Anna Frost prepares in Switzerland last month for ther
world championships.
Otago mountain runner Anna Frost's career reached new
heights over the weekend when her eighth placing in the final
race of the world mountain running grand prix in Slovenia was
enough to clinch the overall title.
Frost (26), who was suffering from a throat infection, dug
deep to hold on to eighth place and finished the series with
315 points, 23 points ahead of Mateja Kosovelj, of Slovenia,
in second place.
The title completes an impressive year for the Wales-based
runner, who finished 10th in the world mountain running
championship in Switzerland in September.
Frost's mother, Jenny Frost, told the Otago Daily
Times her daughter was "really excited".
"This is kind of the peak of her career but having said that
she could probably do better at the worlds," Jenny said.
"But she is having a lot of fun and this is a wonderful
climax to the season."
Frost produced some consistent performances to claim the
title.
The former Hill city runner finished fifth in the second race
of the series, and went close to winning the third race but
was beaten by just 2sec in a sprint finish with Italy's
Renate Rungger.
However, fourth and second-place finishes in the fourth and
fifth races of the series gave Frost a decent lead going into
the final race of the season.
New Zealand's king of the mountains, Jonathan Wyatt was
crowned the men's grand prix champion.
The six-times world mountain running champion finished fourth
in the final race of the season but had amassed sufficient
points during the series to secure the win.
He scored 394 points to beat Marco Gaiardo, of Italy, by 44
points and Mitja Kosovelj, of Slovenia, who finished with 297
points.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.