The race had been billed as a clash between the 'Queen' and 'Emperor' of long-distance running over a 21 kilometre (13.1 mile) course in the Austrian capital.

Radcliffe had started the race seven minutes and 52 seconds before the Ethiopian great - the difference between their respective personal bests for the half-marathon distance - as organisers tried to manufacture a tight finish between the two athletes.

However, despite starting well, Radcliffe tied up badly towards the end of the event and Gebrselassie caught and overtook her with relative ease around the 15-kilometre mark (9.5 miles) on his way to posting a time of one hour and 52 seconds.

Radcliffe eventually finished in one hour, 12 minutes and three seconds - the first time in her career that she failed to break the 70-minute mark for the distance.

The performance casts real question marks over the 38-year-old's ability to compete at world level ahead of this summer's Olympic Games in London.

"It was not good at all for me," stated Radcliffe, who recently suffered from bronchitis. "I felt not well from the sixth, seventh kilometer on, but the atmosphere was great so I definitely wanted to finish the race."

In the regular marathon, Henry Sugut of Kenya set a course record to win in a time of in two hours, six minutes and 58 seconds - his second victory in Vienna after also winning in 2010.

Fate Tola of Ethiopia won the women's race for a second straight year, finishing in two hours, 26 minutes and 39 seconds.