# 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race

The Junior men's race at the 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Torino, Italy, at the Parco del Valentino on March 23, 1997. A report on the event was given in The New York Times, in the Herald, and for the IAAF.
Complete results, medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.

## Race results
### Junior men's race (8.511 km)
#### Individual

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| | Elijah Korir | Kenya | 24:21 |
| | Million Wolde | Ethiopia | 24:28 |
| | Paul Kosgei | Kenya | 24:29 |
| 4 | John Gwako | Kenya | 24:58 |
| 5 | Charles Kwambai | Kenya | 25:02 |
| 6 | Patrick Ivuti | Kenya | 25:06 |
| 7 | Alene Emere | Ethiopia | 25:10 |
| 8 | Godfrey Nyombi | Uganda | 25:14 |
| 9 | Kipchumba Mitei | Kenya | 25:20 |
| 10 | Yibeltal Admassu | Ethiopia | 25:22 |
| 11 | Ali Ezzine | Morocco | 25:24 |
| 12 | Haylu Mekonnen | Ethiopia | 25:25 |
| 13 | Jafred Lorone | Uganda | 25:37 |
| 14 | Dereje Tadesse | Ethiopia | 25:38 |
| 15 | Hiroyuki Ogawa | Japan | 25:50 |
| 16 | Mohamed Awol | Ethiopia | 25:51 |
| 17 | Ali Saïdi-Sief | Algeria | 25:55 |
| 18 | Shinichi Shibata | Japan | 25:55 |
| 19 | Adil Kaouch | Morocco | 25:58 |
| 20 | Anwar O.M. Ali | Yemen | 26:02 |
| 21 | Abderahim Bouchlouch | Morocco | 26:02 |
| 22 | Bouabdallah Tahri | France | 26:03 |
| 23 | Hicham Lamalem | Morocco | 26:03 |
| 24 | George Majaji | Zimbabwe | 26:08 |
| 25 | Yuji Ibi | Japan | 26:10 |
| 26 | Juan Carlos Higuero | Spain | 26:12 |
| 27 | Koichiro Koike | Japan | 26:14 |
| 28 | Juan José Lozano | Spain | 26:17 |
| 29 | Aziz El Makhrout | Morocco | 26:17 |
| 30 | Richard Mavuso | South Africa | 26:19 |
| 31 | Tomoki Sugiyama | Japan | 26:22 |
| 32 | Ben Chesang | Uganda | 26:24 |
| 33 | Nicolò Rotondo | Italy | 26:25 |
| 34 | Vincent Kuotane | South Africa | 26:26 |
| 35 | Khaya Gqotso | South Africa | 26:28 |
| 36 | Pablo Villalobos | Spain | 26:34 |
| 37 | Mark Thompson | Australia | 26:36 |
| 38 | Jussi Utriainen | Finland | 26:37 |
| 39 | Ahmed Ezzobayry | Morocco | 26:39 |
| 40 | Shoji Miyai | Japan | 26:40 |
| 41 | Roman Usov | Russia | 26:43 |
| 42 | Glody Dube | Botswana | 26:44 |
| 43 | Luiz Paula | Brazil | 26:45 |
| 44 | Cayetano Hernandez | Mexico | 26:46 |
| 45 | Abdelkarim Bouchamia | Algeria | 26:50 |
| 46 | Ovidiu Tat | Romania | 26:50 |
| 47 | Alberto Mosca | Italy | 26:52 |
| 48 | Ben Mogola | South Africa | 26:54 |
| 49 | Levente Timár | Hungary | 26:57 |
