BRUSSELS, 21 March 2004 — Benita Johnson upset the heavily favored Ethiopians yesterday by winning Australia’s first world cross-country medal of any color in the women’s long course event.

The 24-year-old former under-20 hockey international had finished in the top six in the short course event in the last three championships but had confessed chirpily on Friday that Australia was a great place for a holiday but not necessarily for cross country runners.

She belied her own words yesterday by dominating the 8-km event from the halfway stage on a muddy course made even more treacherous by heavy rain which had pelted down during the men’s short-course race.

Johnson stuck with the leading Ethiopians for the first 6-km then began to ease away, running on her own over the last km to win in 27 minutes and 17 seconds. Ejigayehu Dibaba finished second 12 seconds behind with defending champion Werknesh Kidane 17 seconds off the winner.

Earlier, Kenenisa Bekele made no contest of the men’s 4-km race, winning the first half of a projected third consecutive short and long course double. Ethiopians took the first three places after also making a clean sweep of the medals in the women’s junior race.

In the first senior race of the two-day championships world 10,000 meters champion Bekele took the lead at the start with teammate Dejene Berhanu in close attendance.

Moroccan-born Belgian Ridouane Es-Saadi briefly challenged the Ethiopians and Kenyan Eliud Kirui was among the leading group at the halfway point. Bekele then stepped up the pace, remorselessly extending his lead on the final lap as the wind and rain swept across the course. He glanced twice over his shoulder in the finishing straight before accelerating to win in 11 minutes 31 seconds, ahead of compatriot Gebre Gebremariam with a third Ethiopian, Maregu Zewdie, in third place. World steeplechase champion Saif Saaeed, who used to run for Kenya under the name of Stephen Cherono, finished fifth to help Qatar into second place behind Ethiopia in the team competition. But overall it was a disappointing day for Saaeed. He said he had learnt that the Kenyan Olympic Committee would not waive their residency requirement of three years for a person changing nationality which means he will not be able to run for his adopted country in Athens.