6th November 2023

CARLA MOLINARO SEALS WORLD 50KM TITLE

Carla Molinaro (coach: Martin Cox, club: Clapham Chasers) capped a superb IAU 50km World Championships for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland as she sealed the women’s title in India.

Molinaro led home the gold medal winning British team, as Sarah Webster (David Leach, Northern [Isle of Man]) took individual bronze, while Anna Bracegirdle (James Thie, Salford Harriers) and Rachel Hodgkinson (Liverpool Harriers) finished fourth and fifth as the team dominated the event.

Meanwhile, the men’s team took home the bronze with Will Mycroft (Mark Lloyd, Cambridge & Coleridge) the highest placed finisher in ninth position.

Molinaro ensured the 50km world title remained in GB & NI hands, after Alyson Dixon won the title four years ago at the last edition of the Championships, as she claimed a memorable win in Hyderabad.

She finished just under a minute ahead of the American Andrea Pomaranski in a time of 3:18:23 to secure her place on top of the podium as she took home her first major title.

Such was the dominance of the British quartet that they took four of the top five places in the race to comfortably ensure the team gold. With an accumulated time of 9:59:07, the team finished over 19 minutes ahead of the USA, while Croatia took the bronze.

Sarah Webster took home the bronze medal after a stunning run to finish a minute behind Pomaranski in 3:20:07, while Bracegirdle was thirty seconds further back in fourth, while Hodgkinson closely followed across the line in 3:20:47.

As for the men’s team taking on the 10 x 5km loops in the hot conditions in India, they would ultimately take home the bronze medal behind the Spanish and Indian teams.

Will Mycroft – racing at his second 50km Championships for GB & NI after competing at the Europeans last year – was ninth in a time of 2:55:53, with European medallist Andrew Davies (Stockport) next across the line in 2:57:14.

Andrew Heyes (Mara Yamauchi, Hallamshire Harriers) was inside the top 20 with his time of 2:58:51 earning him 19th spot, while Ollie Garrod (self-coached, Belgrave) was 33rd in 3:12:52.

Results