After both winning the Big Half races in London, we were delighted that Get Kids Going! president David Weir and supported athlete Eden Rainbow-Cooper won The Great North Run. Earlier in the week it looked as if the event may not take place due to the sad passing of HM The Queen. However, the traditional route from Newcastle to South Shields payed a fitting tribute to her majesty, with £25 million being raised for charities.
In a very close finish and David Weir’s time was 42:59 two seconds ahead of Daniel Sidbury who came second at 43:01, with Nathan Maguire coming third in 46:40.
It was fantastic seeing both Eden and David interviewed on the BBC after the race and David Weir was proud to say how their achievements really spur on the young athletes at his Weir Archer Academy.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper crossed the line in 51:27, just seven hundredth’s of a second ahead of Scotland’s Sammy Kinghorn. Get Kids Going Ambassador, former supported athlete and last year’s winner, Shelly Woods came third in 54:50.
Eden said “So great to be back on the podium with David Weir again this year at The Great North Run. I completely exceeded my own expectations and finished with a new personal best of 51:27, a time I didn’t think was possible yet.”
She continued “It was also so amazing to have such a strong and large field of women, this was the largest race for both the male and female racers this year in England and I am proud to have been a part of it. I hope next time we can get the coverage that we deserve! Racing is a growing sport and I am certain that once it is put out there more the public will fall in love with it just as we all did!”
You can see from the video below just how tight a race it was!
We look forward to seeing David and Eden in more events in the coming season and wish them the best of luck for the London Marathon. Once again a huge congratulations to David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper for winning the Great North Run 2022.