Edinah Jebitok and Abdessamad Oukhelfen Triumph at Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños
At the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold level event, Edinah Jebitok of Kenya and Abdessamad Oukhelfen of Spain emerged victorious on a chilly Sunday. Jebitok repeated her commanding performance from two years prior, while Oukhelfen narrowly beat his fellow Spaniard Fernando Carro by a second.
Jebitok, at 22, dominated the women's 9300m race, quickly establishing a significant lead. She was ahead of the USA's Katie Izzo and Ethiopia's Asayech Ayichew right from the start, with Kenya's Maurine Jemutai trailing behind. Throughout the race, Jebitok maintained her lead, eventually finishing 42 seconds ahead of Ayichew, with Izzo securing third place. Jebitok plans to race next in Elgoibar before preparing for the Kenyan trials for the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade.
In the men's 9300m event, Oukhelfen clinched victory following an intense competition. Starting conservatively, he later increased his pace, eventually gaining a slight lead over Carro and France's Fabien Palcau. In the final stages, Oukhelfen maintained control and finished just one second ahead of Carro, with Palcau close behind. Oukhelfen looks forward to his next race at Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona, celebrating a significant win just before his 25th birthday.
RESULTS MEN PRO AND U23
| Pos | NAME | NAT | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABDESSAMAD OUKHELFEN | ESP | 00:30:16 |
| 2 | FERNANDO CARRO | ESP | 00:30:17 |
| 3 | FABIEN PALCAU | FRA | 00:30:17 |
| 4 | ABDERRAHMANE AFERDI | MAR | 00:30:34 |
| 5 | AARÓN LAS HERAS | ESP | 00:30:54 |
| 6 | DAVID BASCUÑANA | ESP | 00:31:00 |
| 7 | ABDERRAHMAN EL KAYAMI | ESP | 00:31:11 |
| 8 | MIGUEL BAIDAL | ESP | 00:31:29 |
| 9 | BRAHIM EL OURZADI SOUFI | ESP | 00:31:59 |
| 10 | MARC FERNANDEZ | ESP | 00:32:10 |
| 11 | DANIEL HERNANDO NOVO | ESP | 00:32:17 |
| 12 | FIKADU GONZALEZ | ESP | 00:33:24 |
| 13 | VICENTE VICIOSA | ESP | 00:34:17 |
| 14 | MARIO ZURDO BALLESTEROS | ESP | 00:34:31 |
| 15 | DANIEL SÁEZ MÍNGUEZ | ESP | 00:34:41 |
| 16 | ALEJANDRO CARABIAS HERRERO | ESP | 00:34:58 |
| 17 | HÉCTOR LÓPEZ MACHO | ESP | 00:35:39 |
| 18 | CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE LA FUENTE | ESP | 00:36:02 |
| 19 | DAVID GARCÍA GUTIÉRREZ | ESP | 00:36:16 |
| 20 | ALEJANDRO CALVO COLOMÉ | ESP | 00:36:25 |
| 21 | VICTOR CENTENO ABRIL | ESP | 00:36:52 |
| 22 | IVÁN NIETO TURIENZOS | ESP | 00:37:42 |
| 23 | KEVIN MARIN MIGUELEZ ALONSO | ESP | 00:38:46 |
| - | IVAN DE LA CRUZ CASCAJARES | ESP | 00:00:00 |
| - | JAVIER DIEZ JUAREZ | ESP | 00:00:00 |
| - | LUIS ALBERTO MELITÓN BUENHOMBRE | ESP | 00:00:00 |
| - | JOSÉ MARÍA CANTERO HERRERO | ESP | 00:00:00 |
| - | ALVARO RAMIREZ | ESP | 00:00:00 |
RESULTS WOMEN PRO AND U23
| Pos | NAME | NAT | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EDINATH JEBITOK | KEN | 00:33:11 |
| 2 | ASAYECH AYICHEW | ETH | 00:33:53 |
| 3 | KATIE IZZO | USA | 00:34:08 |
| 4 | ANGELA VICIOSA | ESP | 00:35:05 |
| 5 | CRISTINA RUIZ | ESP | 00:35:08 |
| 6 | MARTA GARCIA | ESP | 00:35:11 |
| 7 | ISABEL BARREIRO | ESP | 00:35:17 |
| 8 | LILI ANNA TÓTH | HUN | 00:35:28 |
| 9 | CRISTINA ESPEJO | ESP | 00:35:30 |
| 10 | LUCIA RODRÍGUEZ | ESP | 00:36:40 |
| 11 | ALICIA BERZOSA | ESP | 00:37:10 |
| 12 | CLAUDIA ESTÉVEZ | ESP | 00:37:47 |
| 13 | ANTIA CASTRO PEREZ | ESP | 00:38:26 |
| 14 | MIRIAM LÓPEZ HINOJOSA | ESP | 00:38:59 |
| 15 | PILAR MORENO LOPEZ | ESP | 00:41:15 |
| 16 | LUCIA CENTENO GONZALEZ | ESP | 00:42:01 |
| - | MARTA PESCADOR GIL | ESP | 00:00:00 |
| - | MAURINE JEMUTAI | KEN | 00:00:00 |
