We’re publishing the full press conference following the 2012 IAU 100k World Championships. Hear from:
- Giorgio Calcaterra (Italy – men’s champion);
- Amy Sproston (US – women’s champion);
- Jonas Buud (Sweden – men’s runner up);
- Kajsa Berg (Sweden – women’s runner up);
- Alberico Di Cecco (Italy – men’s third place); and
- Irina Vishnevskaya (Russia- women’s third place).
2012 IAU 100k World Championships Press Conference Transcript
Moderator: So, Giorgio [Calcaterra], how was your race today and how did you find running in your home country of Italy?
Giorgio Calcaterra: Arriving here in Italy for me was a great pleasure since I am Italian. Even if I’m an old runner, I did feel like a young runner because I sped up too much in the first 20k, but everything went well. It was a great pleasure for me.
Moderator: Thank you, Giorgio. What is the next race for you? Where do you go from being a double world champion (back to back)? Where is the next race?
Calcaterra: (translator unavailable at that moment)
Moderator: I guess we’re going to miss out on the translator for that. I’m guessing he said he’s going to run a lot more races, run for Italy, and win a lot more races.
Amy [Sproston], congratulations on an amazing run. Last year was your first time running in a world championships. You come back and win the whole thing. Where do you go from here?
Amy Sproston: My next race will be Western States 100 in the US.
Moderator: What race is that again?
Sproston: Western States 100, a trail race, I mainly do trail races. It’s a trail race in California. (Clarifies that it’s 100 miles not kilometers for the translator.)
Moderator: So how does it feel to be a world champion? It hasn’t soaked in because you were in doping control for a while and have you started receiving phone calls from the States and from your family and friends?
Sproston: I haven’t tried, because I just got out of doping. It was a big surprise because it was a 36-minute improvement from last year. I never expected that I would win.
Moderator: So thank you, Amy. Your champions today, Giorgio Calcaterra and Amy Sproston from Italy and the United States respectively.
It’s the Swedish for the silver medal. We should probably just change the color of the silver medal to yellow, right Raina? Finishing in second place in the men’s division with a time of 6:28:57, which I believe is a personal best, Jonas Buud. Finishing in second place for women, unfortunately I do not have her time on me here, but representing Sweden, Kajsa Berg.
Jonas, I’ll start with you. You have run in several world championships. You have been a European champion a couple of times and you’re a frequent top-5 place finisher. How does it feel to get a silver medal this time around?
Jonas Buud: It was hard to beat Giorgio today, he was really tough during the course, but I’m satisfied with the race.
Moderator: So Jonas, I asked you this question in one of my interviews. How does it feel to run internationally. You go to Africa quite a lot and you’ve done Comrades, I believe, and all those races. How is the international competition all over the world?
Buud: I really love being out in other countries racing for Sweden, meeting other nationalities. I really like this.
Moderator: Alright, thank you, Jonas. That’s your 2nd place finisher for the men, Jonas Buud.
So Kajsa, first time running in the world championships, I believe? And you finished in second place. How does it feel right now?
Kajsa Berg: I’d never believe I’d be on the podium today when I was arriving in Italy on Friday.
Moderator: So Kajsa, I’ve had the opportunity of running for my country twice, Canada, and it’s the best feeling putting on your country’s shirt. How did it feel putting on your country Sweden’s shirt this morning before you started at the race?
Berg: I really love running for Sweden with the blue and yellow colors.
Moderator: Thank you, Kajsa. The third place finisher in the men’s race with a time of 6:30:40, representing a country I call Italy, Alberico de Cecco. And a several time podium finisher from Russia, unfortunately I don’t have her time over here, Irina Vishnevskaya.
Alberico, I’ll start with you. How did it feel running in your home country? How was the support today?
Alberico Di Cecco: It was a great feeling, of course, for the first time wearing the blue t-shirt of the Italian team.
Moderator: Wonderful. Congratulations on that. When you run a race like this, there is a lot of championships on the line. There is world championship, there is European championship, there is team championship. What is going on through your mind when you’re running in the race?
Di Cecco: It wasn’t a very easy run especially in the second part, because I had some physical problems. So when I realized that it wasn’t easy for me to reach the first and the second one I tried to do my best and I tried to win the bronze medal.
Moderator: Wonderful, thank you Alberico. Thank you very much, thank you for all.
So Irina, you have finished several times on the podium of the world championships. How does it feel to get your bronze medal this time around?
Irina Vishnevskaya: I didn’t feel good. I didn’t prepare well for the race. But anyway it’s third place.
Moderator: The Russian team is very strong at these races. You have a very good coach, you have a very good team and support crew. In a race like ultrarunning, how much does that play into effect having a strong support crew?
Vishnesskaya: It’s very important if there are coaches and helpers during the race.
Moderator: Thank you Irina. So ladies and gentlemen, your podium finishers: Alberico de Cecco, Jonas Buud, Giorgio Calcaterra, Amy Sproston, Kajsa Berg, Irina Vishnevskaya. Podium finishers for the IAU World and European Championships here in Seregno, Italy!
