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Wanjiru Sets Olympic Marathon Record in Victory
Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics
Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru used a blistering early pace and a late race surge to shatter the Olympic Record in winning the final distance event of these Games. Wanjiru’s time of 2:06:32 broke the old record by an astounding 2:49 and is even more remarkable considering the sweltering conditions in which he performed. Wanjiru was joined on the podium by silver medalist Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2:07:16) and Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia (2:10:00). Despite his country’s dominance on the world marathon circuit, Wanjiru’s triumph was the first Olympic gold medal for Kenya.
The storylines prior to this race were focused mainly on the Kenyan contingent and their goal of ending their gold medal drought. Despite the withdrawal of four-time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot, the Kenyan squad of Wanjiru, multiple-time New York and London champ Martin Lel, and reigning World Champion Luke Kibet would prove formidable. The Kenyans were expected to face stiff competition from the Moroccan and Ethiopian teams as well as notable individual challengers such as American Ryan Hall. Perhaps the biggest challenge for every runner in the field would be the conditions, as a flat course would be offset by the heat and humidity typical of summer in Beijing.
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Craig Masback’s Final Osaka Blog Post: Positive energy and the success of Team USA
Posted September 5th, 2007 at 10:49 AM by Scott Bush
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Since creating his personal blog a few weeks, USA Track & Field (USATF) CEO Craig Masback has submitted regular entries addressing a wide range of topics, from responding to comments by media, to discussing the current state of the sport in realms where it has been traditionally overshadowed or overlooked.
On Tuesday, Masback submitted his latest blog entry; choosing to comment and reflect on Team USA’s effort in Osaka. The CEO has always been very successful in providing positive energy and shining the spotlight on and promoting the sport’s achievements. Masback has continued this practice on his blog and in the most recent entry writes:
“As I strolled from the subway to Nagai Stadium in Osaka for Sunday’s final day of competition at the World Track & Field Championships, my iPod shuffled to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, a good omen if ever there was one. Even prior to the final day, it had been a Championships to remember for Team USA, and the last day put an exclamation point on that performance. The superlatives have been well documented and were . . . . super!”
Who was America's most-valuable male runner in 2008?
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Hey Nick, First of all I want to tell you what an inspiration you are to me. I am an "old timer" (just...