Poland’s dominance continues at Ciechanów 2023
The 2023 Virtus World and European Cross Country Championship concludes after two exciting days. On the second day of the event, familiar faces found success once more in both the men’s and women’s categories.
In the II1 women’s event, the host nation’s short course medalists switched positions in the challenging 6km long course. Barbara BIEGANOWSKA-ZAJĄC, fondly known as the “Golden Basia,” maintained her undefeated streak and secured the gold with a time of 23:52 seconds.
Monika WYROBEK sought vengeance from the previous day and outpaced Anna BODZIONY to claim the silver, finishing an incredibly close race with times of 24:04 seconds and 24:16 seconds, respectively.
(L-R). Monika WYROBEK, Barbara BIEGANOWSKA-ZAJĄC and Anna BODZIONY. Photo Credit: ANDDI Portugal
As for the II1 Men’s 8km Long Course, the runners didn’t disappoint and delivered an exciting performance. Christiano Pereira from Portugal and Gaël Geffroy from France once again engaged in a fierce battle for the championship title, mirroring their rankings from the previous day.
Winners of II1 and II2 Men’s Long Course. Photo Credit: ANDDI Portugal
Christiano, with a time of 24:13 seconds, clinched his second gold medal of the tournament, while Gaël secured another silver with a time of 24:36 seconds. Meanwhile, Jose Martinez MOROTE from Spain faced stiff competition from Adrian Parras ALVAREZ but managed to secure the final spot on the podium.
“I am feeling very proud to win Gold in both long and short distance. I did some long distance specific trainings for this event and things turned out to be pretty great for me”, Christiano told Virtus.
In the II2 Men’s 4km race, Spanish runners continued their strong performance, but there was a shift in the winners’ positions. Mikel Garcia AGUIRREZABAL surrendered the championship title today to Jose Nicolas Castaño CASTRO by a mere 00:31 microseconds. Jason DAVID from France secured his second bronze medal.
Anna SZEWCZYK and Magdalena DĄBROWSKA on podium. Photo Credit: ANDDI Portugal
In II2 Women’s 4km, Polish runners Anna SZEWCZYK and Magdalena DĄBROWSKA won the gold and silver respectively.
In Team’s, Spain took the trophy while Portugal came second and Poland came third.
The host nation claimed the top spot in the medal tally with a total of 11 medals (4 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze). Spain followed with 5 medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze), and Portugal secured 2 gold medals.
Full results can be accessed from here.
