Ennaoui has the chance of history in Chia
09 Dicembre 2016Great Britain won team gold in the women's under-23 age group last year in Hyères and will be favourites to retain their title in Chia on Sunday
The decision by Belgium's Louise Carton to compete in the senior event instead of defending her title has thrown the women's under-23 race wide open at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Chia on Sunday. One of the contenders, with or without Carton, would always have been Sofia Ennaoui, who could achieve her own landmark if she makes it to the top of the podium. No Polish woman - individual or team - has won gold in the 22-year history of the Euro Cross and Ennaoui, 21, has a real chance to become the first because of the ability she has shown to win medals on the track.
The 1500m is her speciality and in Tallinn in 2015, she won silver at the European Athletics U23 Championships, two years on from taking the same medal at the European juniors. On the senior stage this summer, she was seventh at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam before finishing 12th in the Olympic final in Rio, fine performances as her career develops.
Ennaoui is one of two Polish runners in this race - Katarzyna Rutkowska is the other - in a field which sees France's Emma Oudiou, who was eighth last year in Hyères, back for another major challenge. Turkey are one of the strongest of all the distance running nations, with Emine Hatun Tuna a big hope in this race, while after the success of Carton in 2015, Lisa Rooms will fly the flag for Belgium.
Rebecca Murray leads Great Britain's charge after finishing third in the main race at the trials in Liverpool last month and she has good pedigree, being coached by Alex Stanton, the man who helped guide marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe to some of her greatest triumphs. And she has a gold medal to defend too, being part of the team that triumphed in Hyères after finishing 14th in the race.
Women’s Under-23 race starts at 11:10am (local time).
LAST YEAR'S RESULT
1 Louise Carton (BEL) 19:46
2 Jip Vastenburg (NED) 19:46
3 Amelia Terzic (SRB) 19:49
TEAM
1 Great Britain 41 points
2 France 71
3 Italy 82
#chia2016 #EuroCross
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