Steel and Bekele race to victory in SPAR Great Ireland Run
2011 runbritain Grand Prix champion Gemma Steel (coach: John Nuttall) clocked a lifetime best performance with victory in Sunday’s SPAR Great Ireland Run 10k in 32:06.
In an evenly contested competition, the Charnwood athlete - who really excelled on the roads last year with PBs over 5k, 10k and half marathon - reversed her defeat in this event 12 months ago at the hands of fellow Briton Charlotte Purdue (coach: Mick Woods) who was equally impressive in second, also in a PB (32:10).
French athlete Cristelle Daunay was third in 32:27.
"I had hoped I would do this, I finally shrugged her off - Charlotte just doesn't give in," said Steel, who along with fourth place finisher Helen Clitheroe (33:02) had just returned from a warm weather training camp in Portugal and will shortly head up to Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees for a UKA/London Marathon altitude training camp.
Purdue, in a welcome return to form after injury, had clocked the quickest leg in the Women’s National Road Relays the day before in Birmingham and added: "I miss racing and competition of this standard, and although I won in Chichester (10k) in February, the field wasn't that strong. Today was different and it's great to be back competing at this level."
In the men’s race, Kenenisa Bekele sparkled when clocking the fastest 10k time in the world this year. Having struggled with injuries over the past two years and finishing a disappointing 11th in the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in January, he answered any question marks that his career was in decline over a tough Phoenix Park Course, clocking an outstanding 27:49 - the first sub-28 minute performance ever witnessed in Ireland.
Bekele brushed away his rivals with a devastating display of front running which crushed the ambitions of the chasing pack after only 3km.
"I wasn't nervous about coming here to run and I don't have anything to prove about my condition," said Bekele; "but if there had been a pacemaker I would have been much quicker."
"I had plenty of strength left in me, but the good news is that all of my training which has been based towards to the track season has shown to be successful here also.
Bekele has yet to decide whether to defend both his Olympic crowns at the London Games in August, but he stressed that he did not think his win would send out a serious warning about his shape and form to any his rivals at this stage: "This is not meant to be a message to any of my Olympic opponents," he said. "We cannot start talking like this until we all meet on the track in the summer."
SPAR Great Ireland Run: results summary
Men
1. K Bekele (Ethiopia): 27:49
2. A Lamsdassem (Spain): 28:48
3. D Meucci (Italy): 28:49
4. J-M Martinez (Spain): 29:00
5. N McCormick (GB): 29:04
6. J Espana (Spain): 29:22
7. M Kenneally (Ireland): 29:23
8. S Stokes (GB): 29:31
9. J Van Der Wielen (Nederlands): 29:42
10. T Fitzpatrick (Ireland): 30:03
Women
1. G Steel (GB): 32:06
2. C Purdue (GB): 32:10
3. C Daunay (France): 32:27
4. H Clitheroe (GB): 33:02
5. R Console (Italy): 33:46
6. L Byrne (Ireland): 33:49
7. A Kalovics (Hungary): 34:09
8. M Esteban (Spain): 34:15
9. F Roche (Ireland): 35:09
10. S McCormack (Ireland): 35:15