The tiger, which is what Thierry Ndikumwenayo likes to call himself, looked like a little mouse on the twisted circuit of the European Cross Country Championships, in Lagoa, in the Portuguese Algarve. He had long since escaped with the Frenchman in September, with the gold medal in the 10,000m and the bronze medal in the 5,000m. The day Gressier was proclaimed champion, the Spaniard, born in Burundi, saw him win the sprint from far behind, from his ninth position in that final. But in Lagoa, despite coming out of the flu, he had the strength to face it and, curve goes, curve comes, he hid behind his back. After one of those turns, Gressier looked to his left to look for his rival, and the little mouse shot out to his right. Ndikumwenayo pulled and pulled, playing with his opponent in every corner, and in the last one, already without strength, the Frenchman failed in a support and surrendered to the superiority of the Spaniard.
Ndikumwenayo, bronze last year in Rome, in the European track event, in 10,000m, won his first gold medal for Spain. A success that comes after a year of ups and downs. The distance runner, who trains in Castellón with Lluís Torlà, a student of athletics and the latest technology applied to his sport, left Tokyo very frustrated, but the birth of his first daughter soon arrived. Then, the doubts that arose when he had to leave Sierra Nevada due to anemia. And, finally, his coronation as European cross country champion ahead of Gressier, a great race finisher, and the Swiss Dominic Lobalu.
The new champion, who had been third in 2024, led the victory of the Spanish team in the senior category, reinforced by the sixth place of Abdessamad Oukhelfen and the ninth of Aarón de las Heras.
The European Championship was a triumphant day for Spain, which led the medal table with eight medals in total, three of them gold: the two in the absolute category and the incontestable triumph of María Forero, the phenomenon that has been sweeping from below. The Huelva native, who with José Enrique Villacorta, man or woman, became European cross country champion in two different categories, first under-20 and now under-23. At his side, in the same training group, Óscar Gaitán from Extremadura has emerged, coming in second after fighting for victory throughout the entire under-20 race.
