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The Emperor reigns in Melbourne
World marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and reigning world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya dominated the inaugural HBA Great Australian Run in Melbourne this morning.
Racing in perfect conditions amongst 4000 pavement pounders, Gebrselassie completed the 15km course in 42 mins and 40 seconds, more than 34 seconds ahead of Kenya’s two-time world half marathon silver medallist Patrick Makau (43:15) and Australian 5,000m Olympic representative Collis Birmingham (43:35).
In the women’s race, Ndereba showed the field a clean pair of heals as she cruised to an easy victory in 50 mins 43 seconds, more than 400m clear of New Zealand’s Alice Mason (51:27) and Australian Olympic marathon representative Lisa Weightman (51:31).
The men’s race played out to script as Gebrselassie, Makau and Australian Craig Mottram broke away early at the 3km mark, the pack running together until they reached the climb at Birdswood Ave near the Tan.
Mottram, who has never raced further than 10km in competition, found the pace too strong dropping away from the lead pack.
Gebrselassie, who is known in world athletics circles as the Emperor of Ethiopia, ran stride for stride with the Kenyan until the 11km mark when Makau found the ferocious pace too much. Gebrselassie established a lead of 150m as he headed into the final stages at Albert Park for a comfortable victory.
The two-time Olympic champion was happy with his performance, however was disappointed not to break his 27th world record.
“It was not easy really. The course is not so bad, the only problem was that I could not sleep the last two days because of the time-difference and jet lag,” explained Gebrselassie.
“It’s fantastic to have such competitors, especially the Kenyan (Makau) and Mottram. They are very strong.
“I didn’t expect Makau to be running like that. After 11km I decided just to drop him, otherwise it was dangerous to bring him up to the last kilometre.
“I expected to run a fast time, however when I started in the morning I didn’t feel so good because of the lack of sleep. I should have come five or six days ago, that was a mistake.”
In the women’s race, Japan’s Kaori Yoshida pushed the pace early, with Ndereba and the remainder of the pack biting at her heals.
At the 7km mark Ndereba made her winning move, opening up a significant gap and leaving Benita Johnson (AUS), Weightman and Yoshida to battle it out for the minor places.
The surprise of the day came from Alice Mason who came out of no where to make a decisive move at the 8km mark, initially picking off Johnson and then overtaking Yoshida and Weightman with less than 1km to go.
The 21-year-old New Zealander crossing the finish line in second place, 43 seconds behind the victorious Ndereba.
Beijing Olympic marathon champion and early favourite Constantina Dita was never in contention, the Romanian feeling the effects of four tough marathons this year.
The quietly spoken Ndereba was content with her performance.
“I was trying so hard to just keep my pace,” said Ndereba after the race.
“It was only some weeks ago that I did my last marathon. I was just looking to pace myself and I thank God, because my plan worked so well.”
The HBA Great Australian Run took place over a 15 kilometre route, starting and finishing in Albert Park and taking in Melbourne landmarks such as the Yarra River, Flinders Street Station, the Tan and St Kilda Road.
More than 4000 casual weekend joggers and walkers of all levels enjoyed this unique opportunity to run with the world’s best athletes whilst targeting their own personal goals and in many cases, raising money for their own favourite charity.
A number of sporting stars and celebrities also test themselves against the world’s best including comedian and radio host Dave Hughes, AFL footballers Bryce Gibbs (Carlton) and Jobe Watson (Essendon), HSV Dealer Team members Rick Kelly and Paul Dumbrell, Dancing with the Stars host Daniel MacPherson and The Biggest Loser trainer Michelle Bridges.
The inaugural HBA Great Australian Run is part of the Great Run Series, a programme of televised mass participation runs organised by Nova International Limited, originally in England but since spreading to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and most recently Ethiopia.
TOP 20 RESULTS
Men’s 15km
1. Haile Gebrselassie ETH 42:40
2. Patrick Makau KEN 43:15
3. Collis Birmingham AUS 43:35
4. Craig Mottram AUS 44:08
5. Guenther Weidlinger AUT 44:17
6. Bobby Curtis USA 44:30
7. Adrain Blincoe NZL 44:32
8. Scott Westcott AUS 44:38
9. Seigo Ikegami JPN 44:44
10. Matt Smith AUS 45:25
11. Anthony Haber AUS 45:29
12. Ben St Lawrence AUS 45:40
13. Samson Ramadhani TAN 45:46
14. Suehiro Ishikawa JPN 45:59
15. Shane Nankervis AUS 46:41
16. Jayden Russ AUS 46:46
17. Steve Moneghetti AUS 47:03
18. David Mulvee AUS 47:20
19. Anthony Craig AUS 47:27
20. Kane Willie AUS 47:29
Women’s 15km
1. Catherine Ndereba KEN 50:43
2. Alice Mason NZL 51:27
3. Lisa Weightman AUS 51:31
4. Kaori Yoshida JPN 51:44
5. Benita Johnson AUS 52:09
6. Constantina Dita ROM 52:33
7. Emily Brikachek AUS 52:48
8. Lisa Flint AUS 52:51
9. Cassandra Fien AUS 53:38
10. Holly Emery AUS 54:22
11. Megumi Oshisha JPN 56:13
12. Karen Nantoli AUS 56:18
13. Melissa Vandewater AUS 56:30
14. Nadelle Legge AUS 56:35
15. Kathryn Ewels AUS 56:47
16. Isabelle De Castella AUS 56:52
17. Michelle Bleakley AUS 57:23
18. Emma Ford AUS 57:42
19. Bill Dooley AUS 58:14
20. Narelle Coady AUS 58:26
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