Yohanes Chiappinelli competes in La Mandria Park, © Francesca Grana

Yohanes Chiappinelli leads On-exploits at European Cross-Country Championships in Turin

Yohanes Chiappinelli, who trains in the On-sponsored “Tuscany Camp”, shone on home ground with an individual eighth rank and the silver medal with the Italian team at the European Cross Country Championships in Turin. 

Also his fellow On-athletes Johanna Pulte (GER) and Cari Hughes and Amy-Eloise Markovc (GBR) claimed medals with their respective teams.

The European Cross-Country Championships in La Mandria Park in Piemonte, Italy on Sunday, 11th of December marked the eventful end to the 2022 competition season for On’s track athletes. Yohanes Chiappinelli, who trains in the On-sponsored “Tuscany Camp”, was the most successful runner with an eighth place in the senior men’s 10 km race (30:03), which also made him into a scorer for the team ranking and helped the home team to secure the silver medal on home ground.

“I’m very happy with my race and I crossed the finished line with the feeling I did my best to prepare it properly”, Chiappinelli said after this race. “The course itself was very, very demanding. I felt pretty comfortable in the uphill section but it was impossible to relax, since the downhill section was super tricky and the plain section really fast. In these conditions, I was lucky to be able to rely on my Cloudspikes. They were 100% responsive during every change of direction and offered the perfect mix between lightness and comfort. Being able to win a medal is always special. Doing that in front of that huge Italian crowd was something that is hard to find words for.”

Hughes, Markovc, and Pulte take team medals

The senior women ran a distance of 8 kilometers and in their race, Britons Cari Hughes and Amy-Eloise Markovc repeated Chiappinelli’s silver medal exploit. With their times of 28:20 and 28:16, they finished 26th and 23rd respectively in the individual result.

In the U20 categories, three On athletes were on start with Benjamin Dern (GER), Romuald Brosset (FRA), and Johanna Pulte (GER). Dern and Brosset ended the 6 km race on positions 26 and 44, while Pulte finished in 33rd on the 4 km distance. For Johanna Pulte, this meant a bronze medal with the German team. Austrian Sebastian Frey, who was on start in the men’s U23 race, finished 58th. Georgie Hartigan and Luke McCann took to the start line in the 4x 1.5 km Mixed Relay and claimed the ninth position with Team Ireland. Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed was the best Athlete Refuge Team finisher with position 38.

“The European Cross Country Championships are always a special event, as grit and determination are the main attributes athletes need to show here,” said Niklas Bühner, On Athlete Partnership Manager.  “Our athletes excelled in this regard this weekend. We are very proud of achieving an individual top 10 result in the men’s senior race and having multiple of our Athletes contributing to Team Medals of their respective country.”

Header image: Yohanes Chiappinelli competes in La Mandria Park. Credit: Francesca Grana

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