Britton runs superb race

World Cross Country Championships: They said Kenya would host the toughest World Cross Country of all time and that sure proved true but no one said it would also be the most sensational.

There were some shock results, including the superb 14th place for Ireland's Fionnuala Britton in the women's race, with the intense heat and extraordinary crowd heightening the drama.

So much of what happened at Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa on Saturday was unprecedented - starting with the amount of non-finishers due to the stifling conditions. The most astonishing of those was Ethiopia's 11-time champion Kenenisa Bekele, who dropped out of the men's race with around 800 metres remaining, shortly after establishing what seemed certain to be a winning lead.

For Britton, the 14th place in such a daunting environment must rank as the best Irish finish since Sonia O'Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan got in the medals. It marks the latest jump forward in the highly promising career of the 22-year-old from Wicklow, and completes what has been the near perfect cross country season that included the European under-23 silver medal back in December.

There was only one European-born finisher ahead of her, with Portugal's Jessica Augusto taking 12th, although the title did go to the Netherlands in the guise of Lornah Kiplagat, born in Kenya but who switched allegiance four years ago. Kiplagat was a convincing winner, leading virtually from gun-to-tape, while Britton ran a more tactical race, moving through the field over the twisting, 8km course, and apparently unhindered by the 33-degree heat.

Behind her several world-class runners crumbled under the heat, and the majority were collapsing across the finish line.

Britton pronounced herself well satisfied with the run, and unfazed in any way by the conditions: "It was a fantastic run, very exciting," added her coach Pat Diskin. "Thankfully she had no real problem with the heat, and was able to stick exactly to her race plan. But this still surpasses all our expectations, and again it does augur very well for her future."

A dozen starters in that race failed to finish, and that was nothing compared to the 29 that dropped out of the men's race. Bekele's sudden demise on the last lap was arguably the greatest upset in the history of the event, and marked his first ever defeat in senior cross country, ending his 27-race unbeaten streak.

Entering the last of six laps, Bekele eased away from Eritrea's Zersenay Tadesse, and that seemed to be race over. Yet after another half mile he suddenly slowed, allowing Tadesse to catch up, and when the Eritrean counter-surged, Bekele had no response, walking off the course and raising his arm as if looking for water, and then later complaining of stomach cramps.

Tadese went on to win by 23 seconds from Kenya's Moses Mosop, who led them to the team title.