03-18 Kenya seeking another World Cross sweep - WK Cross in Punta Umbria - 0 views
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Dick Ringelberg on 18 Mar 11Ethiopian athletes won 20 of the 30 individual titles between 2004 and 2009, but the balance of power is firmly back with Kenya, whose athletes took a clean sweep of both the individual and team titles in Bydgoszcz last year. Despite the absence of reigning champions Joseph Ebuya and Emily Chebet, who were both non-finishers at their domestic trials, the Kenyan team still boasts an amazing array of talent. They will be chasing a total prize fund of $280,000 in the senior races. This is also the final time the event will be held before it becomes biennial. The course is said to be flat and fast with a couple of artificial climbs plus several man-made hurdles to break up the athletes' rhythm. With Punta Umbria also situated in southern Spain - about 100km south-west of the nearest Spanish airport of Seville - the weather is almost certain to be mild or even warm.