The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20, 2011. The races were held at the Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández in

Punta Umbría Punta Umbría is a town and municipality in the province of Huelva, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is a fishing village located on the banks of the Rio Odiel river and across the water from the capital, Huelva. It is ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Reports of the event were given for the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

Preparation

The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

had expressed an interest in hosting the competition, but Punta Umbria was chosen as the host at the

Council Meeting in November 2009. It will be the third occasion that Spain has hosted the competition, coming thirty years after Madrid held the 1981 edition. The course for the competition, set in a wooded area, has a 2 km loop format with an additional 600 m section for the start and finish of each race. A number of top runners were invited to preview the course in early 2011 and all confirmed that they were pleased with its quality. Defending champion

Joseph Ebuya Joseph Ebuya (born 20 June 1987) is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion. Early life and career Ebuya is a rare example of a runner representing the T ...

said he liked the course but suggested that organisers add additional barriers along the route, claiming its flat features would make it difficult for runners to devise a race strategy. Multiple world champion

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

will not compete for a third year running, owing to his failure to return to fitness following a season-long calf injury.

Qualification

Athletes can gain qualification into the World Championships through performances at either their national trials or through the following IAAF Permit Meetings: *

Cross de Atapuerca The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca (town), Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cros ...

Oeiras International Cross Country The Oeiras International Cross Country (''Portuguese: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditional ...

* Lotto Cross Cup Brussels *

Great Edinburgh International Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held along ...

Cross Internacional de Itálica The Cross Internacional de Itálica is an annual cross country running competition that is held every January in Santiponce, near Seville, Spain. Inaugurated in 1982, the race course is set in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Itálica. As ...

Antrim International Cross Country The Antrim International Cross Country, formerly the Belfast International Cross Country, is an annual cross country running meeting which takes place every January in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is one of the IAAF's cross country permit meeti ...

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ...

KCB Nairobi Cross The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletic ...

Chiba International Cross Country The Chiba International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Chiba, Japan in mid-February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Champi ...

Fukuoka International Cross Country The Fukuoka International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan in either late February or Early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying ...

* Eurocross *

Almond Blossom Cross Country The Almond Blossom Cross Country ( pt, Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor) is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, in the Algarve region of Portugal, in early March. It is one of the IAA ...

Pre-race form

The results of the Kenyan Cross Country Championships ruled out the defending men's and women's champions (Joseph Ebuya and

Emily Chebet Emily Chebet Muge (born 18 February 1986) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, being the gold medall ...

) before the World Championships had begun: despite his strong form on the circuit that season, Ebuya dropped out of his national race, while an ankle injury prevented Chebet from gaining selection.Mutuota, Mutwiri (2011-02-19)
Mutai and Masai take hard fought wins in Nairobi; reigning World champs Ebuya and Chebet won’t defend

. Retrieved on 2011-03-18. Unlike previous years, no former champion was present in the line-up for the men's senior event at the World Championships. This left three East African national champions as some of the foremost contenders – Kenya's

Geoffrey Mutai Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai (born 7 October 1981) is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 2 ...

Hunegnaw Mesfin Hunegnaw Mesfin (born 31 January 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country and track running events. He has represented his country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won medals in the sen ...

of Ethiopia and Ugandan runner Moses Kipsiro.

Teklemariam Medhin Teklemariam Medhin Weldeslassie (born 24 June 1989) is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. He represented his country at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Running career Junior career Medhin w ...

, a young Eritrean and runner-up in 2010, had also demonstrated strong form with wins on the Spanish cross country circuit. The men's team race was also anticipated to be a battle between these four East Africa nations.Minshull, Phil (2011-03-16)
Mutai, Mesfin or Medhin? - Punta Umbria Men’s Races Preview

. Retrieved on 2011-03-18. Past champions were similarly absent from the women's senior race.

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athlet ...

was one of principal protagonists once more, having been pipped into second place by a fellow Kenyan at both the 2009 and 2010 editions. One of her strongest rivals was yet again one of her countrywomen, this time in the form of

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

specialist Vivian Cheruiyot. Four-time long race bronze medallist

Meselech Melkamu Meselech Melkamu born 27 April 1985 in Debre Marqos) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run o ...

led the Ethiopian team, which included

Genzebe Dibaba Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ( Oromo: ''Ganzabee Dibaabaa Qananii''; Amharic: ገንዘቤ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 8 February 1991) is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold med ...

(sister of past winner Tirunesh) among its representatives. Aside from two others in the Kenyan team ( Lineth Chepkurui and

Pauline Korikwiang Pauline Chemning Korikwiang (born 1 March 1988) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running competitions. She rose in the youth ranks in 2005, taking a 3000 metres silver medal at the IAAF World ...

), American

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area reco ...

and Bahrain's

Maryam Yusuf Jamal Maryam Yusuf Jamal ( ar, مريم يوسف جمال; om, Maryam Yuusuf Jamaal) (born Zenebech Tola) (born 16 September 1984) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold ...

were the remaining prominent names expected to challenge for the medals.Johnson, Len (2011-03-15)
Masai should keep her friends close – but not too close! - Punta Umbria Women's Race Preview

. Retrieved on 2011-03-18. In the junior races, the foremost runner was Isaiah Koech, who had set world junior indoor bests on the track in the months preceding the competition. A victory at the Kenyan junior race established him as a contender for the cross country title. Although the Kenyan junior women team did not have a star name, it was favoured to defend its team title against the Ethiopian challengers in an event at which the country is traditionally strong.

Schedule

Results

Senior men's race (12 km)

Complete results for senior men, for senior men's teams, were published. *Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result.

Senior women's race (8 km)

Complete results for senior women, and for senior women's teams were published. *Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result.

Junior men's race (8 km)

Complete results for junior men and for junior men's teams were published. *Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result.

Junior women's race (6 km)

Complete results for junior women and for junior women's teams were published. *Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result.

Medal table (unofficial)

*Note: Totals include both individual and team medals, with medals in the team competition counting as one medal.

Participation

According to an unofficial count, 423 athletes from 51 countries participated. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published. The announced athletes of and did not show. * (16) * (1) * (2) * (15) * (13) * (2) * (1) * (4) * (12) * (2) * (18) * (1) * (1) * (3) * (1) * (1) * (20) * (24) * (9) * (1) * (3) * (1) * (11) * (22) * (2) * (24) * (2) * (3) * (22) * (6) * (5) * (5) * (2) * (14) * (1) * (6) * (4) * (3) * (1) * (23) * (24) * (4) * (2) * (1) * (14) * (19) * (2) * (24) * (24) * (1) * (1)

References

External links

Official website

{{coord, 37, 11, 41, N, 6, 58, 16, W, region:ES-HU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title World Athletics Cross Country Championships World Cross Country International athletics competitions hosted by Spain

Cross country running in Spain