Dibaba, Bekele win Great Manchester Runs

The 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder ran in 28 minutes and 23 seconds with marathon world record holder Kipsang of Kenya five seconds back. World and Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba earned a comfortable victory in the women's competition, finishing the 10km course in 31:09.

 

      Bekele held off the challenge of Kenya's marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang, who finished five seconds off the pace, while South African's Stephen Mokoko came home third. Among the 40,000 entrants at Europe's biggest 10km running event were former footballers Phil Neville, Michael Gray and Robbie Savage, soap stars Julie Hesmondhalgh and Denise Welch, and former snooker world champion Shaun Murphy.

       Former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville was among the 40,000 entrants and admitted he struggled midway through the run before he finished in 45:58. The 37-year-old former England international, said: "I started off too fast. From 4km to 7km I was struggling. "I was actually looking for an ambulance at one point."

   World and Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba earned a comfortable victory in the women's competition, finishing the 10km course in 31:09.

Dibaba wins Great Manchester Run

    Britain's Gemma Steel was second, more than a minute behind Ethiopian Dibaba. Polline Wanjiku closely challenged Steel on the line, but vocal support saw the 28-year-old run home ahead of the Kenyan in 32:10. 

"That really lifted me, I was fighting for that silver and it's good to see that I can sprint when I have to," Steel told BBC Sport.
"It's good to establish myself in these races again, I feel at home in them. To come back and finish behind Dibaba, who is the best in the world, you can't complain about that."

The women's elite race was won by world and Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, who came home over a minute before Steel and Wanjiku in 31min 09secs.