TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Lead Stories: Thursday, January 8, 2009

Gold Medalist Dita Leads Chicago Field

Posted September 11th, 2008 at 10:45 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Organizers of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon will have the sparkle of gold at their race on Sunday, October 12, when Romania’s Constantina Dita steps to the starting line. The newly crowned Olympic Games gold medalist will have just 56 days to recover from her breakaway win in Beijing, then rally back to perform at her best in Chicago. It will be her fifth appearance in the Windy City, a race she won in 2004 and finished second one year later in a personal best 2:21:30.

“I am delighted to be returning to Chicago,” said Dita through a press release. “I have always felt great running there and have been fortunate to have some of the best races of my life there. It will also be nice to return because I understand Chicago is bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games and I think it would be a wonderful place to have them.”

In Beijing Dita pulled away from the field just before the halfway point, and romped to a solo victory in 2:26:44, 22 seconds ahead of silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya. She became the oldest Olympic Games marathon champion at 38.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comment on this post | Permalink