Portugal with bronze in female seniors at European Cross Country
Portugal today won the bronze medal in women’s seniors in the cross country Europeans, which took place in the Parque da Bela Vista, in Lisbon, even presenting a team of only three elements.
Dulce Félix, eighth, Salomé Rocha, 10th, and Susana Francisco, 25th, did not fail – just giving up the team not to score – and totaled 43 points, closing a podium on which Britain was also the first. with 26, and Ireland, second, with 41.
Initially, Portugal had selected or pre-selected six athletes, but from this elite group only Dulce Félix and Salomé Rocha accepted the invitation. The others, due to the planning of the season or injury, were left out, which led to Susana Francisco, the best in the observation race two weeks ago.
At 37, and already with four individual medals in the record, Dulce Félix still shows claw to be eighth in 28.09 minutes, while Salomé Rocha, two places behind, spent 28.13.
Susana Francisco, 29.08 minutes, was 25th and perfectly fulfilled the mission to close the team with 43 points, 10 fewer than Turkey, of individual champion Yasemin Can.
With no major opposition in the race, Can scored an unprecedented fourth consecutive women’s triumph in 26.52 minutes, 15 seconds ahead of Karolin Bjerkeli Grovdal.
The 29-year-old Norwegian also has strong reasons to smile as she reaches silver after four bronze medals.
In third place, with 27.43 minutes, entered the Swedish Samrawit Mengsteab.
