This winter’s European Athletics Cross Country Permit Meeting series came to an end at the 44th Beli Kros (White Cross) event in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Sunday, where there were victories for Amela Terzic and Darko Zivanovic.
In below-zero temperatures and with snow on the ground, the conditions were a sharp contrast to the sunny weather and firm grass course that Terzic experienced when she won the silver medal in the junior women’s race at the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, Portugal, just seven weeks ago.
However, Terzic showed herself to be a woman for all seasons and sped away in the early stages of the race to clock 10:40 over the 3,000m course and win by 22 seconds to retain her title from the 2008 and 2009 winner Ana Subotic, who had to settle for second just as she did 12 months ago.
An indication of the severity of the conditions is that Terzic was 14 seconds slower than when she won in 2010.
Terzic, who also won the 2009 World Youth Championships 1500m bronze medal, is still only 17 and will be among the favourites for a medal at whatever distance she chooses to contest at the European Athletics Junior Championships this summer.
The men’s winner over an 8,000m course was Darko Zivanovic in 25:45. Best known as a 3000m steeplechaser and having won for Serbia at the European Team Championships Second League meeting last summer, the 23-year-odl Zivanovic made a big improvement from his seventh place finish last year.
Around 600 athletes participated in all seven races at the event.