The Great Manchester Run is hailed the greatest show on earth

The Great Manchester Run is still racing ahead as Europe's biggest 10k event.

This year’s race attracted 35,000 runners, celebrities and athletes racing alongside charity runners and competitors from the local communities.

Manchester boxing champion Anthony Crolla was joined Corrie favourites Jack P Shepherd and Tina O’Brien on the route with former New Order front man Peter Hook, and soap star Denise Welch.

Three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele won the men’s race going over the finishing line in a time of 28-minutes and eight-seconds while fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba came in first for the women in thirty-one-minutes and 16-seconds.

Richard Goodman and Gemma Steel were the highest-placed British runners in sixth and eighth places respectively.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police praised the behaviour of visitors to Manchester during a weekend of sport in the city.

On Friday 20 May, the Great City Games saw a number of athletes compete in various events on a purpose-built athletics arena in Albert Square and track on Deansgate.

Saturday saw Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, with a number of fans watching the match in public venues throughout Greater Manchester.

The Great Manchester Run on Sunday was followed by England's 2-1 victory over Turkey at the Etihad Stadium in a UEFA Euro 2016 warm-up match.

The events saw tens of thousands of visitors to the city centre, creating a buzzing and carnival-like atmosphere.

Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare said: "This has been a fantastic weekend for Manchester and the atmosphere in the city has been superb from start to finish.

"It was great to see so many pictures of smiling faces and people having a good time and I hope everyone who has visited the city this weekend will be going away with some great memories.

"I would like to thank everyone who has played a key role in ensuring that the weekend has been successful."

PL

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