Dean who was top GB Euro Cross finisher (7th). Purdue is the European Junior Cross Country Champion and last August took 16 seconds off the GB Junior 10,000m record in new figures of 32.36.75.
Grace Momanyi (28) will be the top challenger for Purdue, having won Gold in the Commonwealth Games in the 10,000m in Delhi in 32.34.11. Purdue was 4th in this race and will be hard pressed to hold Momanyi at Antrim. The Kenyan was 10th in 2008 World Cross Country and has also world class form finishing 4th in World Championships 10,000m in Berlin in 30 minutes 52 seconds.
Joining the line up in the Women’s Senior race will be Esther Chemtai (17) from Kenya who was a bronze medallist in 2010 World Junior Cross Country in Poland last March and Louise Damen who was 2nd GB finisher in the Europeans in Portugal (17th) to Hatti Dean. Other entries include Gemma Steel, 3rd GB finisher in Portugal and 9th in Edinburgh last Saturday and Stevie Stockton who was 12th in the Antrim event last year.
The Men’s event features some top cross country runners and Andy Vernon of Aldershot is now the number two GB&NI cross country runner at the minute to Mo Farah. He finished 5th last Saturday in Edinburgh behind 4th place Sergey Lebid of Ukraine who is 9 times Euro Cross Country champion. Vernon had a point to prove after withdrawing from the European Cross in December with stomach cramps.
He will be joined by Mike Kigen who won at Antrim a year ago from Vernon and is currently in good form with a 2nd place finish in a cross country meet in Geneva on December 4th. He was also 5th in the 2006 World Cross Country and has a world class 5000m PB of 12.58.58.
Joe Sweeney (Dundrum South Dublin AC) took a number of useful scalps when finishing a very respectable 10th place in the Edinburgh Cross Country. He won the Irish Inter counties in November and was the top Irish finisher (21st) in the Europeans in Portugal.
Michael Mulhare who is a member of the U23 winning team members in last month’s Euro Cross, put in another highly creditable run to finish the best of the Irish in 9th place in 13:42 in Edinburgh and will be joined by Brian Farrell and Seamus Power to make up the Irish team. The Women’s Senior Irish Team consists of Bryony Treston, Becky Woods, Ciara Durkan and Orla O’Mahony.
The event will start at 11:00am with a number of Junior races and the International programme starts at 1:30pm. Full information and timetable on www.niathletics.org
