Klosterhalfen on course to defend in Chia
05 Dicembre 2016Reigning European under-20 cross country champion, Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen bids for second title in row
Just one athlete has won back-to-back titles in the junior race at the European Cross Country Championships but Konstanze Klosterhalfen starts as the commanding favourite to defend her junior women’s title in Chia on 11 December. A second gold medal would cap off what has been a breakthrough twelve months for Klosterhalfen. It began last December when she outsprinted Harriet Knowles-Jones for the junior title in Hyères which was a precursor to a stellar season in which she excelled indoors, outdoors and on the roads.
Klosterhalfen had the beating of Europe’s best in Hyères last year and she also mixed it with the East Africans at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz last July where she claimed a bronze medal in the 3000m in 8:46.74 to move into some esteemed company. Only two Europeans - all senior world champions (Zola Budd and Gabriela Szabo) - have run faster than Klosterhalfen as juniors.
The German will move into the senior ranks next year - and could be one of the stars at the European Under-23 Championships in Bydgoszcz next summer - and while the 19-year-old looks set to make a smooth transition to the senior ranks, she might have one question to ponder this winter: which distance to focus on next year?
Klosterhalfen’s range is already phenomenal as she can boast PBs of 2:01.55 over 800m up to 32:24 for 10km, the latter being the fastest time by a junior in 2016. In between, Klosterhalfen also set European indoor junior records at 1500m (4:08.38) and 3000m (8:56.36) as well as German outdoor records over 3000m (8:46.74) and 5000m (15:16.98). Klosterhalfen looks poised to add to her medal tally in Chia later this month and she looks on course to compete with the world’s best in years to come.
#chia2016 #EuroCross
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