Yesterday, Olympic bronze medallist Hayden Wilde appeared in unfamiliar territory as he took part in the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Race in Hannut, Belgium.
Racing over the 9000m course, Wilde took on a fine field of athletes and emerged with a very respectable finish.
He came 19th overall in snowy conditions, 1:32 behind the winner Yann Schrub of France. For reference, Schrub is the European bronze medallist over the 10,000m. Indeed, Wilde was only 62 seconds from the podium.
Wilde is already known as one of the fastest runners on the WTCS circuit. In 2022, he logged a top-10 all-time Sprint distance run split by running a 14:07 in Hamburg. With a 5000m personal best of 13:29, it will be interesting to see if he has been able to sharpen his speed any further over the winter.
His speed off-road should also not be too great a surprise. In 2021, not long after winning his Olympic medal, Wilde won the Xterra World Championships.
Wilde is now less than six weeks out from the first WTCS race of the season. After contracting COVID in early December, it would seem he is suffering no lingering effects. Moreover, his ability to keep pace with a world class cross country field would indicate that he is in near-top condition heading into Abu Dhabi.
After narrowly missing out on the world title last year, he can be expected to return with a vengeance in 2023.
