LONDON (The Vitality Big Half)– Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele set a new course record as he claimed victory at The Vitality Big Half 2020 as part of his preparations for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon.
Kenenisa* recorded a time of 60 minutes and 22 seconds, seeing off strong competition from runner-up Chris Thompson.
The elite women’s race was full of British talent and it was Lily Partridge who took the win ahead of Samantha Harrison in a time of 70:50. Stephanie Davis finished third.
Brent Lakatos won the elite men’s wheelchair race as David Weir had to settle for second place ahead of his 21st London Marathon. Shelly Woods was victorious in the elite women’s wheelchair race.
Kenenisa was considered the favorite going into the race after Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono was forced to pull out through injury, but he was tested by Thompson from the start.
Thompson looked to set the pace in the early stages, hitting the front and leading out Kenenisa and the rest of the pack.
But Kenenisa, joined by Birchfield Harrier Omar Ahmed, soon reeled Thompson in.
Ahmed was dropped and Kenenisa led after halfway, aiming to create some distance between himself and Thompson as the gap between them opened over Tower Bridge.
And Kenenisa was all alone as he crossed the Finish Line at Cutty Sark, smashing Sir Mo Farah’s previous course record of 61:40.
Thompson was second in 61:07 and Jake Smith third in 62:00.
Kenenisa said: “This was my second half marathon in the UK and I’m very happy to win. It was a little bit windy.
“The new course record is a great bonus. I wasn’t focused on time today; I just wanted to win.
“I’m on schedule in my preparation for the Virgin Money London Marathon in April. If the weather is good, then I’m hoping to run like I ran in Berlin last year.
“There’s no question about the crowds in London being great. There was cheering all around the course; it felt like a great place to be thanks to the amazing people of London.”
The elite women’s race featured runners who have experienced The Vitality Big Half before, including Partridge, who finished runner-up to Charlotte Purdue at the 2018 race and was fifth in 2019.
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* Ethiopians use patronymic names rather than family names. That is, a person in Ethiopia is addressed by his/her given name as there is no such thing as ‘family name’ or ‘inherited name.’