Sonia O'Sullivan took revenge on Romania's Gabriela Szabo in the Balmoral Road races this afternoon after losing to her in a nail-biting finish for the Olympic 5000 metres gold medal in Sydney.
The Tesco Italiano five-mile race on Royal Deeside was merely a low key stepping-stone for all competitors in their build-up to the summer's track season and the European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
But it meant more to two of the world's greatest middle-distance runners.
O'Sullivan, winner by 27 seconds in 25 minutes 16 seconds, is resuming her career after giving birth to her second daughter, Sophie, on December 23.
For Szabo it was her first race since the World Championships. After winning the 1500m gold medal in Edmonton last August, she finished a weary eighth when attempting to defend her 5000m title.
Today Sazbo ran her first race since then and remarkably it was the first time the 26-year-old had contested a road event at any level.
Szabo was no match for O'Sullivan, who took the lead after the first mile and hammered not only the multi indoor world record holder but the rest of the field including third-placed Australian 5000m record holder Benita Johnson, who clocked 25mins 55secs.