Almond Blossom Cross Country
Encyclopedia
The Almond Blossom Cross Country is an annual international cross country running
competition which takes place in Albufeira
, Portugal
in early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. It is held in co-operation with the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve (Algarve Athletics Association). The race gets its name from the white blossom
which appears on the almond trees native to the Algarve region during the spring.
and tourism
in the region. The race relocated to Vilamoura
, another town nearby, in 1996 and the competition remained there until 2003. The 2004 edition was not held due to financial problems, causing the race's annual history to be interrupted for the first time. The Almond Blossom Cross returned to its original home in Albufeira in 2005 and has been held there annually ever since.
The race takes place at the Açoteias Cross Country course; a looping track which is 2 km (1.2 mi) in length and comprises sections of both grass and sand. The race distances have traditionally been 10 km (6 mi) for men and 6 km (4 mi) for women, but this was extended in the 2010 edition to 12 km (7 mi) and 8 km (5 mi).
The Almond Blossom Cross Country competition is international in its nature, attracting a large number of foreign athletes each year, but it is also a significant draw for Portugal's top domestic runners. Among the past winners in the men's race are Portuguese world medallists Fernando Mamede
and Paulo Guerra
, track world champion Charles Kamathi
, and Serhiy Lebid – a multiple European champion
. On the women's side, past winners include Olympic champions Fernanda Ribeiro
and Gabriela Szabo
, the 1996 World Cross Country champion Gete Wami
, and world champion in the 10,000 m Berhane Adere
. Only two Portuguese athletes have won at the World Cross Country Championships (Carlos Lopes
and Albertina Dias
) and both have been victorious in Albufeira: Lopes won the first ever Almond Blossom race in 1977 while Dias won the 1989 women's race.
The Açoteias Cross Country course was also used to host the European Clubs Cross Country Cup in 2008, as it had done a number of times in the 1980s and 1990s. During the Almond Blossom's time in Vilamoura, it served as the tester race for the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, which was held on the same course a month later. The competition itself was selected in 2010 to host the Portuguese national cross country championship, in which Yousef El Kalai and Ana Dulce Félix
took the honours in the men's and women's races, respectively.
Key:
Distances:
(10 km for men and 6 km for women where not stated)
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
competition which takes place in Albufeira
Albufeira
Albufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in early March. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
. It is held in co-operation with the Associação de Atletismo do Algarve (Algarve Athletics Association). The race gets its name from the white blossom
Blossom
In botany, blossom is a term given to the flowers of stone fruit trees and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring...
which appears on the almond trees native to the Algarve region during the spring.
History
The competition was first organised in 1977 through a joint partnership of the Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo (Portuguese Athletics Federation), the District of Faro and Turismo de Portugal, with the aim of promoting both sportSport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
in the region. The race relocated to Vilamoura
Vilamoura
Vilamoura is in the municipality of Loulé, in the Algarve, Portugal. Its boundaries lie within the parish of Quarteira. Vilamoura is a purpose built resort and Marina which was started from scratch by a wealthy banker from Porto, Cupertino de Miranda. The resort was started in 1974 and is still...
, another town nearby, in 1996 and the competition remained there until 2003. The 2004 edition was not held due to financial problems, causing the race's annual history to be interrupted for the first time. The Almond Blossom Cross returned to its original home in Albufeira in 2005 and has been held there annually ever since.
The Almond Blossom Cross Country competition is international in its nature, attracting a large number of foreign athletes each year, but it is also a significant draw for Portugal's top domestic runners. Among the past winners in the men's race are Portuguese world medallists Fernando Mamede
Fernando Mamede
Fernando Eugénio Pacheco Mamede is a former Portuguese athlete, a long distance running specialist. He was born in Beja. Together with Carlos Lopes, he is one of the best Portuguese male long distance runners ever, and held the 10,000 metres world record with a time of 27:13.81 until bested by...
and Paulo Guerra
Paulo Guerra
Paulo Alexandre Martins Guerra is a Portuguese runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and cross-country running...
, track world champion Charles Kamathi
Charles Kamathi
Charles Waweru Kamathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning the 10,000 metres distance at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.-Early life and career:...
, and Serhiy Lebid – a multiple European champion
European Cross Country Championships
The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year...
. On the women's side, past winners include Olympic champions Fernanda Ribeiro
Fernanda Ribeiro
Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH , is a long-distance runner, born in Penafiel, Portugal. She achieved the top of her career in the 1996 Summer Olympics where she won the women's 10,000 m gold medal, giving Portugal their 3rd Olympic gold , and establishing a new Olympic record - 31:01.63.-...
and Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo
Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....
, the 1996 World Cross Country champion Gete Wami
Gete Wami
Getenesh Wami is a female Ethiopian cross country and track runner....
, and world champion in the 10,000 m Berhane Adere
Berhane Adere
Berhane Adere is an athlete from Ethiopia.Adere held the African record for 10,000 metres in a time of 30:04.18, set at the 2003 World Championships, where she won gold...
. Only two Portuguese athletes have won at the World Cross Country Championships (Carlos Lopes
Carlos Lopes
Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record - 2:09.21.Born in Vildemoinhos, near Viseu, Portugal,...
and Albertina Dias
Albertina Dias
Maria Albertina da Costa Dias Pereira is a former Portuguese long-distance runner. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1988...
) and both have been victorious in Albufeira: Lopes won the first ever Almond Blossom race in 1977 while Dias won the 1989 women's race.
