Barega, Eisa claim Great Manchester Run wins
Ethiopians Selemon Barega and Medina Eisa won the men’s and women’s 10km races at the Great Manchester Run.
Barega, who was Olympic champion in the distance on the track at Tokyo 2020, won Sunday’s men’s race in 27 minutes and 49 seconds.
Uruguay’s Santiago Catrofe finished three seconds behind, while last year’s champion in Manchester, Vincent Ngetich Kipkemoi of Kenya, was third with 27:58.
There were two British finishers in the top 10, with England’s Alfie Manthorpe fifth and Welshman Dewi Griffiths in eighth.
Olympic 800m champions Keely Hodgkinson and Dame Kelly Holmes were in attendance to start the men’s 10km and the half marathons.
In the women’s 10km, there was a comfortable win for 20-year-old Eisa in 30:42.
American Emily Sisson was second in 31:11, with Eisa’s fellow Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase in third.
British athletes Amy-Eloise Neale and Verity Ockenden finished seventh and ninth respectively.
In the half marathon, which has been part of the event since 2017, local athlete Josh Birmingham won comfortably in one hour, six minutes and 25 seconds, with Welshman Josh Griffiths in second and England’s Simon Crawford in third.
Australian Melissa Duncan won the women’s race in 1:16:27, with British athletes Bethan Lowe and Eden O’Dea completing the podium.
In the elite wheelchair races, which are also 10km, six-time Paralympic gold medallist, David Weir, was the men’s champion with Jade Hall the women’s winner.
More than 35,000 runners took part in the event overall.
—BBC
