YEHUALAW TRIPS BUT STILL TRIUMPHS
Gold medallist McColgan shows the men how it’s done at the Great Scottish Run
ETHIOPIA’S Yalemzerf Yehualaw recovered from a fall to win the women’s race at the London Marathon. Yehualaw appeared to trip on a speed bump with six miles remaining but recovered to rejoin the leading pack. The 23-year-old came home in 2 hours 17 minutes and 25 seconds — the third fastest time at the event — as defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, of Kenya, had to settle for second. London debutant Amos Kipruto, a world bronze medallist in Doha in 2019, won the men’s race. The 30-year-old Kenyan clocked 2:04.39 ahead of Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase with Bashir Abdi of Belgium in third. The first Briton home was 28year-old Weynay Ghebresilasie, who was born in Eritrea but qualified to represent Great Britain last year. Meanwhile, Eilish McColgan sealed an incredible season by smashing her own European 10kilometres record at the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow. The Dundonian’s triumph in 30 mins, 18 secs brought the curtain down on a campaign that began in February and peaked with her sensational 10,000m gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. McColgan said: ‘I was in the hotel and a group of women were screaming for me every time I came around the lobby. But that support was great. I thought I’d be tired doing this but I actually felt okay.’ Great Britain Under-20s international Lewis Hannigan won the men’s race in 29:56, 22 seconds clear of Callum Tharme who crossed the line at McColgan’s side. Sammi Kinghorn topped the wheelchair race in 26:40 ahead of fellow Paralympian Mel Woods.
FOCUSED, counting down, poised to set her watch, Eilish McColgan looks the very picture of an elite female athlete about to start a race.
But the 31-year-old Dundonian is so elite that at the Great Scottish Run yesterday she was surrounded by top male athletes, all determined to keep up with her. Indeed, only one other female runner can be seen among the starters.
McColgan, who stormed to victory in this year’s Commonwealth Games 10k, was making her debut appearance in the Great Scottish Run – and smashed the British 10k record to finish in a time of 30 minutes and 18 seconds.
The race returned to Glasgow for the first time in three years, following a series of cancellations due to the pandemic. Yesterday, 20,000 competitors took to the streets to compete in the 10K, wheelchair and half-marathon races.