The Açoteias Cross Country course was also used to host the European Clubs Cross Country Cup in 2008, as it had done a number of times in the 1980s and 1990s. During the Almond Blossom's time in Vilamoura, it served as the tester race for the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
, which was held on the same course a month later. The competition itself was selected in 2010 to host the Portuguese national cross country championship, in which Yousef El Kalai and Ana Dulce Félix
Ana Dulce Félix
Ana Dulce Félix is a long distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events.Born in Azurém, Guimarães Municipality, Portugal, Félix began her career as a junior at the 2000 and 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, although she did not break the top 60 runners on...
took the honours in the men's and women's races, respectively.
Past senior race winners
Distances:
(10 km for men and 6 km for women where not stated)
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1977 | ? | — | — | |
| 2nd | 1978 | 29:44 | ? | ||
| 3rd | 1979 | 30:09 | 13:19 | ||
| 4th | 1980 | 28:44 | 13:02 | ||
| 5th | 1981 | 31:04 | ? | ||
| 6th | 1982 | 30:03 | 13:20 | ||
| 7th | 1983 | ? | ? | ||
| 8th | 1984 | ? | ? | ||
| 9th | 1985 | ? | ? | ||
| 10th | 1986 | ? | ? | ||
| 11th | 1987 | ? | ? | ||
| 12th | 1988 | 30:02 | 20:01 | ||
| 13th | 1989 | 23:42 | 16:46 | ||
| 14th | 1990 | 29:39 | 20:06 | ||
| 15th | 1991 | 30:05 | 20:04 | ||
| 16th | 1992 | 29:06 | 19:37 | ||
| 17th | 1993 | 29:00 | 19:48 | ||
| 18th | 1994 | 29:10 | 19:34 | ||
| 19th | 1995 | 29:21 | 19:31 | ||
| 20th | 1996 | 29:58 | 19:45 | ||
| 21st | 1997 | 28:41 | 19:31 | ||
| 22nd | 1998 | 29:30 | 19:25 | ||
| 23rd | 1999 | 29:39 | 19:31 | ||
| 24th | 2000 | 29:34 | 19:46 | ||
| 25th | 2001 | 20:34 | 19:48 | ||
| 26th | 2002 | 29:48 | 19:49 | ||
| 27th | 2003 | 29:33 | 20:12 | ||
| — | 2004 | Not held | — | Not held | — |
| 28th | 2005 | 27:49 | 19:35 | ||
| 29th | 2006 | 28:01 | 19:32 | ||
| 30th | 2007 | 29:15 | 19:27 | ||
| 31st | 2008 | 29:08 | 19:03 | ||
| 33rd | 2009 | 31:01 | 19:30 | ||
| 34th | 2010 | 35:22 | 26:09 | ||
| 35th | 2011 | 30:21 | 19:38 |
Winners by country
| Country | Men's race | Women's race | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 3 | 19 | |
| 10 | 8 | 18 | |
| 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
Multiple winners
| Athlete | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Nyariki | 4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002 | |
| Fernando Mamede Fernando Mamede Fernando Eugénio Pacheco Mamede is a former Portuguese athlete, a long distance running specialist. He was born in Beja. Together with Carlos Lopes, he is one of the best Portuguese male long distance runners ever, and held the 10,000 metres world record with a time of 27:13.81 until bested by... |
3 | 1980, 1981, 1983 | |
| Aurora Cunha Aurora Cunha Aurora Cunha is a retired long-distance runner from Portugal, who represented her native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. She won several marathons during her career, including Paris , Tokyo , Chicago and Rotterdam .-Achievements:-References:... |
3 | 1982, 1983, 1984 | |
| Josphat Kiprono Menjo | 3 | 2008, 2009, 2011 | |
| Wendy Smith-Sly | 2 | 1980, 1981 | |
| Frank Zimmermann | 2 | 1979, 1984 | |
| Rosa Mota Rosa Mota Rosa Maria Correia dos Santos Mota, GCIH, GCM is a Portuguese former marathon runner, one of her country's foremost athletes. She is also considered to have been one of the best marathon runners of the 20th century.... |
2 | 1978, 1985 | |
| António Leitão António Leitão António Carlos Carvalho Nogueira Leitão is a former Portuguese athlete who mainly competed in the long distance events.... |
2 | 1985, 1986 | |
| José Regalo | 2 | 1988, 1989 | |
| Ondoro Osoro Ondoro Osoro Ondoro Osoro is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who competed mostly in cross country and road races.In his early career he won a series of cross country races in Europe and twice represented Kenya at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships... |
2 | 1993, 1994 | |
| Catherina McKiernan Catherina McKiernan Catherina McKiernan is a former long-distance runner from Ireland, who competed in the marathon, 10,000 metres and cross country.... |
2 | 1991, 1994 | |
| Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively.... |
2 | 1995, 1996 | |
| Patrick Ivuti Patrick Ivuti Patrick Ivuti is a Kenyan long distance athlete who currently resides in Nairobi, Kenya. He won the Chicago Marathon held on October 7, 2007 with a time of 2:11:11. The race was a photo finish culmination of a shoulder to shoulder final 300 meter stretch run with Jaouad Gharib down Columbus Drive... |
2 | 2001, 2003 | |
| Jeļena Prokopčuka Jelena Prokopcuka Jeļena Prokopčuka is a Latvian long-distance runner, perhaps best known for winning the New York City Marathon in 2005 and 2006... |
2 | 2006, 2009 |