| 50 | Marko Hwahu | Tanzania | 26:57 |
| 51 | Abdul Alizindani | United States | 26:58 |
| 52 | Teodoro Barradas | Mexico | 26:58 |
| 53 | Gonzalo Gutierrez | Mexico | 26:59 |
| 54 | José Bastos | Spain | 27:03 |
| 55 | Kelebone Makoetlane | Lesotho | 27:04 |
| 56 | Gareth Turnbull | Ireland | 27:04 |
| 57 | Giuseppe Minici | Italy | 27:05 |
| 58 | Ferenc Békési | Hungary | 27:07 |
| 59 | Abdulaziz Abdulrahman | Yemen | 27:08 |
| 60 | Mukat Derbe | Israel | 27:08 |
| 61 | Adria García | Spain | 27:09 |
| 62 | Claudio Brandalise | Italy | 27:11 |
| 63 | Kais Bouziane | Algeria | 27:12 |
| 64 | Sam Haughian | United Kingdom | 27:12 |
| 65 | Steve Leuer | United States | 27:13 |
| 66 | Gavin Thompson | United Kingdom | 27:15 |
| 67 | Yazid Zidani | Algeria | 27:17 |
| 68 | Said Ali Hadji | Algeria | 27:17 |
| 69 | Paulo Almeida | Brazil | 27:19 |
| 70 | Halil Tekin | Turkey | 27:20 |
| 71 | Paul Morrison | Canada | 27:21 |
| 72 | Marcin Grzegorzewski | Poland | 27:23 |
| 73 | Raymond Fontaine | France | 27:24 |
| 74 | Juan Carlos de Bastos | Argentina | 27:24 |
| 75 | Manuel Damião | Portugal | 27:25 |
| 76 | Clinton Mackevicius | Australia | 27:27 |
| 77 | Igor Teteryukov | Belarus | 27:27 |
| 78 | Makhubalo Mngomezulu | South Africa | 27:27 |
| 79 | Robert Leblanc | United States | 27:28 |
| 80 | Hicham Anique | France | 27:30 |
| 81 | Paul Fenn | Australia | 27:30 |
| 82 | Vincent Moroga | Uganda | 27:31 |
| 83 | Alister Moses | United Kingdom | 27:31 |
| 84 | Viktor Lomonosov | Belarus | 27:32 |
| 85 | Takhir Mamashayev | Kazakhstan | 27:33 |
| 86 | Michael Endjala | Namibia | 27:33 |
| 87 | Damien Rouquet | France | 27:34 |
| 88 | Olivier Mignon | France | 27:35 |
| 89 | Jari Matinlauri | Finland | 27:36 |
| 90 | Dilaver Kanber | Turkey | 27:37 |
| 91 | David Mitchinson | United Kingdom | 27:40 |
| 92 | Kevin Koeper | United States | 27:41 |
| 93 | Iván Hierro | Spain | 27:43 |
| 94 | Augusto Simón Veuthey | Argentina | 27:44 |
| 95 | Thomas Murley | United States | 27:44 |
| 96 | Martin Dent | Australia | 27:46 |
| 97 | Willem Rooi | Namibia | 27:47 |
| 98 | Simon Burton | United Kingdom | 27:48 |
| 99 | Yusuf Zepak | Turkey | 27:49 |
| 100 | Mokhejano Lesenyeho | Lesotho | 27:50 |
| 101 | Mikael Talasjoki | Finland | 27:51 |
| 102 | Jerome van de Meerssche | Belgium | 27:51 |
| 103 | Nick Govaerts | Belgium | 27:52 |
| 104 | Arun D'Souza | India | 27:53 |
| 105 | Josep Sansa | Andorra | 27:54 |
| 106 | Mikko Ristimäki | Finland | 27:56 |
