Last day of EAORCH: Mathys and Waldal double, Italy on top of medal table

The inaugural EAORCH in El Paso, La Palma came to a close today, Sunday, with four events and eight medal decisions: Maude Mathys and Ida Waldal both got Gold for a second time after Friday and Italy topped the medals table.

Everything put on the Up&Down and everything won. The French athlete Sylavain Cachard was crowned Elite European Champion in this discipline on Sunday, the third and last day of the EAORCH in El Paso, La Palma. He won with a time of 1:06:02 hours, ahead of Italy’s Cesare Maestri (1:06:42) and Switzerland’s Dominik Rolli (1:07:41). A dream came true for the three times national champion: “I have dreamt about this day every night for the last six months and I woke up with goosebumps the last 30 days. To stand here as the European Champion is the best thing I could have wished for – thank you to all my team and training colleagues, our great staff and my friends and family. I am overjoyed.”

Was it a perfect race by Cachard? “It’s a perfect race when I suffer. And I suffered a lot today, very much – so, yes, it was perfect. I ran with the leaders for the first eight kilometres up to the halfway point, then I wanted to break away, and my plan worked.” The media representatives at the EAORCH wanted to know if there was a secret to his success: “Taking the training seriously, but not taking myself so seriously,” was Chachard‘s answer. “And do what you do with passion.”

The winner of the women’s race was the same person as on Friday. Maude Mathys won in 1:17:30 hours, ahead of Romania’s Monica Madalina Florea (1:18:38) and the Briton Scout Adkin (1:19:35). The Swiss athlete demonstrated her class once more. She was visible at the front from the first few metres, even when she said she had started “somewhat slower.” “I like the distance almost more than the Uphill because it is longer and it suits me more,” Mathys commented, and she followed a similar strategy to the men’s winner Sylvain Cachard – control the first half of the race and then create a lead at Kilometre 9 or 10 (from overall 17.6 km). “My plan was good and it worked!“

While Mathys had classed a medal in the Up&Down as a bonus before the EAORCH, she didn’t want to hear about it having been an expected or logical success afterwards. “You can never be certain – no medal or triumph is guaranteed. You have to work for it.” There was another super bonus -- thanks to her work and the work of her team colleagues: Gold in the team event!

The Italian Elia Matteo won the men’s U20 race. His 21:45 beat Spain’s Marcos Villamuera (21:49) and Britain’s Finlay Grant (21:53). “My legs felt somewhat heavy after my race on Friday, when I was fifth on the Uphill and I lost touch with the leaders on the first ascent. But my trainer and I prepared the downhill very well and I could work my way back to the front. The part on asphalt was good for me and I simply ran all-out during the last downhill. I didn’t think I would manage it, but I have done it. European Champion! Wow!”

The winner in the women’s U20 race was Norway’s Ida Waldal (24:37 min), just like on Friday, who beat Britain’s Eve Whitaker (25:33) into second place and Axelle Vicari (25:39) of Italy into third. “I just kept up with the pack during the first part of the race and let others make the pace. But I’m not that good running downhill, therefore I knew that I had to be clearly in the lead after the last Uphill,” she said. “My tactics worked out, and I’m really happy about this Gold medal, considering that I felt quite nervous.”

The 20 medal sets handed out (in 10 individual and 10 team event) went to ten different nations, with a special mention for Gold for Belgium and Silver for Romania. Switzerland took third thanks to Mathys’s two medals and the team medal (3/4/1), and at the top of the table there was a close contest between winner Italy (5/5/3) and France (5/1/5) – the greater number of second places gave the Azzuri the edge. Great Britain & Northern Ireland (2/3/6) and Spain (1/5/5) were both strong with 11 medals each, placing fourth and sixth in the medals table. Norway landed between the two with the two victories of Ida Waldal. Germany (1 gold) and Austria (1 silver) completed the “magnificent ten”.

There are a lot of names of younger and more established runners which we will hear about again in the future. And it will be remembered that so much started here in in El Paso, La Palma – as, for example, will the success story of the EAORCH.

Written by Egon Theiner for European Athletics. Images courtesy of Reventon El Paso.