It was a great race for me – Ethiopia’s Gemechu after Cross Country victory

Ethiopia’s Gemechu wins in Italy again

JOHANNESBURG, March 29 (ANA) – Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu claimed a hard-fought victory in the women’s 6.2km race at the Cinque Mulini – the second leg of the World Athletics Cross Country Permit series – on Sunday in San Vittore Olona, Italy.

“I feel good,” said Gemechu, the fourth-place finisher in the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019. “It was a great race for me. I am happy that I won my second consecutive race. I will now return to Ethiopia to prepare for my next race over 10,000m in Hengelo.”

It was Gemechu’s second high-profile victory in as many weeks, following her triumph last weekend at the Campaccio meeting.

Gemechu, fellow Ethiopian Alemitu Tariku and Kenya’s Sheila Chelangat and Beatrice Chebet pulled away from Burundi’s Francine Niyomukunzi in the early stages and completed the first lap in 6:45.

Chebet, Gemechu and Chelangat stepped up the pace on the second lap, opening up an 11-second gap on Tariku. Chelangat was the next to drift back, leaving Chebet and Gemechu to battle it out on the final lap.

Chebet led for most of the final lap, but Gemechu launched her kick in the final straight to take a three-second win in 18:53.

Completing an Ethiopian double, Nibret Melak was the victory in the 10.2km race in 28:57, holding off last year’s Cinque Mulini winner Leonard Bett (Kenya) by one second and two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris (Ethiopia) by two seconds in a close sprint.

Bett led a nine-man lead group that included Melak, Edris, Uganda’s Samuel Kibet and Hosea Kiplangat, Italian marathon record-holder Eyob Faniel, Marouan Razine, Yohannes Chiappinelli and Oscar Chelimo. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman