Wonderful 12. European Mountain Running Champs. 2013 at Borovets (Bulgaria):Italy and Turkey at top!
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Another important page of the history of the European mountain running was written at the 12. European Mountain Running Championships held on 6th July 2013 at Borovets, Bulgaria.
The new European Champions 2013 are: Italian Bernard Dematteis for senior men, Austrian Andrea Mayr for senior women, Turkish Ramazan Karagoz for junior men and German Melanie Albrecht for junior women. In the team list Gold medal was took in both senior categories by Italy and from Turkey in the junior men and from Russia in the junior women.
Nine Countries had athletes who finished on the podium. Italy and Turkey dominated the medal table winning seven medals each but Italy had 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze, instead Turkey won 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze. Germany, Russia and Austria took 1 gold medal each. Great Britain and Northern Ireland won 2 silver and 1 bronze medals, Switzerland 1 silver, Slovenia 2 bronze and Romania 1 bronze." "All the races were wonderful competition and all the Champions had some particular aspect to tell.
First race was junior race: Melanie Albrecht always run in first position for all the race finishing in 25.49, with fourthly second advantage in front of Turkish Casminaz Yilmaz (26.29) and of Slovenian Lea Einfalt (27.05). Annabel Mason, defending title as Champion 2012, finished 8. Albrecht, the winner is also national cross country champion! Yilmaz was third last year at the European Championships and second at World Championships 2011 whilst Lea Einfalt was World Champion 2011 (Tirana) and third last year at the World Championships in Italy. In the team result Russia (with Olga Sharpova 4., Ksenia Fedorchuck 9., Ekaterina Evonina 11. and Ksenia Makhneva 29.) was European Champion 2013 with 24 points, two points better United Kingdom that was second with 26 points. Turkey and Germany had same point , - 34 - but Turkey won bronze medal because its third counting athlete finished 17. place was better third runner of United Kingdom (28.) Nine teams were classified.
In the junior men race Turkey confirm the tradition. Since the beginning of the European Mountain Running Championships, every year the winner is a Turkish runner. This year Ramazan Karagoz dominated the competition, finished in 48.51, more than one minute before silver medalist, its fellow Turkish Sehmus Sarihan. Italian Michele Vaia won bronze medal (50.29) crossing over Romanian Andrei Leanca (4. With 51.05) in the last part of the track. 41 runners at the start and the winner Ramazan Karagoz is the only one born in 1997: the youngest runner of the race became Champion! He is brother of Adem Karagoz, who was World Champion 2011 (Tirana) and second last year at the World Championships in Italy. Despite the important performances of the first two runners Turkey was European Team Champion with 21 points (Ramazan Karagoz 1., Sehmus Sarihan 2., Omer Tuncer 18. and Naif Bozkurt 20.), only one point better than Italy (Michele Vaia 3. Giampaolo Crotti 8. Nadir Cavagna 11. and Michael Monella 35, silver medalist. Romania (Andrej Leanca 4., Ionut Marius Dumitru 15., Mihai , Marian Falcescu 17. And Alexsandru Daniel Dobritescu) finished third with 36 points, one point in front Russia (37 points). Nine teams were classified.
The senior women race was one of the more impressive competition ever run at European level, with a lot of potential winners.
At the end the fourth time World Champion Austrian Andrea Mayr won European title, for the second time after her
victory on 2005. Behind Mayr, Italian Valentina Belotti , she also in the past World Champion (on 2009), was - for the third time - second in the European Mountain Running Championships. The gap between the two runners was more than one minute: Mayr's time was 51.49 and Belotti's time was 52.54. Bronze medal was for Slovenian Mateja Kosovelj, (time 53.08) for the first time on the European podium, after that she won in the past three medals in the junior category at World Mountain Running Championships.
With the important performances of Elisa Desco (4.), Renate Rungger (5.) and Samantha Galassi (28.) Italy had no problem to become European Champion in the team (point 11). Second was Switzerland with 36 points counting the result of Bernadette Meier (8.), Martina Staehl (9.: she was European Champion in 2011), Angela Haldmann (19.) and the defending Champion of 2012, Monika Fuerholz (22.). Bronze medal was for Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Emma Clayton 6., Olivia Walwyn 21., Sarah Tunstall 25. and Rebecca Robinson (39.) with 52 points, just one point better than Russia fourth with 53 points. Fifteen teams were classified.
