The world record holder Jacob Kiplimo became the first Ugandan man to win the Great North Run while Hellen Obiri defended her title.
The 21-year-old reigning world half-marathon champion left a world-class field in his wake in his first appearance at the event, having built up a 32-second lead by the 12-mile mark.
He crossed the line in 59:33, 66 seconds ahead of Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega, with Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele third in 1:01:01. “I enjoyed the race, it was nice,” said Kiplimo. “I came here to win it, I was not worried about the people, it was just about winning the race.
The atmosphere was nice, the crowd was nice.” Last year’s winner, Marc Scott from Northallerton, finished sixth with a time of 1:02:28.
Related News