By Mike Rowbottom

Atelaw Bekele_wins_European_Cross_Country_Championships_Slovenia_December_11_2011December 11 - Britain finished top of the medals table at the European Cross Country Championships in Velenje, Slovenia, on a day when Sergey Lebid of Ukraine failed to earn his 10th senior title in a race where Belgium's Atelaw Bekele (pictured) led from start to finish, and when Ireland's Fionnuala Britton was a runaway winner of the women's senior gold.


Britain's women won team golds in the senior, under-23 and junior categories, also providing individual winners at the latter two events in Emma Pallant and Emilia Gorecka.

Individual silvers came in the men's junior race through Richard Goodman, the men's under-23 race, where James Wilkinson was narrowly beaten by Florian Carvalho of France,  and the women's under-23 race through Naomi Taschimowitz, while Gemma Steel won bronze in the women's senior race.

Steph Twell - back in international action after the broken ankle she sustained on February 13 of this year -was narrowly beaten to the under-23 bronze in a sprint for the line by Germany's Corinna Harrer.

Britain's men took silver in all three team events, with Andy Vernon finishing seventh in the senior race.

Bekele won in 29min 15sec ahead of last year's silver medallist, Ayad Lamdassem of Spain, with Jose Rocha of Portugal taking bronze.

Lebid, who had missed training time because of snowy conditions at his camp, was unable to make an impression and dropped out with a lap to go.

France retained the team title.

Fionnuala Britton_wins_European_Cross_Country_Slovenia_December_11_2011
Britton (pictured), fourth in this race last year, ran away from the field at the halfway mark to become the second Irish woman to claim gold in this event after Catherina McKiernan, who won the inaugural title at Alnwick in 1994. Portugal's Dulce Felix took silver ahead of Steel.

"It was so fabulous to cross the line first after the disappointment of last year," said the 27-year-old Irish runner, who was a world steeplechase finalist four years ago.

Pallant finished five seconds clear of her team-mate in the under-23 race in 19:57, having made her move with a kilometre to go to add to her bronze of last year.

Twell almost earned tangible reward on her return, leading at the halfway point but finding the pace just a little too much at the finish.

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