Washington alum Brian Fay finishes 16th at world cross country championships...
TALLAHASSEE, Florida--Washington alum Brian Fay (photo courtesy Athletics Ireland) finished 16th Saturday in the senior men's 10k race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships at Apalachee Regional Park.
Fay, the Irish national cross country champion, made his world cross country championships debut in Tallahassee, where he earned the first of his two All-America honors at the 2021 NCAA cross country championships when he finished 38th.
"Coming back here I felt like I had redemption (after running in the lead pack and fading to 38th at the NCAAs)."
"I felt that I needed to race a little conservative", Fay said. He ran towards the back of the lead pack through the first few laps of the 10k race, going through 5k in 31st in 14:45, running with a number of guys he'd faced during his collegiate career at Washington.
With one lap to go, Fay worked his way into 20th, running with a group that included former NCAA champ Graham Blanks of the USA, and world 10000 meter champion Jimmy Gressier of France.
In the home stretch, Gressier and Fay went back and forth, with Gressier passing him in the last 30 meters to finish 15th in 29:36, one second ahead of Fay.
Gonzaga alum Yacine Guermali, also making his world cross country championships debut for the Philippines, finished 76th in 32:39.
Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo won his second world cross country title, finishing in 28:18, with Behiru Aregawi of Ethiopia second in 28:36, and Daniel Ebenyo third in 28:45.
Ethiopia took the men's team title with 30 points, with Kenya second with 34, and Uganda third with 39 points. The USA was fourth with 81 points.
In the senior women's 10k race, current Husky Chloe Thomas, who finished second at the Canadian championships in late November, placed 31st, covering the course in 34:46.
At the 4k point, Thomas was in 42nd, and worked her way to 37th at 8k with one lap to go.
On the final lap, she passed six runners to finish 31st as the first Canadian across the line.
After the race, she said that the plan was to run with her Canadian teammates through the first half of the race. She said that she was comfortable running through the unique elements of the course, which included a stretch of sand, a man made hill, and a series of obstacles featuring carved alligators.
Agnes Ngetich of Kenya won the race in 31:28, 42 seconds ahead of Joy Cheptoyek of Uganda. Senate Getachew of Ethiopia was third in 32:13.
Thomas' Canadian squad was eighth with 158 points.
Ethiopia won the women's team title with 19, followed by Kenya with 36 points, and Uganda was third with 37 points.
Washington alum Amina Maatoug of The Netherlands, who was entered into the meet by the Dutch federation, never made it to Tallahassee, due to a power outage at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and weather issues that stranded numerous passengers and caused service disruptions, including delays and cancellation of flights.
In the mixed 4 x 2k relay, Washington alum India Weir ran the second leg on Great Britain's team that finished eighth in a time of 23:11.
In her leg, she ran a split of 6:02.
Australia won the 4 x 2k relay in a time of 22:23, followed by France in 22:26, and Ethiopia in third at 22:34.
NOTE: World Athletics, Athletics Ireland and Athletics Canada contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.
Comments