by Kenya completed a double at a wet Great North Run with contrasting victories for Mary Ngugi-Cooper and Abel Kipchumba.
Ngugi-Cooper was part of a lead group of six riders that stayed together almost until the end, with the 35-year-old edging out Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi in a sprint.
Ngugi-Cooper is the 11th Kenyan to win the women’s event in a row, but she has strong ties to the UK. She lives in Leeds with her British husband and is coached by Steve Cram.
She told the BBC: “It was incredible. I’ve always dreamed of running here at the Great North Run. To win was a dream come true. It was a bit tough mentally because no one was giving up and when you get to the last mile, everyone is there.”
Britain’s Eilish McColgan was part of the lead group and crossed the line in fifth, five seconds behind Ngugi-Cooper, whose winning time was one hour, seven minutes and 40 seconds.
“I’m really happy with that,” said Scot McColgan. “It was a really tough group this year, so to be among those women and still be there with 200 metres to go, if you had told me that last week I would have broken your hand.”
The men’s race was a one-man show, with Kipchumba breaking away early and defying the wet conditions to cross the line in 59 minutes 52 seconds.
Britain’s Marc Scott, the 2021 winner, overtook Norway’s Sondre Moen to finish second, one minute and 19 seconds behind.
There were local winners in both wheelchair events in Jade Hall and Johnboy Smith.
Hall was making her return after giving birth to her daughter in March and said: “I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go. The weather was tough today but I really enjoyed it.
“It’s really hard. I feel like I have a different body now and I’m learning how it works for me.”
Smith said: “It was a good race, very, very tough. Wet, cold, miserable, but fun at the same time.”
