Brno, Czech Republic
On October 23-24, the regular World and European Championship for 24-hour running took place. The Russian team included the honored master of sports Irina Koval, an economist at Kashirskaya GRES.
In this contest athletes run the maximal distance in 24 hours. Each sportsman wears an electronic meter on his/her leg that registers the number of rounds and kilometers passed. The route in Brno is 1,360 km long and includes bumpy ground within the city. Athletes had to compete in rather rough weather conditions—in a drizzle, with day temperature at 13 °C and night temperature at 5 °C.
The competitors included 48 sportswomen from ten countries: UK, Brazil, Italy, Korea, US, Japan, and others. The Russian team also included Galina Eremina from Moscow and Irina Reutovich from Kaliningrad. The Russian endurance runners have once again confirmed their status by proving their leadership in the world. The three women ran in total » 661 km 559 m and won gold medals in the World and European championships. The silver was won by the Japanese team (657 km 611 m), and the bronze—by French and Italian women (598 km 790 m and 571 km 510 m, respectively).
According to judges, Ms Koval’s contribution amounted almost to 212 km-that’s how much she run in 24 hours. Irina was ranked fourth at the European level and eighth at the world level, having successfully completed the 2004 season.
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