The 2008 European Mountain Running Championships were held on 12 July in Zell am Harmersbach, Germany. Held by the European Athletic Association, the competition was held on an up- and downhill course in the Black Forest. The championships featured 227 athletes representing 25 nations.Turkey & Italy reign supreme at Mountain Running Championships. European Athletics (2008-07-14). Retrieved on 2010-02-01.
The championships comprised four races: the men's race which was 12 km long with an 804 m ascent and 714 m descent, the women's and under-20s men's competitions over 8.75 km and containing a 566 m ascent and 476 m descent, and finally the under-20s women's race which was competed over 4 km with a rise and fall of 238 m.26 countries do battle over the mountains in Zell am Harmersbach this weekend. European Athletics (2008-07-11). Retrieved on 2010-02-01.
Ahmet Arslan defended his title in the men's senior race while Elisa Desco took the gold medal in the women's race. Bernard Dematteis headed home Italy to the senior men's team gold medal and Great Britain won the women's team gold, with bronze medallist Sarah Tunstall the nation's best finisher. The junior men's competition was largely a Turkish affair, with Hasan Pak winning gold and leading a 1-2-3 for his country. The women's junior race was won by Mariya Bykova who, along with Tatyana Prorokova, took the team gold.
Results Men's senior race Rank Athlete Country Time (m:s) Ahmet Arslan 50:01 Bernard Dematteis 50:29 Marco De Gasperi 50:57 4Jose Gaspar 51:09 5Julien Rancon 51:13 6Marco Gaiardo 51:22 7 Gabriele Abate 51:33 8Mitja Kosovelj 51:39 9Javier Crespo 51:46 10Cristofol Castañer 51:51
+Teams Rank Team Points 11 32 32 4 32 5 41
Total participants: 82 runners and 19 teams.Zell am Harmersbach GER 12 July. European Athletics (2008-07-12). Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
Women's senior race Rank Athlete Country Time (m:s) Elisa Desco 40:00 Constance Devillers 40:18 Sarah Tunstall 40:48 4Mateja Kosovelj 41:20 5Victoria Wilkinson 41:28 6Bernadette Meier-Brändle 41:31 7 Isabelle Guillot 41:49 8Maria Grazia Roberti 41:54 9Katie Ingram 42:00 10Milka Mikhaylova 42:04
+Teams Rank Team Points 17 21 22 4 57 5 61
Total participants: 71 runners and 17 teams.
Men's under-20s race Rank Athlete Country Time (m:s) Hasan Pak 35:23 Alper Demir 35:58 Emrah Akalın 36:09 4Renè Stöckert 36:27 5Adem Karataş 36:46 6Xavier Chevrier 37:04 7 Marc Tolstikhin 37:16 8Candide Pralong 37:18 9Luca Re 37:39 10Peter Oblak 37:44
+Teams Rank Team Points 6 31 32 4 52 5 54
Total participants: 44 runners and 10 teams.
Women's under-20s race Rank Athlete Country Time (m:s) Mariya Bykova 18:45 Esra Gullu 18:48 Tatyana Prorokova 18:54 4Natalia Strzelecka 19:02 5Hannah Bateson 19:03 6Cansu Turan 19:10 7 Hülya Ongun 19:15 8Kateřina Beroušková 19:18 9Anastasiya Mikhaylova 19:20 10Helen Wolfson 19:26
+Teams Rank Team Points 4 8 17 4 25 5 28
Total participants: 30 runners and 10 teams.
References
External links Official website at European Athletics