Shock win for Ritzenheim

Dathan Ritzenheim scored one of the most unexpected victories of the season in today’s Reebok international cross-country race in Belfast.

The little-known 22-year-old American tactically outpointed his more fancied Kenyan rivals to score a runaway success over a muddy nine kilometre course at Stormont Castle.

Leading from start to finish, the former world junior cross-country bronze-medallist roared home 10seconds ahead of Ernest Meil, with Barnabas Kosgei a further second behind his colleague.

Ritzenheim took the race by the scruff of the neck after it started at a very sedate pace – and after the first of the five circuits he was pushing out a testing tempo.

After the second lap, he held an 11secs lead on Gavin Thompson – with the quartet of Kenyans who had been expected to challenge for the 5,000 US dollars top prize much further back.

Thompson fell off the pace on the next circuit, but Ritzenheim pushed along even harder – increasing his lead to 16secs with his uninhibited front-running.

Ritzenheim held an 18secs advantage by the last lap, and victory was a formality.

“They started so slowly I decided to go early,” said the American, who on New Year’s Eve was a brilliant third in the Bolzano San Silvestre 10K road race.

The Colorado man had no fears about racing against the normally dominant Africans, who in the last 1ars have provided the Belfast winner on eight occasions.

“I’ve raced against them before and each time I’ve finished higher and higher,” said Ritzenheim, who will return home for the US indoor season where his first race will be over 3,000m in Boston on January 29.

Top British finisher was Mo Farah, the European Under-23s silver-medallist producing a solid performance for sixth position.

The women’s race was a thriller.

Ethiopia’s Etalemahu Kidane and Meselech Melkamu – plus former colleague Merima Denboba who is now Italian – were all in with a chance 10metres from the line.

Just over a foot was the margin between the trio at the finish, a lunge for the line giving Kidane the top prize with the judges unable to separate her fast-finishing rivals.

Kidane’s victory might have been marginal, but her winning time of 20:26 also netted her a winner’s purse of 5,000 US dollars.

There was a tremendous performance from fifth-placed Jolene Byrne, who had led her far more experienced rivals for much of the 5.9K contest.

It was only in the final 800m that the Irishwoman succumbed to the speed of the three medallists and another Ethiopian Workitu Ayanu.

Twenty-seven-year-old Byrne, who is American-born and married her coach Carl three years ago, surprised herself by running so well.

“I had no idea what would happen out there against them and just started running at a good tempo,” said Byrne, a qualified accountant whose studying has restricted her athletics career.

“Normally I prefer to sit in – but here I found myself leading and just had to get on with it. Now with more time to train, I think I will improve.”