Team USA takes bronze in women’s 8 km at World Cross Country Championships
BYDGOSZCZ, Poland-Led by 2008 Olympic 10,000-meter bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan
After
Behind Flanagan, Molly Huddle from Providence, Rhode Island (25:59) and 2008 Olympic marathon team member Magdalena Lewy-Boulet of Oakland, California (26:01) worked together and finished 19th and 20th, respectively.
Amy Hastings
Five time world cross country championships team member Renee Metivier Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) and two time Team USA member Emily Brown (Minneapolis, Minn.) rounded out the Americans’ six member squad by finishing 38th and 41st respectively in 26:48 and 26:53.
In the senior men’s 12-kilometer race, Patrick Smyth (Minneapolis, Minn.) led Team USA across the tape with his 36th place finish in 34:51. Ryan Vail (Stillwater, Okla.) was 45th in 35:04, while Bobby Curtis (Ardmore, Pa.) finished 48th in 35:08, and Scott Bauhs (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) was 53rd in 35:14.
Bobby Mack (Raleigh, N.C.) finished 67th in 35:36, and Ben Bruce (Eugene, Ore.) placed 80th in 35:56.
Kenya’s Joseph Ebuya won the world title in 33:00, with Teklemariam Medhin of Eritrea second at 33:06, and Moses Kipsiro of Uganda third at 33:10.
The Kenyans continued their dominance of this event, winning with a team score of 20. Eritrea was second with 46, and Ethiopia was third with 69 points. Team USA finished ninth with 182 points.
High school senior Emily Sisson (Chesterfield, Mo.) led the American charge in the junior women’s 6-kilometer race, finishing 18th in 20:08. National junior champion Shelby Greany (Suffern, N.Y.) was 29th in 20:35, while Duke University freshman Juliet Botorff (Newark, Del.) placed 35th in 21:00, and Georgetown University freshman Emily Jones (Harvard, Mass.) rounded out Team USA’s scorers in 41st at 21:12.
Sophia Ziemian (Lewisburg, Pa.) was 45th in 21:21, and Laura Tremblay (Loveland, Colo.) was 51st in 21:31.
Kenya’s
Kenya won the team title with a perfect 10 points, with Ethiopia second at 30 points and Uganda third with 81 points. Team USA finished sixth with 123 points.
University of Portland freshman Trevor Dunbar (Kodiak, Alaska) was the first one across the line for Team USA in the junior men’s 8-kilometer race, with his 29th place finish in 23:36. Andrew Colley (Williamsburg, Va.), a freshman at North Carolina State University, was 42nd at 24:10, while high school senior Walter Schafer (Centennial, Colo.) finished 44th in 24:17. Washington State University freshman Andrew Kimpel (Spokane, Wash.) rounded out Team USA’s four scorers in 54th at 24:37.
High school junior Ammar Moussa (Arcadia, Calif.) was 66th in 25:00, and Oklahoma State University frosh Michael Lynch (Stillwater, Okla.) was 84th at 25:23.
As
Kenya (10), Ethiopia (32), and Uganda (56) took the podium places, as Team USA was eighth at 169 points.
Athlete quotes:
Shalane Flanagan-I knew going into this that this would be the toughest race of the year. I was mentally prepared. I’m bummed individually, because I let two people pass me after the last log jump. It’s a team sport, and I’m proud of how we ran. I think that all of us wanted this for Magda, and we all knew what a place on the podium would mean to her.
Emily Brown-Today went a lot better than the NACAC meet a few weeks ago. You
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Amy Hastings-It was one of the toughest courses I’ve ever run on. We’ve talked about this all week, and even at USAs, we talked about how we would be contending for a medal. I knew Shalane and Molly and Magda were up there, and I tried to catch every single person. I had to do it for the team!
Magdalena Lewy Boulet-It’s
I felt really good. We went out really hard the first 400, and things got a little physical the first part of the race. It was really good to work with Molly. We kept encouraging each other, and running people down.
The goal of making the podium-Check! Achieved!
Renee Metivier Baillie-It
We’ve gotten fourth several times since I’ve come here, so it really means a lot to come home with some hardware.
Molly Huddle-Walking away with a medal was the goal coming over here. We got the medal and we talked about it.
The race was hard. There were times where I felt I wasn’t moving, and felt like I was standing still. My coach thought that I could get top 20, so I think that it was a successful day.
Emily Sisson-It was a tough race, but I’m really happy with it. We all ran well.
I learned how to run with the group. I’ve never run with a group of talented runners in a big international race.
Shelby Greany-The race wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Getting out was hard, and I didn’t run as well as I thought I would.
I
Trevor Dunbar-I
There are a lot of good people here and if you want to be with them, you’ve got to train hard, and get used to the hard pace.
Andrew Colley-I went out a bit unconservative in order to help get my teammates out and get us some elbow room. Hopefully we were able to do good as a team.
Walter Schafer-It went pretty much as planned. I think I was passing people every lap, and I’m pretty happy with my race.
This
Ammar Moussa-I
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Michael Lynch-It was a faster course than what we all thought it would be. I wished I had placed a little higher. I went out easy, and thought I’d have more in the tank that what I actually had. I did what I could but I wished I could have done more.
Andrew Kimpel-It went ok. I think I went out a little conservative at the beginning. I got quite a few people at the end. I was the fourth man, and that gave me a little bit of confidence.
There are a lot of good people out here.
Patrick Smyth-I’m happy with my race, but not ecstatic. For my first world cross country championships, I more than held my own. I hope to be back here next year.
I knew the start was going to be crazy, but not be real conservative, so I wanted to get a good spot. I didn’t really move up a lot.
This race will give me confidence going into the season.
Bobby Curtis-I got a little cramp in the middle of the race, lost a few spots, and struggled. It was tough out there.
I think everyone on the team thought they were capable of a top 40 finish, and Patrick was the only one who did that.
Ben Bruce-I
For more information on the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, visit www.usatf.org.
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