Edinburgh snow fails to stop classy Farah
Farah wins in Edinburgh
Fresh off the back of some quality Kenyan training GB’s Mo Farah cruised to his first win of 2011, as he demolished the field in today’s 8km International Team Challenge race at the BUPA Great Edinburgh XC...
The earlier action saw a great win for Eliud Kipchoge in the mens’ 4km International race, over fellow Kenyans Kiprop (2nd) and Kipruto (3rd). The race saw a quality run from Stockport’s Steve Vernon, finishing a close 4th behind the three Kenyans, with fellow Brit Tom Lancashire in 5th.
Early on in the men's 4km race
Women’s International 6km race
In the women’s 6km race it was yet another Great Edinburgh win for world 10,000 metre champion Linet Masai. The elegant Kenyan drove her way up the climb as she approached the bell, and managed to pull out a 25 metre lead from fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot and Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba. Over the last lap she extended this to a full 50-60 metres by the finish.
Majestic Masai
GB’s European junior xc champ from last December, Charlotte Purdue, put on one of the performances of the day by a British athlete, as she charged through to a super 4th place.
The Aldershot athlete had overhauled all of the older and more experienced GB runners as she picked them off in the second half of the race. These included the much more fancied Steph Twell and Hatti Dean, with Dean running a very good race for 5th, after being in contention for much of the 6kms.
Golden girl Purdue
Men’s 8.2km Team Challenge
Billed as a team event – to instill some much-needed closer competition back into the UK’s most prestigious XC race – Farah headed up a GB & NI which included top 2010 Euro XC performers Tom Humphries and Ryan McLeod, as they took on a European Select team (inc. 9-time Euro XC champ Sergiy Lebid), the USA and an U23 GB team.
After a steady start Lebid decided he would put a dig in on the second of the three small laps, the result was a clambering for places and the whole field strung out. Then he oddly put his foot on the brake, and the first 25 or so re-grouped. At this stage Farah was a good 50 metres back on the head of the race, so it would have been interesting to see how the European 5 and 10,000m champion would have reacted if Lebid had kept going.
Rupp strings em out on the hill
It wasn’t until the first time up the hill on the first of the of the three large laps that things really started to sort themselves out, with Rupp ripping up the steep Edinburgh climb at what was by now a sunny Holyrood Park. As the big three of Lebid, Rupp and Farah were now joined by Spain’s Lamdassem these four were well clear of the chasers, with GB’s Andy Vernon scything his way through the field.
As they went up the hill for the second time it was game over. Farah erupted up the climb, and pushed really hard over the top opening up a 40 metre gap. As they hit the bell it would take an almighty effort from the chasers to catch Mo now, and although Rupp tried valiantly to reign Farah back in, the second-half of the last lap actually saw the GB athlete extend his lead to well over 50 metres by the finish. This really was a commanding win for Farah.
Mo Farah, on his own...
Speaking to the BBC’s Jonathan Edwards immediately after his win Farah said, “It’s all about training hard and staying focused. This was a really good win, and I am looking forward to going to the US now for some training, and trying something a little different”.
Post-race Mo was pleased...
Rupp finished 2nd, around 8 seconds adrift, with Lamdassem 3rd and Lebid 4th – securing a team win for the European’s. Andy Vernon literally stormed round the last two laps and came in 5th for yet another excellent performance on the afternoon by a GB runner.
The team event saw the European’s take it from the US and GB a little disappointed with third.
Full results can be found on the Scottish Athletics site here
