Top Competition for Great Ireland Run

Kenenisa Bekele - Ireland Run

Top Spanish runners, Jesus Espana and Ayad Lamdassem, will lead the European challenge against the legendary Kenenisa Bekele in next month’s SPAR Great Ireland Run.

The pair will headline the men’s race in which top Irish runners Mark Kenneally, Linda Byrne and Ava Hutchinson, who have all achieved the Olympic marathon qualifying standard, will be searching for speed against their more gifted rivals over the 10k distance.

Espana, who will be defending the title he won last year with a decisive breakaway towards the end of the race and Lamdassem, the European Cross Country silver medallist, will be looking to cause another upset against Bekele in the Phoenix Park on 15 April.

Both Spaniards need no reminding that Bekele’s appearance in the IAAF Silver Label event will see the Ethiopian intent on restoring his confidence after a poor display at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country in January.

What should have been a double celebratory occasion for Bekele on his country’s equivalent of Christmas Day, saw him thrashed by his international opponents and finish a disappointing 11th in a 3k race he was expected to win.

That prompted his manager Jos Hermens to ask for him to be included in the SPAR Great Ireland Run which will also mark his return Dublin where 10 years ago he became the first and only man ever to win both the IAAF World Cross Country long and short course titles.

While it may be premature to even consider the World’s greatest ever cross country and track distance runner’s career is at a crossroads, the reigning Olympic 5000m and 10000m gold medallist, with the next Games on the horizon, needs a victory to rebuild his confidence before the summer season gets underway.

“Espana will have the bit between his teeth to retain his title while Lamdassem’s form during the winter season has been massively consistent,” said Peter Riley, the meeting’s elite athletes manager.

“Lamdassem showed with his victory in the Edinburgh long course race that he is the man in form, indeed he followed up that win by taking the European Clubs cross country title, never one of the easiest races to win.

“If there is now a chink in Bekele’s armour, I know he and Espana have the experience to find it and of course they are far more experienced road runners than Kenenisa who has less than a handful under his belt.

“You also have to remember Lamdassem gave Bekele’s fellow Ethiopian, Haile Gebrselassie, a very tough race at the 2010 Bupa Great Manchester Run which is also over 10k. He lost by only seven seconds and there is no doubt he has improved massively since then.”

The appearance of Espana and Lamdassem adds to the recognition of the SPAR Great Ireland Run which this year has been upgraded to IAAF silver medal status.