The Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños is a cross country running competition that takes place in Venta de Baños, Castile and León, Spain. The competition was first held in 1980 and since then it has been held every year in mid-December. Among the past winners are international athletes, such as former World Cross Country Champions Kenenisa Bekele and Gelete Burka, and local athletes Marta Domínguez and Isaac Viciosa (both former European Champions).
| Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños | |
|---|---|
 Verónica Nyaruai winning the 2009 women's race | |
| Date | Mid-December |
| Location | Venta de Baños, Spain |
| Event type | Cross country |
| Distance | 10.575 km for men 7.975 km for women |
| Established | 1980 |
| Official site | Cross de Venta de Baños |
| Participants | 38 (2021) 47 (2019) |
The competition began life as a regional competition, the Cross de Navidad (Christmas cross country), in 1980. The race became national in its second edition and, following the acceptance of an English team into the competition in 1982, it obtained its current name – the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños. The competition was televised throughout Spain for the first time in 1984, but it was not until 1995 that the competition was broadcast annually.[1]
The course on which the competition is held is defined by the muddy and cold conditions typical of Palencia in winter.[1] The event comprises two distinct parts: the professional senior races and the amateur fun run races. The competition's races are separated into categories based on age and sex, including: the professional senior races, veteran competitions, under-23 and junior competitions, as well as four other youth categories for children. The professional men's senior race is usually held over 10.7 kilometres while the course for the women's senior race tends to be 6.6 km long.[2] Both senior races trace a path through the flat, grassy areas to the east of the village before running a loop around the local sports centre.[3][4]
Past senior race winners
edit| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m:s) | Women's winner | Time (m:s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1980 |  Santiago de la Parte (ESP)
|
Ana Isabel Alonso (ESP)
|
||
| II | 1981 | Santiago de la Parte (ESP)
|
Pilar Fernández (ESP)
|
||
| III | 1982 | Santiago de la Parte (ESP)
|
Laura Blanco (ESP)
|
||
| IV | 1983 | Constantino Esparcia (ESP)
|
Pilar Fernández (ESP)
|
||
| V | 1984 |  Ezequiel Canário (POR)
|
Asunción Sinovas (ESP)
|
||
| VI | 1985 | Santiago Llorente (ESP)
|
Montse Abelló (ESP)
|
||
| VII | 1986 | José Luis González (ESP)
|
Ana Isabel Alonso (ESP)
|
||
| VIII | 1987 | Domingos Castro (POR)
|
Ana Isabel Alonso (ESP)
|
||
| IX | 1988 | José Regalo (POR)
|
 Mary Chemweno (KEN)
|
||
| X | 1989 | Domingos Castro (POR)
|
 Lieve Slegers (BEL)
|
||
| XI | 1990 |  Brahim Lahlafi (MAR)
|
 Shelly Steely (USA)
|
||
| XII | 1991 | William Koech (KEN)
|
Susan Sirma (KEN)
|
||
| XIII | 1992 | Domingos Castro (POR)
|
Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)
|
||
| XIV | 1993 |  Fita Bayisa (ETH)
|
Hellen Chepngeno (KEN)
|
||
| XV | 1994 | Domingos Castro (POR)
|
Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)
|
||
| XVI | 1995 | Antonio Serrano (ESP)
|
Pauline Konga (KEN)
|
||
| XVII | 1996 | Shem Kororia (KEN)
|
Sally Chepkorir (KEN)
|
||
| XVIII | 1997 | Isaac Viciosa (ESP)
|
Berhane Adere (ETH)
|
||
| XIX | 1998 | Isaac Viciosa (ESP)
|
Genet Gebregiorgis (ETH)
|
||
| XX | 1999 | Hailu Mekonnen (ETH)
|
Helena Sampaio (POR)
|
||
| XXI | 2000 | John Korir (KEN)
|
Rose Cheruiyot (KEN)
|
||
| XXII | 2001 |  Serhiy Lebid (UKR)
|
 Yamna Belkacem (FRA)
|
||
| XXIII | 2002[5] | Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
|
32:37 | Joan Aiyabei (KEN)
|
21:59 |
| XXIV | 2003[6] | Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
|
31:29 |  Justyna Bąk (POL)
|
22:05 |
| XXV | 2004[7] | Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)
|
30:26 |  Kathy Butler (GBR)
|
20:38 |
| XXVI | 2005[8] | Alberto García (ESP)
|
31:34 | Gelete Burka (ETH)
|
21:05 |
| XXVII | 2006[9] | Abebe Dinkesa (ETH)
|
31:30 | Wude Ayalew (ETH)
|
21:21 |
| XXVIII | 2007[10] | Tadese Tola (ETH)
|
30:39 | Marta Domínguez (ESP)
|
20:56 |
| XXIX | 2008[11] | Alemayehu Bezabeh (ESP)
|
