Newcastle, United Kingdom – Mo Farah might have taken over from Kenenisa Bekele as the world's leading distance runner on the track over the past three years, but on the road in the Great North Run half marathon on Sunday the British star found himself eclipsed by the resurgent Ethiopian.
Bekele, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner, has been troubled by injury and loss of form since 2009 but, after temporarily dropping behind Farah and compatriot Haile Gebrselassie in the 13.1 mile race, the 31-year-old drew level and then pulled clear on a downhill stretch with a mile and a quarter remaining.
Farah made a desperate attempt to close the gap in the last half a mile but finished a stride down.
The world and Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion had the consolation of a British best time, 60min 10sec, with Bekele clocking 60:09 on his debut at the half marathon distance.
Gebrselassie, 40, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, finished third in 60min 41sec.
The women's race had been billed as a head-to-head between the arch Ethiopian rivals, world 5,000m champion Meseret Defar and world 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba, but both were eclipsed by Prisca Jeptoo.
The Kenyan, who enjoyed success on British roads in April as the winner of the London Marathon, produced a stunning performance, missing Paula Radcliffe's course record by 14 seconds with a winning time of 65 min 45sec.
The decisive move came when the trio hit the prolonged uphill climb that starts just before the eight mile mark.
Jeptoo moved to the front, upped the pace, and opened up the first gap of significance.
Dibaba was unable to respond and, while Defar briefly regained the lost ground, Jeptoo kept applying the pressure, reeling off a succession of sub five minute mile splits.
The Kenyan finished 19sec clear of Defar, who finished runner-up in 66:09 with Dibaba third in 66:56. – Sapa-AFP