| 107 | Pietro Pelusi | Italy | 27:57 |
| 108 | Drew Graham | Canada | 27:58 |
| 109 | Rob Detert | Netherlands | 27:59 |
| 110 | Mohamed Al-Khawlani | Yemen | 27:59 |
| 111 | Tsiliso Raletsatsi | Lesotho | 28:00 |
| 112 | Latamene Oumouhand | Algeria | 28:02 |
| 113 | Khaled Al-Atashi | Yemen | 28:03 |
| 114 | Jonathan Matos | Brazil | 28:04 |
| 115 | Bruce Wright | Canada | 28:06 |
| 116 | Ganpati Bhusanur | India | 28:07 |
| 117 | Jérôme Schaffner | Switzerland | 28:07 |
| 118 | Libor Flemr | Czech Republic | 28:08 |
| 119 | Imre Szabó | Hungary | 28:09 |
| 120 | Pasqualino Zammataro | Italy | 28:10 |
| 121 | César Villanueva | Mexico | 28:11 |
| 122 | Pierre-André Ramuz | Switzerland | 28:13 |
| 123 | André da Silva | Brazil | 28:15 |
| 124 | David Arabasz | Czech Republic | 28:17 |
| 125 | Rudolf Cloete | Namibia | 28:17 |
| 126 | Mikael Aigroz | Switzerland | 28:18 |
| 127 | Michal Šneberger | Czech Republic | 28:18 |
| 128 | Oleg Gutnik | Belarus | 28:19 |
| 129 | Mehdi Baala | France | 28:20 |
| 130 | Slavko Petrović | Croatia | 28:21 |
| 131 | Fouad Obad | Yemen | 28:23 |
| 132 | G.S. Hariraju | India | 28:28 |
| 133 | P.K. Mishra | India | 28:29 |
| 134 | Simo Simatu | South Africa | 28:37 |
| 135 | Matthew Mechin | United Kingdom | 28:45 |
| 136 | Jeff Gorman | Canada | 28:46 |
| 137 | Norbert Kömüves | Hungary | 28:50 |
| 138 | Steve Osadiuk | Canada | 28:51 |
| 139 | Omar Bekkali | Belgium | 28:54 |
| 140 | Peter Knuchel | Switzerland | 28:59 |
| 141 | Cristobal Valenzuela | Argentina | 28:59 |
| 142 | Kevin Zammit | Malta | 29:11 |
| 143 | Sergey Sviridenok | Belarus | 29:15 |
| 144 | Mindaugas Pukstas | Lithuania | 29:19 |
| 145 | Hikmat Dastan | Turkey | 29:20 |
| 146 | Kaupo Tiislär | Estonia | 29:20 |
| 147 | Scott Allison | Canada | 29:20 |
| 148 | Desiré Tandrayen | Mauritius | 29:24 |
| 149 | Gabe Jennings | United States | 29:26 |
| 150 | Pascal Berger | Switzerland | 29:29 |
| 151 | Daniel Fekl | Czech Republic | 30:06 |
| 152 | Patrick Albert | Mauritius | 30:28 |
| 153 | Baker Khadora | Palestine | 30:50 |
| 154 | Selwyn Bonne | Seychelles | 31:18 |
| 155 | Jean-Marc Dambra | Mauritius | 31:28 |
| 156 | Mokoilane Mojela | Lesotho | 31:38 |
| 157 | Abdel Awajna | Palestine | 32:20 |
| 158 | Ajay Bheekarry | Mauritius | 33:16 |
| 159 | Ala Al-Deen Fhidat | Palestine | 36:04 |
| — | Saso Njenjic | Slovenia | DNF |
| — | Roland Kis | Hungary | DNS |
| — | Abdel Salam Al Debjy | Palestine | DNS |
| — | Samy Asad Nateel | Palestine | DNS |

