Adola crossed the line in Germany in 2 hours 5min 45sec, vanquishing threats from Bethwel Yegon of Kenya and Bekele.

The front pack were under the world-record time for the first half of the race, with a group of four reaching the half-marathon distance in 1:00:48.

Tesfaye Lencho of Ethiopia and Kenyans Abraham Kipyatich and Philemon Kacheran were part of that leading four with Adola, but all fell by the wayside. 

It was the fastest half-marathon split ever recorded during a marathon.

Bekele was 12 seconds down at that stage and Yegon more than a minute further back.

Kipyatich and Lencho both pulled out, while Kacheran finished in sixth.

Eliud Kipchoge's world record of 2:01:39 looked less under threat with 10 kilometres to go, as all athletes had fallen off the pace of the Kenyan Olympic champion's previous best.

Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion on the track, was unable to replicate his time from two years ago where he threatened Kipchoge's world record.

Bekele missed it by two seconds in 2019, but was more than five minutes adrift this time, finishing in 2:06:47 for third, behind Yegon in 2:06:14.

Tadu Abate of Ethiopia was fourth and Cosmas Muteti of Kenya was fifth.

In the women's race, Gebreslase celebrated her debut over the distance with a win in a time of 2:20:09, moving away from compatriot Hiwot Gebrekidan in the latter stages.

Both were clear in front of the rest of the field and at one point looked good to threaten the course record of 2:18:11, but slowed in the second half.

Gebrekidan was second in 2:21:23 and another Ethiopian, Helen Tola, third in 2:23:05.

Edith Chelimo of Kenya and Ethiopian Shure Demise were fourth and fifth.

In the men's wheelchair race, Switzerland's Marcel Hug - winner of four medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics - won by a fair distance to Daniel Romanchuk in a time of 1:24:03 to the American's 1:24:47.

Canada's Brent Lakatos held off Johnboy Smith of Britain by one second for third place in 1:29:54.

Hug's compatriot Manuela Schär claimed the victory in the women's wheelchair race in 1:37:31, more than a minute in front of the United States' Tatyana McFadden, who clocked 1:38:54.

Third went to Brazil's Aline Rocha in 1:41:39.

Belgium's Jonas van de Steene won the men's handbike race in 1:01:40, beating Germany's Vico Merklein and Joseph Fritsch of France.

In the women's race, Germany occupied all three spots on the podium, with Yvonne Pijahn beating compatriots Katrin Möller and Annett Zenker-Urban by three seconds in a winning time of 1:22:03.