Elena Burkard confirmed a golden double as she took the senior women’s long course national title at day two of the German Cross Country Championships in Darmstadt on Sunday (30).
The 33-year-old, who won the middle distance (3.8km) title on Saturday (29), proved she is in fine shape two weeks away from the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Portugal.
On 7.5km of the muddy Bürgerpark course, Burkard produced a late surge to defeat European 10km silver medallist Eva Dieterich, with Pia Schlattmann finishing third while also securing the U23 title.
Reflecting on the demanding conditions, Burkard said: “It was a completely different running experience than yesterday… generally speaking, though, I’m better at long distances. I actually like it when it rains.”
She also added that her familiarity with the course was an important factor: “I was still glad I already knew the course; I think that was an advantage today.”
Her victory followed a disciplined strategy perfectly executed in the final moments. “The plan was to run the race exactly as I did… not let anyone get ahead… and be patient towards the end,” Burkard explained.
“Eva is also a really strong cross-country runner, so it was absolutely to be expected that she would be the strongest competitor today.” The performance confirmed Burkard as a key figure in Germany’s lineup for Lagoa.
Konstanze Klosterhalfen, who won silver at last year’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya was originally entered, but did not line up, whilst twice European cross country bronze medallist Alina Reh finished in 7th.
Görger wins third senior men's title
The men’s 7.5 km contest saw Markus Görger deliver a commanding third straight national cross-country title. After reeling in early leader Nick Jäger, he steadily built a decisive gap to win, with Jäger taking silver and Felix Friedrich surprising many by securing bronze.
“I knew that Nick was my main competitor,” said Görger afterwards. “I was a bit slow at the start and had to make up the deficit first.
“I knew that if I attacked Nick, I had to push past him with all my might, otherwise he’d stick with me. I’m not the fastest towards the end, so I tried to create a gap as quickly as possible. I’m super happy that it worked out.”
Photo by Theo Kiefner
