Craig Mottram and Meseret Defar produced high quality performances at the end of long seasons to set a pair of world best performances for 3K.
The road figures were both revised as Defar went to the front from the gun and led to the tape to lower the previous figure of 8min 53sec to 8min 46.9sec. While the reigning Olympic 5K champion was battling only against the clock Australian star Mottram had an epic race with defending champion Eliud Kipchoge. The two of them were well under the old figures of 7min 49sec. ‘Buster’ followed the 2003 World 5K champion before upping the pace in the last 200m and pulling over a second clear to win in 7min 41.7sec.
Results
Newcastle/Gateshead Great North 3K
Men
- C Mottram (Australia) 7:41.7
- E Kipchoge (Kenya) 7:43.1
- I Hierro (Spain) 7:54.0
- G-J Liefers (Netherlands) 8:07.0
- V Shabunin (Russia) 8:07.4
- J Espana (Spain) 8:09.1
- B Bene (Hungary) 8:09.6
- M Geele (GB) 8:11.3
- T Humphries (GB) 8:17.2
- R McLeod (GB) 8:23.0
Women- M Defar (Ethiopia) 8:46.9
- L Shobukhova (Russia) 9:07.9
- E Wellings (Australia) 9:11.1
- V Mitchell (GB) 9:18.6
- W Janowska (Poland) 9:32.3
- N Staravoitava (Belarus) 9:34.1
- C Martin (Spain) 9:37.4
- T Sanfabio (Spain) 9:38.5
- C Casandra (Romania) 9:42.7
- L Kenney (GB) 9:42.7