31:45 | Inês Monteiro (POR)
|
22:41 |
| XXX | 2009[4] | Sergio Sánchez (ESP)
|
30:59 | Veronica Nyaruai (KEN)
|
22:47 |
| XXXI | 2010[12] | Lucas Rotich (KEN)
|
32:20 | Alessandra Aguilar (ESP)
|
23:19 |
| XXXII | 2011[13] | Philemon Limo (KEN)
|
31:57 | Priscah Cherono (KEN)
|
22:47 |
| XXXIII | 2012[14] | Vincent Chepkok (KEN)
|
35:20 | Mercy Cherono (KEN)
|
24:33 |
| XXXIV | 2013[15] | Cyprian Kotut (KEN)
|
31:58 | Mercy Cherono (KEN)
|
23:08 |
| XXXV | 2014[16] |  Timothy Toroitich (UGA)
|
34:57 |  Mimi Belete (BHR)
|
24:05 |
| XXXVI | 2015[17] | Aweke Ayalew (BHR)
|
32:17 | Alemitu Heroye (ETH)
|
24:12 |
| XXXVII | 2016 | Aweke Ayalew (BHR)
|
32:42 | Etenesh Diro (ETH)
|
30:35 |
| XXXVIII | 2017 | Selemon Barega (ETH)
|
31:09 | Ruth Jebet (BHR)
|
25:45 |
| XXXIX | 2018 | Vincent Rono (KEN)
|
34:16 | Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)
|
27:22 |
| XL | 2019 | Albert Chemutai (UGA)
|
32:13 | Zenebu Fikadu (ETH)
|
26:44 |
| XLI | 2021 |  Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI)
|
32:30 | Edinah Jebitok (KEN)
|
28:44 |
| XLII | 2022 | Rodrigue Kwizera (BDI)
|
Francine Niyonsaba (BDI)
|
||
| XLIII | 2023 | Abdessamad Oukhelfen (ESP)
|
Edinah Jebitok (KEN)
|
||
| XLIV | 2024 | Nassim Hassaous (ESP)
|
Carolina Robles (ESP)
|
Wins by country
edit| Country | Men's race | Women's race | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain |
14 | 11 | 24 |
| Kenya |
8 | 15 | 23 |
| Ethiopia |
8 | 8 | 16 |
| Portugal |
6 | 2 | 8 |
| Bahrain |
2 | 2 | 4 |
| Burundi |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| Uganda |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| Belgium |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| France |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| Great Britain |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| Morocco |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| Poland |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ukraine |
1 | 0 | 1 |
 United States |
0 | 1 | 1 |
References
edit- General
- Podium Cross Internacional (List of medallists). Venta de Baños. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- Specific
- ^ a b 25 años de historia Archived 2009-12-10 at the Wayback Machine (25 Years of History). Venta de Baños. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ INFORMACIÓN DE LA PRUEBA (Event information). RFEA. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Cross de Venta de Baños Archived 2009-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. Fundación ANOC. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ a b Valiente, Emeterio (2009-12-21). Sánchez defeats European champion Bezabeh in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2002-12-23). Kamathi beaten by World Junior medallist. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2003-12-22). Sihine in a class of his own in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2004-12-19).Bekele is unchallenged in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2005-12-18). Burika and García go unchallenged in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2006-12-17). Dinkesa shines in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2007-12-16). Tola and Domínguez successful in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2008-12-22). Bezabeh and Monteiro cruise to wins in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-12-27.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2010-12-20). Rotich and Aguilar nab thrilling victories in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-12-23.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2011-12-18). Limo and Jepleting secure a Kenyan double in Venta de Baños. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-12-23.
- ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2012-12-16). Chepkok and Cherono take the honours at Venta de Banos. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-14.
- ^ Mills, Steven (2013-12-16). Cherono bounces back at Venta de Banos. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-12-16.
- ^ Mills, Steven (2014-12-22). Toroitich and Belete win, Hassan and Cherono beaten. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-12-22.
- ^ Mills, Steven (2015-12-20). Ayalew claims back-to-back wins in Spain. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-12-20.