“Mitjia Kosovelj and Antonella Confortola won the 10. WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge 2013 and Italy took gold medal both team’s category men and women.
16 WMRA Athletics Member Federation countries were present at the event and eight of them come back home&nbsp,with at least one medal: Italy took three gold and one silver medals, Slovenia one gold medal, then Wales gained one silver and one bronze medal, Czech Rep. and Scotland one silver each and Romania, England and, hosting Country, Poland one bronze each. Also present were Australia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and USA.
The 10. WMRA World Long Distance M. R. Challenge was held linked with 5. Maraton Karkonoski on a new track really long 41 km.
594 runners started and 563 finished the race.
Among them, 46 men and 40 women runners were the participants at the WMRA event. “
“In the men race, for two third part of the race Kosovelj and Romanian Jonut Zinca run together leading the race. But in the last ten kilometers Zinca lost a great part his energy and the duel with Kosovelj. Then Welsh, Andrew Davies, has completed his comeback that saw him fifteenth after about 12 km., then the ninth at the half of the race and twelfth through the race after 32 km. winning the silver medal, just ahead of Zinca, after having crossed over him just a few hundred meters from the finish.Time of the winner was 3 hours 7 minutes and 36 seconds. Davies run in 3.13:39 and Zinca finished in 3.14:00. Behind the first three Italian Emauele Manzi finished in fourth position with 3.16.01, crossing over USA runner Zac Freudenburg just near to the finish line: time of the fifth was 3.16:06. The best Polish runner, Marcin Swierc, finished in ninth position with 3.21:10.
In the team result Italy with Emanuele Manzi, Tommaso Vaccina (eight 3.20.33) and Massimiliano Zanaboni (fourteen 3. 30:13) had no problem to win the Challenge title with a total time of 10.06.47 in front of Czech Rep. (total time 10.15:12) silver medal, and&nbsp, Wales (total time 10.31:08) bronze medal. In the team men result finished 11 Nations in the following order USA (4.) and then Poland, Scotland, Slovenia, England, Hungary, South Africa and Ukraine.
In the women race for more than two third part of the race three Italian runners were at the top of the competition with Ivana Iozzia, in front of other Italian Antonella Confortola and Ornella Ferrara. But in the last ten kilometers Iozzia had problems and for this reason lost a lot of position finishing in eight position.
Confortola so was the winner of the Challenge in 3 hours 44 minutes and 51 seconds. Ferrara took silver medal with 3.48:41, but at the finish the great surprise was the Polish Anna Celinska who was able to defeat all the other runners and to win the bronze medal with time of 3.51.21, making happy all his countrymen and the fans flocked arrival and all along the track to cheer on the competitors.
Italian Team won the Challenge title with a total time of 11.35:26. Second was Scotland with 12.03:38 and third finished England with 12.07:01. In the team women result finished 8 Nations in the following order: Poland (4.) and then Czech rep., Slovenia, South Africa and USA.
Full result are availale on http://www.online.datasport.pl/results879/
The competition was possible also for the strong support from some Sponsors&nbsp, like NETTO, Artresan Active, LOTTO, Enervit and for the cooperation from Major Szklarska Poreba Mr. Grzegorz Sokolinski, Director of Karkonosze National Park Mr Andrzej Raj&nbsp, and Lower Silesia local authorities.
For PZLA, Andrzej Puchacz, and for WMRA the President Bruno Gozzelino, together WMRA Council member Tomo Sarf attended to the Challenge.
At the end of the closing ceremony the WMRA flag passed from Polish LOC to the LOC of next 11. WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge 2014: the competition will be held at anitou Springs, Colorado, on 16th August 2014.

Edited by Bruno Gozzelino (WMRA)

Source of the pictures by LOC
On front page:
– Mitja Kosoveli,
On second page:
– Antonella Confortola,
– Anna Celinska (3rd)with Robert Gudowski (LOC President).

“