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Lead Stories: Wednesday, December 3, 2008

2008 Track & Field
Previews & Predictions:
Women’s Middle-Distance

Posted January 25th, 2008 at 5:25 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Maria Mutola recently announced that she will retire at the end of the 2008 season. That’s a shame because she has been the ambassador of women’s 800m running ever since she broke on the world-class middle-distance running scene in 1991 with a time of 1:57.63. Since then she’s run between 1:55.19 and 1:58.98 a staggering 108 times. The only other woman to come even close to running that many world-class times in the 800m has been the great Cuban runner Ana Quirot, who ran between 1:54.44 and 1:58.95 a total of 72 times between 1986 and 1997. The 800m event will truly be diminished when Mutola retires.
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Kastor, Slattery to face-off at U.S.A. XC Championships

Posted January 25th, 2007 at 2:03 PM by Lisa Cieplechowicz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country

It’s showdown time! Top runners Sara Slattery and Deena Kastor are set to face-off on February 10th at the U.S.A. Cross Country Championships in Boulder, CO.

Kastor vs. Slattery is sure to add even more excitement to the myriad of other, intensely competitive battles at this year’s XC Champs.

Can’t make it to Boulder, but want to stay on top of the action? No problem! The Final Sprint will be there; reporting LIVE from the race course at the Flatirons Gold Course!

Slattery and Kastor both have a history of strong performances and this race may come down to the wire if they both come out in top form. Last year, Slattery won the highly competitive Bolder Boulder 10K, finished second in the U.S. 10,000 meter track championships and ran a personal best 5,000 meters (00:15:08) in Paris.

Deena Kastor, an 8-time NCAA All-American, won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and more recently, the 2006 Flora London Marathon. Kastor is also a three-time Bolder champion.

However, there is no guarantee that the championship will go to either Kastor or Slattery. They will also have to fend off challenges from a very talented field of runners that includes Shayne Culpepper, Carrie Messner, and Elva Dryer.
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