News

Dec. 6, 2008 - Geneva, Switzerland

Hilary 7th in strong field at Escalade

Geneva's Course de l'Escalade celebrated it's 31st anniversary with over 26,000 participants and many more fans in attendance to cheer the runners on, as they twisted and turned, up and down through the rain-slick cobblestone streets of the old city.

The 4.8km elite women's race held to it's high status, as it featured athletes from Ethiopia, Poland, Swiss and Canada, to name a few. This included two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia who became the first African women to win a gold medal in the 10,000 at the 1992 Barcelona Games at age 23.

Tulu showed no signs of weakening with age, as she crossed the line just before last year's winner, Tsige Worku, also of Ethiopia, but living in Switzerland. Karolina Jarzynska of Poland rounded off the podium spot and showed she was ready for next weekend's European Cross Country Championship.

Stellingwerff ran a strong race, crossing the line in 7th place, just behind Switzerland's Angeline Joly. Stellingwerff said she was happy with her race after having such disappointment in Japan. "I had a lot of fun today, this is one of my favourite races, but aside from that, I felt I was competitive and pleased to be able to run up with the lead pack," said Hilary. "I've been training very hard and have kept my mileage high at this time through these races, so to be able to still be competitive in this field with hard training gives me confidence that I'm on the right track."

Hilary will race next weekend in the Course de Noel in Sion, Switzerland and expects to have equally as strong competition with Tulu and Worku also said to be racing.

See Geneve Escalade full results here.

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