University of Richmond Athletics
Tim Smith To Join Andrew Benford At World Mountain Running Championship
08/04/2009 | Cross Country
Aug. 4, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Rising sophomore Tim Smith was selected to represent the United States at the World Mountain Running Championship, a week after teammate Andrew Benford earned a spot on the U.S. Senior Team with his second-place finish at the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Smith will competed on the Junior Team, marking the second-consecutive year he has done so.
Smith, a Roanoke, Va. native, led the Americans last year in Switzerland to a fourth-place finish -- the United State's best team showing ever at the World Championships. Smith's fifth-place individual finish also ranked as the highest finish in history for a U.S. junior male.
"I'm really excited to make the team again this year", said Smith. "I had a great experience last year and look forward to representing the United States again. I've always wanted to go to Italy and I'm really excited to be going with Andrew."
The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team competes in the 25th World Mountain Running Championships in Campodolcino, Italy on September 6. Campodolcino is located in the province of Sondrio in the Lombardy region located approximately 100 kilometers north of Milan.
This year's races are held on an up/down loop course (as opposed to even-numbered years when the events are held on uphill-only courses) with the senior men running approximately 13.02 km and the junior men running a distance slightly over 8.68 km.
"We are very happy for Andrew and Tim," said Richmond men's head coach Steve Taylor. "This is a great opportunity for them to compete against the best athletes in the world and continue with their development as top runners in the nation. Anytime you have an athlete on a national team it's exciting. To have two in the same year is tremendous. There is nothing more special as an athlete than putting on our nation's team uniform."
Three years ago Andrew Benford, was selected to the team and finished 12th in the junior men's race, which was the highest-ever finish for a U.S. junior at the time.