The senor men race was a triumph for Italian team, winning both gold medal and one silver medals. Italian Bernard Dematties dominated the race starting very strong since the first meters of the competition. Nobody was able to cross over him and he finished the race with 56.30. Second was another Italian runner, Alex Baldaccini, who defeat the six time European Champion Turkish Ahmet Arslan, bronze at the finish: Baldaccini run in 57.35 and Arslan arrived 12 seconds behind, just 14 before the fourth athlete, again an Italian runner, Xavier Chevrier, junior world Champion in 2009. Bernard Dematteis completed his set of European medals: he was second on 2008 in Germany and third on 2010 in Turkey.
Of course Italy gained gold medal in the team result with 7 points (Bernard Dematteis 1. Alex Baldaccini , 2. Xavier Chevrier 4 and Martin Dematteis 23.) confirming the European leaderships that started at the beginning of this competition. Great Britain and Northern Ireland return to win a medal after 2006: with 31 points finished second ( Steve Vernon 5., Chris Smith 8., Orlando Edwards 18. and Robbie Simpson 29.). Thirds was Turkey (Ahmet Arslan 3., Deniz Kazan 11. Orhan Avic 37 and Akit Kitir 49) with 51 points and France finished out podium after that won consecutively medal in the last eight years in the senior men team. Nineteen teams were classified.
The event was organised with top quality under all the aspects, showing once more the great organisational capacity of Bulgarian Athletic Federation with full staff involved and coordinated by Galia Puhaleva, who is also WMRA Council member. Of course all the preparation was made under the wonderful direction by European Athletics, with great work of the Technical Delegate Christoph Seiler and of the project coordinators from European Athletics Ede Rutkovszky and Elena Barrios.
The core of the organization - the main volunteers with their hard work, competency and experience made sure to have activities run smoothly. They were always there to help and solve problems with a smile.
Hansjorg Wirz, European Athletics President, Gabriela Szabo, European Athletics Council Delegate, Dobromir Karamarinov, President of Bulgarian Athletic Federation and Vladimir Georgiev, Mayor of Samokov Municipality attended the event.
At the end, 217 athletes from 27 European Athletics member federation countries are set to compete in the four race categories - 75 senior men, 64 senior women, 41 junior men and 37 junior women - in the mountain resort town of Borovets, Bulgaria, at the 12. European Mountain Running Championships.
The full results of the 2013 European Mountain Running Championships have been published on the EA webpage.
With a nice closing ceremony all the participants said ",Good bye", to the next year when the 13. European Mountain Running Championships will be held at Gap, France.
The new European Champions 2013 are: Italian Bernard Dematteis for senior men, Austrian Andrea Mayr for senior women, Turkish Ramazan Karagoz for junior men and German Melanie Albrecht for junior women. In the team list Gold medal was took in both senior categories by Italy and from Turkey in the junior men and from Russia in the junior women.
Nine Countries had athletes who finished on the podium. Italy and Turkey dominated the medal table winning seven medals each but Italy had 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze, instead Turkey won 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze. Germany, Russia and Austria took 1 gold medal each. Great Britain and Northern Ireland won 2 silver and 1 bronze medals, Switzerland 1 silver, Slovenia 2 bronze and Romania 1 bronze." "All the races were wonderful competition and all the Champions had some particular aspect to tell.
First race was junior race: Melanie Albrecht always run in first position for all the race finishing in 25.49, with fourthly second advantage in front of Turkish Casminaz Yilmaz (26.29) and of Slovenian Lea Einfalt (27.05). Annabel Mason, defending title as Champion 2012, finished 8. Albrecht, the winner is also national cross country champion! Yilmaz was third last year at the European Championships and second at World Championships 2011 whilst Lea Einfalt was World Champion 2011 (Tirana) and third last year at the World Championships in Italy. In the team result Russia (with Olga Sharpova 4., Ksenia Fedorchuck 9., Ekaterina Evonina 11. and Ksenia Makhneva 29.) was European Champion 2013 with 24 points, two points better United Kingdom that was second with 26 points. Turkey and Germany had same point , - 34 - but Turkey won bronze medal because its third counting athlete finished 17. place was better third runner of United Kingdom (28.) Nine teams were classified.
