WILSON Kipsang produced one of the greatest sprint finishes in the history of the Bupa Great North Run to overhaul compatriot Micah Kogo on the seafront at South Shields .

After a thrilling battle that had raged for more than 13 miles, Kipsang trailed as the leading duo entered the final 50 metres of the race.

But displaying a strength of character that also enabled him to claim victory in this year's London Marathon, the Kenyan burst clear with the finishing line in sight to triumph by a second.

“It's the first time I've been involved in a finish like that,” said Kipsang, who claimed a bronze medal in the Olympic marathon last month. “When he (Kogo) went past me in the final kilometre, I was worried he might open up a big gap. When I saw it was just a small gap, I always knew I could win.

“I increased the pace and little bit, and thankfully it worked. I knew I had a good finishing sprint, and because the gap between us was not that big, I knew the chances (of winning) were high.”

Kipsang's winning time of 59:06 was the third fastest in Great North Run history and was too good for the highly-fancied Ethiopian Imane Merga, who could only finish third as he made his half-marathon debut.

The fourth-placed finisher was Kenya's Mike Kigen, who had led the race through the opening five kilometres. Crossing from Newcastle to Gateshead, it somehow seemed appropriate that the race was being headed by a competitor with a name pronounced “Keegan”.

His lead was not to last, and by the finish he had almost been overhauled by Chris Thompson, who eventually finished as the leading Briton in sixth position.

Thompson finished a disappointing 25th in the Olympic 10,000m final, but the Cumbrian had been nursing a serious back injury in the build up to the Games and yesterday's performance underlined his road-running potential for the future.

His time of 1:01:00 elevated him to third on the all-time British half-marathon list, and like so many of yesterday's elite runners, he intends to step up to the full marathon distance in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

“If you put the two halves of that run together, I've effectively run two 10kms both of which were faster than my time for the 10,000m on the track at London,” said Thompson. “I guess it's just about timing. The timing of my injury really affected me – if it had been six weeks earlier then maybe it wouldn't have affected my performance at the Olympics so much.”

Canada's Josh Cassidy will be targeting a Paralympic medal in four years time after successfully defending his men's wheelchair title yesterday.

Cassidy, who also claimed victory on Tyneside in 2008 and 2011, forged a healthy lead in the opening mile and was never troubled as he finished six minutes clear of a strong field that featured Paralympic 100m champion Mickey Bushell, who finished sixth.

“This is a really good course for me,” said Cassidy. “I enjoy it and always love coming back to Newcastle. It's becoming like a second home and a tradition for me here.”

Britain's Jane Egan won the elite women's wheelchair race in a time of 1:15:00, leading home a domestic clean sweep that also featured Liz McTerran, who was second, and Kirsty Grange, who finished third.