Hawkins impresses with second-place finish at Great Edinburgh Cross Country race
BySportsbeat
Published 07/01/2017 at 21:50 GMT
Callum Hawkins continued to prove his credentials in British distance running after finishing a close second to Leonard Kiror at the Great Edinburgh International XCountry.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Hawkins, who made his Olympic Games debut in the marathon last year where he finished a credible ninth, led from the gun, pushing on the likes of teammate Sir Mo Farah.
Last year's winner Garrett Heath was on the shoulder of Hawkins for much of the race before fading but unfortunately for the Brit, Kiror was able to take on the challenge of beating Hawkins.
It came down to the closing metres with Kiror stepping past his rival to take the win leaving Hawkins to settle for second in front of his home fans.
"I thought I had it – I couldn't hear because of the crowd! I'm pleased with the way I ran, but obviously a bit disappointed to get beat, but I gave it my all," he said.
"I noticed there was a bit of a gap, but I slipped a bit on one of the last bends, I don't know if that would have made a difference though, he's [Kiror] a quality athlete.
"Over the last year or so I've just developed the thought of ‘just go out, if I die, I die, but just go for the win'; if it works then great things can happen, but if I fall short then I'm still way up there."
Farah meanwhile came home in seventh place with fellow Brit Andy Vernon 12th.
Farah said: "It was a hard day at the office. You've got to be honest with yourself – it wasn't what I wanted but it is where I am.
"The last bit of training hasn't gone as well as I would have wanted. But this is a team event and I wanted to come out here and represent my country and help the guys. I will go back and continue to work hard in training."
In the women's elite race, Charlotte Arter was the highest-finishing Brit in seventh while the British team, anchored by Laura Muir, won the mixed 4x1km relay Stewart Cup for the first time since its introduction in 2015.
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