The senior women race was one of the more impressive competition ever run at European level, with a lot of potential winners.
At the end the fourth time World Champion Austrian Andrea Mayr won European title, for the second time after her
victory on 2005. Behind Mayr, Italian Valentina Belotti , she also in the past World Champion (on 2009), was - for the third time - second in the European Mountain Running Championships. The gap between the two runners was more than one minute: Mayr's time was 51.49 and Belotti's time was 52.54. Bronze medal was for Slovenian Mateja Kosovelj, (time 53.08) for the first time on the European podium, after that she won in the past three medals in the junior category at World Mountain Running Championships.
With the important performances of Elisa Desco (4.), Renate Rungger (5.) and Samantha Galassi (28.) Italy had no problem to become European Champion in the team (point 11). Second was Switzerland with 36 points counting the result of Bernadette Meier (8.), Martina Staehl (9.: she was European Champion in 2011), Angela Haldmann (19.) and the defending Champion of 2012, Monika Fuerholz (22.). Bronze medal was for Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Emma Clayton 6., Olivia Walwyn 21., Sarah Tunstall 25. and Rebecca Robinson (39.) with 52 points, just one point better than Russia fourth with 53 points. Fifteen teams were classified.
The senor men race was a triumph for Italian team, winning both gold medal and one silver medals. Italian Bernard Dematties dominated the race starting very strong since the first meters of the competition. Nobody was able to cross over him and he finished the race with 56.30. Second was another Italian runner, Alex Baldaccini, who defeat the six time European Champion Turkish Ahmet Arslan, bronze at the finish: Baldaccini run in 57.35 and Arslan arrived 12 seconds behind, just 14 before the fourth athlete, again an Italian runner, Xavier Chevrier, junior world Champion in 2009. Bernard Dematteis completed his set of European medals: he was second on 2008 in Germany and third on 2010 in Turkey.
Of course Italy gained gold medal in the team result with 7 points (Bernard Dematteis 1. Alex Baldaccini , 2. Xavier Chevrier 4 and Martin Dematteis 23.) confirming the European leaderships that started at the beginning of this competition. Great Britain and Northern Ireland return to win a medal after 2006: with 31 points finished second ( Steve Vernon 5., Chris Smith 8., Orlando Edwards 18. and Robbie Simpson 29.). Thirds was Turkey (Ahmet Arslan 3., Deniz Kazan 11. Orhan Avic 37 and Akit Kitir 49) with 51 points and France finished out podium after that won consecutively medal in the last eight years in the senior men team. Nineteen teams were classified.
The event was organised with top quality under all the aspects, showing once more the great organisational capacity of Bulgarian Athletic Federation with full staff involved and coordinated by Galia Puhaleva, who is also WMRA Council member. Of course all the preparation was made under the wonderful direction by European Athletics, with great work of the Technical Delegate Christoph Seiler and of the project coordinators from European Athletics Ede Rutkovszky and Elena Barrios.
The core of the organization - the main volunteers with their hard work, competency and experience made sure to have activities run smoothly. They were always there to help and solve problems with a smile.
Hansjorg Wirz, European Athletics President, Gabriela Szabo, European Athletics Council Delegate, Dobromir Karamarinov, President of Bulgarian Athletic Federation and Vladimir Georgiev, Mayor of Samokov Municipality attended the event.
At the end, 217 athletes from 27 European Athletics member federation countries are set to compete in the four race categories - 75 senior men, 64 senior women, 41 junior men and 37 junior women - in the mountain resort town of Borovets, Bulgaria, at the 12. European Mountain Running Championships.
The full results of the 2013 European Mountain Running Championships have been published on the EA webpage.
With a nice closing ceremony all the participants said ",Good bye", to the next year when the 13. European Mountain Running Championships will be held at Gap, France.
News by Bruno Gozzelino
Photos (by LOC):
On front page:
- Bernard Dematteis celebrated his victory with his twin Brother Martin,
On second page:
- flowwer ceremony for junior men with Romanian Gabriela Szabo (EA Delegate)
- flower ceremony for senior women with BAF President, Dobromir Karamarinov.