by Our Sports Desk

Great Britain’s Gemma Steel came home second following a sprint finish at the Great Manchester Run yesterday morning.

The 28-year-old improved on her fourth-place result at last year’s event to finish Europe’s biggest 10km race with silver in 32 minutes and 10 seconds as she just held off Kenya’s Polline Wanjiku to the finish line.

The women’s elite race was won by world and Olympic 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia who came home over a minute before Steel and Wanjiku in 31min 09secs.

Steel, bronze medallist at the 2011 European Cross Country Championships, said: “That really lifted me, I was fighting for that silver and it’s good to see that I can sprint when I have to.

“It’s good to establish myself in these races again, I feel at home in them. To come back and finish behind Dibaba, who is the best in the world, you can’t complain about that.”

In the men’s event, the race victory went to another Ethiopian in 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, who crossed the line in 28:23.

Bekele held off the challenge of Kenya’s marathon world record holder Wilson Kipsang, who finished five seconds off the pace, while South African’s Stephen Mokoko came home third.

Former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville was among the 40,000 entrants and admitted he struggled midway through the run before he finished in 45:58.

The 37-year-old former England international took to Twitter after the race and said: “Set far too quick got carried away in occasion suffered 4-7jm mark then saw home!!

“I was actually looking for an ambulance at one point.”