March 25, 2001 at Ostend Belgium - 2:30 pmOstend
2001 29th IAAF World CCC
American Ritzenhein
creates surprise
by Laura Arcoleo for IAAF
on the IAAF web
site
OSTEND BELGIUM 25 March 2001 - Dathan Ritzenhein's bronze
medal here today, behind Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya's Duncan Lebo in
the Men's Junior race at the World Cross Country Championships in Ostend was one
of the biggest surprises of this 29th edition of the Championships.
The last time an American Junior stepped on the podium in a
World Cross Country Championships was back in 1981 when Keith Brantly grabbed
bronze in a hotly disputed race where the three medallist finished in less than
three seconds. Craig Virgin won gold in the senior men's cross the same year,
becoming the last American male medallist until today.
The last time the American flag was raised at a World Cross
Country championships was in 1993 when Lynn Jennings won the bronze medal in
Amorebieta, Portugal after three consecutive victories the previous years.
It as taken eight years have been necessary for the USA to see
one of their athletes step on the World Cross Country Championships today in
Ostend in a race that was characterised by the freezing wind and the mud which
made the course even more demanding.
"Maybe the difficult weather conditions helped me defeat
the African runners. I was not afraid of them simply because I didn't know what
to expect from this race. Of course I knew they are excellent cross country
specialists but I had never personally raced against them," said Ritzenheim
after the race.
Michigan born Ritzenhein followed the pace set by Ethiopia's
Bekele - who had finished second in the short race yesterday and completely
outclassed the rest of the field - from the start, accompanied by hs compatriot
Mathew Tegenkamp.
"Me and Matt decided to work together in front. We wanted
to try and do a team race. I don't know yet what the other American runners have
done but I am happy that myself and Matt have run such a great race," said
Ritzenhein at the post event press conference.
And Ritzenhein's determination was noticeable when one after
the other Kenyan and Ethiopian representatives gradually lost ground, leaving
the two Americans and two Kenyans (Lebo and Kemboi, who would finish 4th) fight
for a medal after Bekele had broken away from the pack with one lap to go.
"Before the race I thought to myself: you have to take your chance, you
have to gamble and if you die at the end well you die but at least you will have
tried."
Not only did Ritzenhein not die but he managed to outsprint
Kemboi for what would be USA's only individual medal of the championships.
Unfortunately Ritzenhein's third and Tegenkamp fifth places were not sufficient
to guarantee a medal in the team standings: the USA finished fourth, three
points behind Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
"I am very disappointed with the team missing a medal by
such a small margin," said the youngster. For Ritzenhein, team support
appears to be vital in his preparation and motivation. He likes to underline:
"I get my inspiration from my team, Radford team in Michigan."
A two-time national cross country champion, Ritzenhein plans
to run the 5000 on the track this summer. As a junior, in 2000, he clocked
8:41.10 for two miles, faster than the likes of Steve Prefontaine or Adam
Goucher. Ritzenhein who will attend Colorado University this fall will have to
confirm his excellent result on track during the summer, by which time he will
probably have realised what a great performance he has accomplished.
"Everything happened so fast today I still don't know
what I should be thinking about it. I need to sit down on my own and I might
eventually realise what I have done."
Return
to Ostend 2001 World CCC
|