Hellen Obiri Smashes Radcliffe's European 10km Record in Manchester
Athletics
By
Mike Kihaki
| May 22, 2022
Athletics greats World 5,000m Champion Hellen Obiri lit up the track on Sunday to bring home victory at the Great Manchester Run in the United Kingdom.
Obiri, leads a strong Kenyan contingent to the Championship, which is the second leg of the series.
A Senior Sergeant from Laikipia Air Base, Obiri bagged the victory after crossing the tape in a record of 30 minutes and 15 seconds ahead of Scottish runner Eilish McColgan.
Obiri beat two-time European medalist Eilish McColgan who had a strong performance recently where she set a new Scottish record in the Vitality London 10,000 earlier this month, after running a PB of 30:25 to better the old mark of 30:39 set by her mum Liz in 1989.
McColgan established a new European 10km record after taking 2nd place at the Great Manchester Run, shaving two seconds off Paula Radcliffe’s record of 30 minutes, 31 seconds from 2003 crossing the line in 30 minutes 19 seconds, four seconds behind Kenya's Obiri.
Kenyans Ruth Chepngetich clocked 30:29 to claim the third place while Sharon Lokedi ran 31:05 to place fourth.
The men’s race was won by New Zealand’s Jake Robertson, who has been training in Kenya.
He timed 28:06 ahead of Australia’s Jack Rayner (28:16) and Antonio Abadaia (28:22) who were placed second and third respectively.
The Great Manchester Run, established in 2003, is an annual 10 kilometer run through Greater Manchester and is the largest 10K in Europe. Usually held in mid-May, it is the third-largest mass participation running event in the United Kingdom behind the Great North Run and the London Marathon. It is part of the Great Runs series of road races in the UK. It was formerly sponsored by Bupa (2003-2014) and Morrisons (2015).
More than a quarter of a million people have taken part since 2003.