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Lead Stories: Saturday, August 30, 2008

Dathan Ritzenhein Returns to Action to Defend Title at 2008 Healthy Kidney 10K

Posted April 29th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results

U.S Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein will return to the roads of Central Park to defend his title in the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, May 17, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

Ritzenhein will face stiff competition from an international field that includes ING New York City Marathon 2006 champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil and 2007 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships silver medalist Patrick Makau of Kenya.

Race sponsor Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has once again established a prize-money purse of $23,500—$7,500 for the champion—plus a $20,000 bonus for breaking the Central Park 10K record of 28 minutes, 8 seconds, which Ritzenhein set at last year’s race. Ritzenhein donated his 2007 first-place check of $7,500 to the National Kidney Foundation.

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NYC MARATHON 2007:
Elite Athlete Profile:
Marilson Gomes dos Santos

Posted November 4th, 2007 at 9:15 AM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Brazil’s Marilson Gomes dos Santos returns as the defending champion of the ING New York City Marathon, a race in which he defeated a stellar field.

A superstar in his sports-mad country, he won the prestigious São Silvestre Road Race (over three-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Cheruiyot) on New Year’s Eve 2006 and established new Brazilian records over 5000 and 10,000 meters in one three-day span in June of that year. Gomes finished 10th in the 2005 IAAF World Championships Marathon; most recently, he was sixth in a personal-best 2:08:37 at the 2007 London Marathon.
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Stefano Baldini Enters NYC Marathon; Set to Compete Against World’s Best

Posted October 11th, 2007 at 5:27 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy will add a touch of gold to an already sparkling men’s professional field at the ING New York City Marathon 2007 on Sunday, November 4, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg.

The announcement was made at a news conference in Milan, where Baldini appeared with the chairman of the New York Road Runners board of directors, George Hirsch.

“New York boasts a glittering honor roll of Italian champions, including Orlando Pizzolato, Gianni Poli, and Giacomo Leone, and we know Stefano doesn’t want his golden career to end without his name being added to that list,” Wittenberg said. “With him ride the hopes of a marathon-mad nation.”

Baldini will face off against a handful of former New York champions, including previously announced Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil (2006), Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa (2004), and Kenyans Martin Lel (2003) and Rodgers Rop (2002).
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New York Adds Firepower to Men’s Marathon Field

Posted September 12th, 2007 at 10:55 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil will have to overcome the challenges of four more marquee men if he wants to retain his title on Nov. 4. Race founders and organizers, New York Road Runners, have added significantly more firepower to their field with the announcement that Martin Lel, Rodgers Rop, Stephen Kiogora, and Abderrahim Goumri have been added to their field.

“What a stellar nucleus to our men’s field: four former champions and the reigning gold and silver medalists from New York and London,” said race director Mary Wittenberg, the president and CEO of New York Road Runners. “Each man is good enough to win here in 2007.”

Lel, who sits in second position in the 2006/2007 World Marathon Majors leaderboard with 40 points, already has an ING New York City Marathon title under his belt from 2003, and has won the Flora London Marathon twice, in 2005 and 2007. Injuries kept him out of New York the last two years, but his 2:07:41 clocking in London last April where he won in a thrilling sprint finish demonstrated that the 28 year-old Kenyan should be ready to challenge for another NYC title.
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Former champions Martin Lel and Rodgers Rop return to ING NYC Marathon

Posted September 11th, 2007 at 3:54 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Former ING New York City Marathon champions Martin Lel and Rodgers Rop, both of Kenya, will return to the scene of their biggest career victories at the 38th running of the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 4, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg.

Joining 2003 champion Lel and the 2002 winner Rop in the field will be last year’s New York silver medalist Stephen Kiogora of Kenya and Morocco’s Abderrahim Goumri, who was second at the Flora London Marathon in April.

This quartet joins a championships men’s field already headlined by the previously announced defending champion, Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, and 2004 champion Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa.

“What a stellar nucleus to our men’s field: four former champions and the reigning gold and silver medalists from New York and London,” said Wittenberg. “Each man is good enough to win here in 2007.”

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World Marathon Majors To Conclude Inaugural Series With Three Fall Races

Posted September 10th, 2007 at 12:30 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

With the conclusion of last week’s IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan, three races remain in the inaugural World Marathon Majors Series: the real,- Berlin Marathon on September 30; The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on October 7; and the ING New York City Marathon on November 4.

Jelena Prokopcuka, of Latvia, leads the women’s series with 55 points, followed by Gete Wami, of Ethiopia, and Zhou Chunxiu, of China, both of whom have 40 points. Chunxiu moved into a tie for second place in the standings with her runner-up performance at last Sunday’s marathon in Osaka.

Other top marathoners who can conceivably tie or win the 2006-2007 women’s series are Rita Jeptoo and Catherine Ndereba, both of Kenya, and both with 35 points, and Berhane Adere, of Ethiopia, with 30 points. With the conclusion of the IAAF World Track & Field Championships, the fall World Marathon Majors races are expected to begin announcing their professional athlete fields, and the head-to-head match-ups which may decide the Series winner.

Among the men, Robert Cheruiyot, of Kenya, has a seemingly insurmountable lead. Cheruiyot has won three races during the two year period, and he heads into the fall with 75 points (35 points ahead of his nearest threat). For Cheruiyot to be overtaken, one of the other marathoners among the top seven on the leaderboard likely would have to win two of the remaining fall marathons.
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