The 28th IAU 100km World Championships took place in Winschoten, the Netherlands on 12th September 2015. In addition to the worlds this was also the 23rd Edition of the IAU European Championships.
The race was going to be quite a fast one right from the start with a flat course combined with cool starting time temperature. The athletes stuck to this game plan as was evident by James Walmsley (USA) who was about 4 minutes ahead of the lead pack at one point. In the chase group Steven Way (GBR) and Buud kept a steady pace decreasing Walmsley’s lead on every lap.
Behind the chase group Asier Cuevas (ESP) led a very hard pace with Giorgio Calcaterra (ITA) making their moves and moving up the ranks. At the 63km mark, Buud who has finished in the silver medal position on four different times at the world championships, made his move and went past Walmsley.
Buud held on to run a very fast 6:22:44 for the world championship for his first victory on the IAU stage. Following him Cuevas moved comfortably in 2nd place finishing in 6:35:49.
Calcaterra, former world champion, kept fighting hard to return to the world’s podium first time in four years, caught Vasiliy Larkin (RUS) in the last lap getting his podium finish. He finished in the bronze position running 6:36:49.
The three top athletes in the world’s competition also ended up being the podium finishers in the European Championships. In the world team’s competition, Sweden took gold with a time of 19:59:40 followed by Italy and France finishing with 20:32:29 and 20:37:43 respectively. The same teams doubled up in the European Team Competition.
The women’s race shaped up to be quite different than the strategy playing in the men’s field. Herron finished first in the women’s race taking the lead right from the start. An accomplished marathoner and running only in her second 100km, Herron showed that her time at the US championships was not one-time thing and ended up winning the world championships in 7:08:35.
There was a close competition between Chiyuki Mochizuki (JPN) and Kajsa Berg (SWE) for the first 50kms the race until Berg went past Mochizuki and strongly claimed the 2nd position in 7:20:48. A very impressive run for Berg who recently returned from hiatus after having twins earlier in the year.
Marija Vrajic (CRO) stuck to a different game plan at these world championships, in contrast to the previous ones, and ran a more conservative race at the start. She went by Joasia Zakrzewski (GBR) in the last laps of the race claiming that bronze medal running 7:27:11.In the European Championships, Berg took gold followed by Vrajic in silver and Zakrzewski took home the bronze in 7:31:33.
In the world team competition, United States of America took gold in 22:39:35, followed by Sweden in silver and Russia in bronze running 22:51:06 and 23:30:05 respectively. In the European Competition, Sweden took gold, followed by Russia in silver and Croatia winning the bronze in 23:37:13.
In addition to the above championships, the race also hosted the World Masters 100km Championships, the Dutch and the Belgian national championships.
Nadeem KhanDirector of CommunicationsNadeem.khan@iau-ultramarathon.org
Results 100km World & European Championships 2015, Winschoten, the Netherland
Men:
Gold --- Jonas Buud SWE 6:22:44(1st European Championship)Silver --- Asier Cuevas ESP 6:35:49 (2nd European Championship)Bronze --- Giorgio Calcaterra ITA 6:36:49 (3rd European Championship)
Women:Gold --- Camille Herron USA 7:08:35 Silver --- Kajsa Berg SWE 7:20:48 (1st European Championship)Bronze --- Marija Vrajic CRO 7:27:11(2nd European Championship)5th Place --- Joasia Zakrzewski GBR 7:31:33 (3rd European Championship)
Team Competition Men: Gold --- Sweden 19:59:40 (1st European Championship) Silver --- Italy 20:32:29 (2nd European Championship)Bronze --- France 20:37:43 (3rd European Championship)
Team Competition Women:Gold --- United States of America 22:39:35 Silver --- Sweden 22:51:06 (1st European Championship)Bronze --- Russia 23:30:05 (2nd European Championship)3rd European Championship --- Croatia 23:37:13