#### Teams

| Rank | Team | Points |
| | Kenya Elijah Korir1 Paul Kosgei3 John Gwako4 Charles Kwambai5 (Patrick Ivuti)(6) (Kipchumba Mitei)(9) | 13 |
| | Ethiopia Million Wolde2 Alene Emere7 Yibeltal Admassu10 Haylu Mekonnen12 (Dereje Tadesse)(14) (Mohamed Awol)(16) | 31 |
| | Morocco Ali Ezzine11 Adil Kaouch19 Abderahim Bouchlouch21 Hicham Lamalem23 (Aziz El Makhrout)(29) (Ahmed Ezzobayry)(39) | 74 |
| 4 | Japan Hiroyuki Ogawa15 Shinichi Shibata18 Yuji Ibi25 Koichiro Koike27 (Tomoki Sugiyama)(31) (Shoji Miyai)(40) | 85 |
| 5 | Uganda Godfrey Nyombi8 Jafred Lorone13 Ben Chesang32 Vincent Moroga82 | 135 |
| 6 | Spain Juan Carlos Higuero26 Juan José Lozano28 Pablo Villalobos36 José Bastos54 (Adria García)(61) (Iván Hierro)(93) | 144 |
| 7 | South Africa Richard Mavuso30 Vincent Kuotane34 Khaya Gqotso35 Ben Mogola48 (Makhubalo Mngomezulu)(78) (Simo Simatu)(134) | 147 |
| 8 | Algeria Ali Saïdi-Sief17 Abdelkarim Bouchamia45 Kais Bouziane63 Yazid Zidani67 (Said Ali Hadji)(68) (Latamene Oumouhand)(112) | 192 |
| 9 | Italy Nicolò Rotondo33 Alberto Mosca47 Giuseppe Minici57 Claudio Brandalise62 (Pietro Pelusi)(107) (Pasqualino Zammataro)(120) | 199 |
| 10 | France Bouabdallah Tahri22 Raymond Fontaine73 Hicham Anique80 Damien Rouquet87 (Olivier Mignon)(88) (Mehdi Baala)(129) | 262 |
| 11 | Mexico Cayetano Hernandez44 Teodoro Barradas52 Gonzalo Gutierrez53 César Villanueva121 | 270 |
| 12 | United States Abdul Alizindani51 Steve Leuer65 Robert Leblanc79 Kevin Koeper92 (Thomas Murley)(95) (Gabe Jennings)(149) | 287 |
| 13 | Australia Mark Thompson37 Clinton Mackevicius76 Paul Fenn81 Martin Dent96 | 290 |
| 14 | Yemen Anwar O.M. Ali20 Abdulaziz Abdulrahman59 Mohamed Al-Khawlani110 Khaled Al-Atashi113 (Fouad Obad)(131) | 302 |
| 15 | United Kingdom Sam Haughian64 Gavin Thompson66 Alister Moses83 David Mitchinson91 (Simon Burton)(98) (Matthew Mechin)(135) | 304 |
| 16 | Finland Jussi Utriainen38 Jari Matinlauri89 Mikael Talasjoki101 Mikko Ristimäki106 | 334 |
| 17 | Brazil Luiz Paula43 Paulo Almeida69 Jonathan Matos114 André da Silva123 | 349 |
| 18 | Hungary Levente Timár49 Ferenc Békési58 Imre Szabó119 Norbert Kömüves137 | 363 |
| 19 | Turkey Halil Tekin70 Dilaver Kanber90 Yusuf Zepak99 Hikmat Dastan145 | 404 |
| 20 | Lesotho Kelebone Makoetlane55 Mokhejano Lesenyeho100 Tsiliso Raletsatsi111 Mokoilane Mojela156 | 422 |
| 21 | Canada Paul Morrison71 Drew Graham108 Bruce Wright115 Jeff Gorman136 (Steve Osadiuk)(138) (Scott Allison)(147) | 430 |
| 22 | Belarus Igor Teteryukov77 Viktor Lomonosov84 Oleg Gutnik128 Sergey Sviridenok143 | 432 |
| 23 | India Arun D'Souza104 Ganpati Bhusanur116 G.S. Hariraju132 P.K. Mishra133 | 485 |
| 24 | Switzerland Jérôme Schaffner117 Pierre-André Ramuz122 Mikael Aigroz126 Peter Knuchel140 (Pascal Berger)(150) | 505 |
| 25 | Czech Republic Libor Flemr118 David Arabasz124 Michal Šneberger127 Daniel Fekl151 | 520 |
| 26 | Mauritius Desiré Tandrayen148 Patrick Albert152 Jean-Marc Dambra155 Ajay Bheekarry158 | 613 |
* Note: Athletes in parentheses did not score for the team result

## Participation

An unofficial count yields the participation of 160 athletes from 48 countries in the Junior men's race. This is in agreement with the official numbers as published.
* Algeria (6)
* Andorra (1)
* Argentina (3)
* Australia (4)
* Belarus (4)
* Belgium (3)
* Botswana (1)
* Brazil (4)
* Canada (6)
* Croatia (1)
* Czech Republic (4)
* Estonia (1)
* Ethiopia (6)
* Finland (4)
* France (6)
* Hungary (4)
* India (4)
* Ireland (1)
* Israel (1)
* Italy (6)
* Japan (6)
* Kazakhstan (1)
* Kenya (6)
* Lesotho (4)
* Lithuania (1)
* Malta (1)
* Mauritius (4)
* Mexico (4)
* Morocco (6)
* Namibia (3)
* Netherlands (1)
* Palestine (3)
* Poland (1)
* Portugal (1)
* Romania (1)
* Russia (1)
* Seychelles (1)
* Slovenia (1)
* South Africa (6)
* Spain (6)
* Switzerland (5)
* Tanzania (1)
* Turkey (4)
* Uganda (4)
* United Kingdom (6)
* United States (6)
* Yemen (5)
* Zimbabwe (1)