The 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2007. The races were held at the Mombasa Golf Course in Mombasa, Kenya.[1] Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition. The short race for men and women that was run between 1998 and 2006 was scrapped and the World Cross Country Championships went back to one-day format. Reports of the event were given in the Herald,[2] and for the IAAF.[3][4][5]
Preparations
When Athletics Kenya (AK, the national governing body of Athletics) applied for the event, it used the slogan "Cross Country Comes Home", referring to Kenyan and East African traditional dominance at the event. Nevertheless, no formidable Kenyan runners are known to come from Kenyan Coast Province. Instead, successful Kenyan runners typically represent Kalenjin tribes who reside in The Rift Valley Kenya, approximately 700-800 kilometres from Mombasa. AK chose Mombasa as a venue due to better infrastructure (such as hotels) compared to other cities. The 2007 World Cross Country Championships is one of the biggest international athletics event held in Kenya since the 1987 All-Africa Games, held 20 years ago in Nairobi. Another event held in Kenya was the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
Other applicants for the event were Miami in the United States and Madrid in Spain, both withdrew their candidature before final vote.[6] The World Cross Country Championships have been held in Africa three times before. In 1975 and 1998 it was held in Morocco, the 1996 event took place in South Africa.
There was also an IAAF Council meeting held in Mombasa, at which the host cities for 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics were selected.
Track and conditions
Mombasa, the host, is the second largest city in Kenya, a major port town and tourist center. The event was held at Mombasa Golf Club, located in Mombasa Island, just east of the Kilindini Harbour. The track was curvy but relatively flat. The underlying ground was mostly grass.
The weather was sunny, hot and humid, typical of Mombasa, resulting in exhausting conditions. This kind of weather may affect competitors who hail from distant latitudes, but also Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, who often come from cooler highland areas. One victim was Pauline Korikwiang, Kenyan runner who was attempting to defend her junior women's title but fainted one kilometer before the finishing line.
Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, who has won five consecutive long and short course races, promised to quit cross country running after the 2006 World Championships. However, he changed his mind and competed in Mombasa after all.[7] A pre-race favourite, Bekele did not finish the race and thus failed to win historical sixth consecutive title.
