Eritrea's Merhawi Kesete wins Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon 2015

By IAAF

Merhawi Kesete, of Eritrea, sprang a surprise to win the men's title, beating better known rivals with a winning time of 1:00:58, 20 seconds outside the course record.

Kenyan pair Barselius Kipyego and Eliah Tirop were second and third in 1:00:59 and 1:01:12 respectively.

With just over two kilometres remaining, the trio who eventually filled the podium positions were bunched together, Kesete taking his turn to push the pace with Kipyego, while Tirop was a stride behind.

At one kilometre remaining, Tirop had drifted slightly away from the leading pair. Having taken third in the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10km the week before, Kipyego might have been expected to have the required finishing speed but, instead, it was Kesete who produced a final surge for a narrow win.

Men’s race favourite Daniel Chebii, unlike Jepchirchir, could reproduce his form over the shorter distance from a week ago in the Czech capital and despite being well placed at 10km, fell away and finished eighth in 1:03:27.

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