PAVEY PULLS OUT OF BUPA GREAT SOUTH RUN THROUGH SICKNESS

Former champion Jo Pavey has withdrawn from the 21st Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday because of a bout of sickness.

Pavey, the 1996 champion, has not recovered from a recent attack of influenza and, although leaving it until the last possible moment, has accepted she is not in shape to chase the title she won four years ago. Her withdrawal will see recently crowned Commonwealth 1500m bronze medallist Stephanie Twell lead the British challenge against strong overseas opposition. The visitors include 2008 Olympic marathon champion Constantina Dita of Romania and Grace Momyani, the Kenyan winner of the Commonwealth Games 10000m gold medal in Delhi at the beginning of the month. Saif-Saeed Shaheen, a two-time World Championships 3000m steeplechase title holder, has been added to the men's field for the 10 miles race over a flat and fast course. The Kenyan born athlete, now representing Qatar, will face former countryman Joseph Ebuya, the reigning World cross country champion and Switzerland's Viktor Rothlin, who captured the European marathon gold medal in August. Ends Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great South Run is brought to you by 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 Bupa 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. 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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