OLYMPIC CHAMPION DITA STEPS IN FOR INJURED AUGUSTO AT THE BUPA 30TH GREAT NORTH RUN

Olympic marathon champion, Constantina Dita, has stepped in to replace Jessica Augusto, last year's winner, in the Bupa 30th Great North Run, on Sunday.

Dita, who was the oldest woman ever to win a Games marathon gold medal, in Beijing two years ago, accepted an opportunity to compete in the world's biggest half marathon after Portugal's Augusto withdrew through injury. Now the veteran 40-year-old who lives in Boulder, Colorado and a frequent competitor on the USA road running circuit this year, will join a very strong elite field in the Newcastle to South Shields event. Dita will face Germany's Irina Mikitenko, the two-time World Major Marathons (WMM) overall winner and British hope Mara Yamauchi, who finished sixth when Dita triumphed in Beijing but who has improved considerably since then. The trio will be joined by Ethiopia's former Bupa Great North Run title holder, Berhane Adere, who won the IAAF World Half Marathon gold medal in 2002, three years before Dita herself triumphed during a snowstorm in Edmonton, Canada. "Augusto is deeply disappointed at missing out on defending her title, it was the biggest ever victory of her career and she was determined to defend her crown," said Peter Riley, the event's elite athletes manager. "But she needs more time to recover full fitness particularly in a race of this standard and I'm sure we'll see her back in future years." Riley added: "Fortunately Dita agreed to fly over from the USA at pretty short notice and, of course, any Olympic champion will always be welcome at our event." The world's biggest half marathon, which has attracted 54,000 entries, will also see Hayley Yelling-Higham and her sister-in-law, Liz Yelling, in action over the 13.1 miles city-to-coast course. "Yamauchi of course will be favourite to be first Briton home but don't underestimate the Yellings," said Riley. "They're both very robust competitors." Ends For further information: nicola.hedley@nova-international.com 0191 2263231 Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. About Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com

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