News12 May 2009


Cheruiyot eyeing Radcliffe's UK All-Comers' record in Manchester

FacebookTwitterEmail

Vivian Cheruiyot celebrates winning the women's 5000m at the World Athletics Final (© Getty Images)

Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot is being tipped to challenge Paula Radcliffe's British All-Comers' 10 kilometres road record when competing at the Bupa Great Manchester Run on Sunday.

The Bupa Great Manchester Run is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

Cheruiyot is currently in the best form of her life and organisers feel she can genuinely attack the time of 30:38 Radcliffe achieved almost seven years ago in London's Richmond Park.

Cheruiyot, the World 5000m track silver medallist proved she has no problems with the longer distance when brilliantly winning the World’s Best 10k in Puerto Rico in March ahead of the much more experienced Lornah Kiplagat and Dire Tune.

Cheruiyot, relishing the occasion and quality of the opposition handed Kiplagat, the Netherland's World Half Marathon champion and five times winner of the Puerto Rico race, a stunning 22 seconds defeat.

Now there is confidence the 25-year-old star can definitely eclipse the fastest time in Manchester belonging to Ethiopia's Berhane Adere who clocked 31:06 and even attack Radcliffe's all-comers' performance.

"Neither records are easy ones but Cheruiyot is in the finest form of her life and I know is eager to produce something special next weekend," said Andy Caine, the elite athletes manager.

Caine added: "Certainly the strength of the opposition will make it a very fast race and of course the almost flat Manchester course is acknowledged as one of the fastest in the world."

"Vivian has been looking forward to the race and it was good to see her show there is plenty of speed in her legs when placing second over 1500m in last Friday's IAAF Super Grand Prix in Doha."

"The weather of course will be the greatest influence on how the race is run, but if it is kind we could see something special from her."

Cheruiyot will face Ethiopia's Mestewat Tufa last year's World Cross Country silver medallist who is a very capable 10km performer, and Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, a two-times New York marathon champion.

Caine said: "Tufa will not be afraid to take the pace ahead of Cheruiyot and it was good to see Prokopcuka run so well when finishing runner-up in the recent Bupa Great Edinburgh Run which was also over 10 kilometres."

"She's also competed in Manchester before which will give her a slight advantage. Knowledge of the course is always important in races at this level."

Former European junior Cross Country silver medallist Emily Pidgeon will lead the British challenge.

Gebrselassie leads the men's field

Haile Gebrselassie the world's greatest-ever distance runner heads a star-studded men's field and on his return will be aiming to regain the British all-comers' record.

The legendary Ethiopian broke it in 2005 with a time of 27:25 only to see Kenya's Micah Kogo the current World Record holder * for the distance, slice four seconds from it a year later.

"You can always predict something whenever and wherever Haile competes and it would be great to see both him and Cheruiyot get under their respective marks."

Organisers for the IAAF

* pending the usual ratification procedures

Pages related to this article
Disciplines
Loading...