AUSSIE Benita Johnson and Kenyan Bernard Kipyego were the elite winners in yesterday's fourth Great Edinburgh Run but used contrasting tactics to secure the results they wanted.
Johnson showed the strength of a former world cross-country champion to open up a 50-metre gap on Kenya's Rose Cheruiyot halfway round the testing 10 kilometre route and eventually strode home 13 seconds clear in 32 minutes 20. Kipyego opted instead
to wait until the finishing line was in sight before launching his winning kick, breaking the tape first in 28:59.
Pre-race favourite Boniface Kiprop from Uganda was runner-up for the third time after outleaning the Moroccan-born Frenchman Hassan El Lahssini in a photo finish. Local triathlete Alison Rowatt (just ahead of Glasgow's Jill Knowles) and Cambuslang's Robert Gilroy were the leading Scots in tenth and 11th respectively.
The new ladies' champion celebrates her 29th birthday tomorrow and gave herself the perfect early present in a city that is rapidly becoming one of her favourites.
Just over a month after leading Australia to a team bronze medal at the World Cross-Country Championships at Holyrood Park, yesterday saw Johnson underline her steadily improving form.
"I was out for so long with injury and the world cross-country was my first race in five months, so to come back five weeks later and win against a world-class field is great preparation for the Olympics," she smiled. "My training has been progressing well, but you just don't know how fit you are after coming back from injury.
"You always try to win, but I just came here wanting to have a good run, so I'm pretty excited to have won the race."
The former hockey player flew to London last night and was today flying to Phoenix, Arizona for a three-and-a-half week, high-altitude training camp in Flagstaff where she will be joined by coaches Nic Bideau and Sonia O'Sullivan plus fellow Australian Olympic hopeful Craig Mottram.
Men's winner Kipyego was also making his second visit to Edinburgh this spring and was delighted to follow up his world cross-country team title with individual success yesterday.
"There were some big hills on the course so I was a little afraid, but I'm happy about the result," he confirmed.
"With Boniface it was push, push, push and he kept trying to get away from me. Then, with 800m remaining, I see the finishing line and I fought for it.
"I go back to Kenya now to train for the Hengelo 10km in Holland where I want to at least improve my personal best of 26:59." Kiprop is also Hengelo-bound later this month, but was disappointed that victory had once again eluded him after his two previous second-place finishes in 2005 and 2007.
The Commonwealth 10,000m gold medallist has warmly embraced Edinburgh, visiting the Castle and a Royal Mile kiltmaker on Thursday, and he immediately vowed to return: "I'm definitely coming back next year. I'll try my best to win this race and one day I'll do it, so I don't lose hope.
"The course was similar to last year, but the weather was much better – it was perfect.
"All the way, I was leading and trying to break away, but then in the last 200m we started sprinting."
In seventh and eighth, Salford's Thomas Abyu and Tipton's Dan Robinson defied aching legs from the London Marathon just three weeks ago to wage a fierce battle for the honour of being first Briton home.
Abyu got there just four seconds ahead in 30:40, a highly-creditable performance from both, especially as Switzerland's world bronze medallist Viktor Rothlin was only two places and 21secs quicker.
Scots veteran Gilroy also ran the London Marathon but clearly has inhuman powers of recovery, revealing yesterday that he has already had two 10km races since then. After clocking 33:35 in Balfron last week, Gilroy managed 33:15 yesterday, but admitted: "I was going well at 5km and then my legs seized up getting to the top of one of the hills. I came on strong at the finish though."
Recent Edinburgh Half Marathon winner Mike Carroll from Perth was less resilient, however, and joked: "I stopped to be sick at 9K! I'm still bushed after the London Marathon. After the first mile, I thought 'This is hard', and I still had another five miles to go!" Carroll struggled home 15th in 34:33.
