Purdue underlines growing potential in Great Ireland run

Teenager Charlotte Purdue underlined her incredible potential with a runaway victory over vastly more experienced opponents in the SPAR Great Ireland run today.

The 19-year-old won the 10-kilometre contest in a time of 32 minutes and 42 seconds, 21 seconds clear of second-placed Gemma Steel with Nadia Ejjafini third in 33mins 09secs.

Morocco-born Ejjafini, who competes for Italy, set a testing early pace which proved too much for pre-race favourite Berhane Adere of Ethiopia, who fell away after seven kilometres. Hungary’s Anita Kalovics equally found the speed too much to handle.

Purdue made her move with a razor-sharp turn of speed and took charge of the contest for the final two kilometres.

The Aldershot club runner said: “The course was easier than I thought and it wasn’t the plan to break away like that.

“At 5km I felt as if I was jogging and then at 8km I could hear everyone around me breathing heavily, so I just went.”

Jesus Espana, the 2006 European 5,000 metres gold medallist, produced a lethal finish in the final 1200 metres to clinch the men’s title in a time of 29:26 ahead of Finland’s Jussi Utriainen and Martin Fagan.