The finish to the men's race was closer than the women's, with steeplechase specialist Weidlinger pulling away in the last 200m to beat Sergiy Lebid and Mustafa Mohamed.

Weidlinger, 30, who holds Austrian records at three distances, held off seven-time cross country champion Lebid by just a second in a frantic finish.

Pavey's performance was all the more impressive considering she had been troubled by a hamstring injury to such an extent that she considered withdrawing from the race.

The Exeter Harrier was sidelined for over six months last year with a similar problem and said: "It re-emerged during some heavy training in Potchefstroom last month but in the other side of my leg.

"I was a little bit worried in midweek about putting more pressure by running on it here.

"However, I tried a couple of 10km runs in training before coming to Manchester and, after treatment, I felt that it was important go for it and win again here.

"For me, that was important and, of course, races over the distance I will compete over at the Olympics are always very beneficial."

Pavey, who confirmed she would compete at the Bislett Games in Oslo next month, added: "It was very windy out there and I felt a bit of a niggle in the leg when the race got under way.

"But it quickly warmed up and I'm really pleased that I did run and manage to get away from Rose.

"The win and the fact I'm not feeling any after effects has given me lots of confidence and I'm now looking forward to continuing my preparations for Beijing."