Three Olympic 800m champions, one historic moment at the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run
The Great Manchester Run made history yesterday (18th May) as the only British women to ever win the 800m Olympic Gold came together for the first time on the start line.
Keely Hodgkinson MBE, Dame Kelly Holmes and Ann Brightwell Packer have inspired generations and each other in a legacy that started back in 1964. Ann came from behind to take the line in the Tokyo 1964 Olympics in 2:01:1, setting a world record. This was only the second time the 800M had been held and at the time was the longest event in the Olympics.
Forty years later Kelly built on Ann’s legacy with her shock win in Athens 2004 in a time of 1:56:38, before going on to win the double in the 1500M a few days later. Manchester local Keely was the golden girl of last summer’s Paris Olympics with her performance in the 800M (1:56:72) mesmerizing the nation.
Dame Kelly said: “You enter a race hoping to be the best version of yourself you can be, and the Olympics is the pinnacle. To think that Ann’s race was the longest distance for women at that time is unbelievable now. By my time, female sport was on the rise and no one had ever achieved what I did in Great Britain, leaving a legacy for younger people like Keely to then take the lead on.”
As the sun shined, the biggest AJ Bell Great Manchester Run in a decade saw over 35,000 runners fill the streets with colour as they completed the 10K and half marathon courses, cheered on by over 150,000 supporters.
Whether runners were taking on their first 10K or conquering their 50th half marathon, Manchester’s original and best-loved running event, is all about inspiring runners to be their best. Whether they ran for fitness, for fun or to fundraise, taking their place on the start line was about showing up and doing the best, contributing to millions of pounds being raised for hundreds of charities big and small.
Founder and President of the Great Run Company Sir Brendan Foster said: “Manchester once again turned out in full force to deliver the party atmosphere we only ever experience at The Great Manchester Run. The sun was shining, the crowds cheered, and we got to witness some exceptional performances from both our world class athletes but also our everyday runners who make this event what it is – a real celebration of running! We can’t wait to do it all again next year.”
Newcomer to the Great Manchester Run, Selemon Barega (Ethiopia) was the winner of the Elite Men’s 10K in 00:27:49, his first ever 10K road race outside of his home country.
Santiago Catrofe of Uruguay claimed second place in a time of 00:27:52, with last year’s winner Vincent Ngetich of Kenya in third place in 00:27:58.
The elite women’s 10K race saw Medina Eisa (Ethiopia) finish was ahead of the pack to take the crown in 00:30:42 with Emily Sisson (UAS) in second in 00:31:03 and 2024 winner Gotytom Gebreslase (Ethiopia) finishing third in 00:31:11
The wheelchair races saw eight time Paralympian David Weir clinch his 6th Great Manchester win (00:21:19) and last year’s Great North winner Jade Hall add to her title, winning the Female Wheelchair 10K (00:24:11).
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