Tirunesh Dibaba was a dominant winner as she made her 10-mile debut at the Great South Run on Sunday (October 23), while Chris Thompson returned to winning ways on the roads of Portsmouth and Southsea.
Clocking 51:49, three-time Olympic gold medallist Dibaba beat her fellow Ethiopian Senbere Teferi by more than a minute on a sunny and blustery morning, while Elizeba Cherono of Netherlands claimed a second podium place just a week after her Great Birmingham Run half-marathon win.
Thompson, meanwhile, turned the tables on Andy Vernon, who had beaten him in Birmingham, clocking 47:23 to secure success ahead of his Aldershot, Farnham & District club-mate, as triathlete Matt Sharp finished third.
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With this being Dibaba’s last race for 2016, the 31-year-old had been keen to finish on a high note. After running with world 5000m silver medallist Teferi until around 10km, which was passed in 32:37, she pulled away when Teferi started to struggle with cramp and was never challenged.
Teferi hung on for the runner-up spot, clocking 52:51, while Cherono was a further minute behind and crossed the finish line with 53:54 on the clock.
“The run was good but it was a bit windy,” said Dibaba, who was returning to action after the calf strain which prevented her from racing at the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run earlier this month.
“I am really happy with my performance because I was injured a couple of weeks ago as you know,” added the five-time world track gold medallist, who was not too far off Derartu Tulu’s Ethiopian 10-mile record of 51:27 set when she won at the same event in 2005. “Winning this race was important for me as this is my last run for the year. Overall I can say it was a good race.”
Dibaba, who won the Great Manchester Run 10km in May on her return to racing following the birth of her first child and went on to place third in both the Rio Olympic 10,000m and Great North Run, now turns her attention to a spring marathon
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