New York City Marathon 2010 - International Women

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New York City Marathon 2010 - International Women's Field Bios
By Sharon Ekstrom

See Also: Women's Race Preview and Starters List Derartu Tulu | Ludmilla Petrova | Teyba Erkesso | Inga Abitova | Mara Yamauchi | Salina Kosgei | Tatyana Pushkareva | Mary Keitany | Shalane Flanagan | Madai Perez | Christelle Daunay | Werknesh Kidane | Katie McGregor | Salley Meyerhoff

Scott Winnier for MarathonGuide.com: Derartu Tulu (with Ludmilla Petrova) at 2009 NYC Marathon

Derartu Tulu
Age: 38
Country: Ethiopia
At 38, when many are winding down careers, four-time Olympian Derartu Tulu has made an extraordinary comeback. Tulu was considered a fearsome competitor on the track as even Paula Radcliffe told us. A small portion of her accolades include being a two-time Olympic gold medalist at 10,000 meters (1992 and 2000), 2001 London Marathon champion (2:23:57) and 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Champion. In 2006 and 2007, Tulu stepped away from competition to raise a family. Although she returned to racing in 2008, her performances were not at the top level. When she appeared on the roster of the 2009 New York City Marathon, she was considered a long shot after having been out of competition and training for two solid years. Tulu stunned the field and took a surprise victory in 2:28:52, as her old track rival - the reigning marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe - faded.

Tulu's career started at an early age with international competition at the junior level. In 1990, more than twenty years before her most recent trip to the New York City Marathon, Tulu won gold at the world junior championship 10,000m. She transitioned to the roads a decade later and has 20 half marathons to her credit - ten of which were run in under 68 minutes, including the Ethiopian national record in 67:03 at the 2001 Lisbon Half Marathon. Before the 2009 New York City Marathon, she ran several middling marathon performances and her other races left no indication of her conditioning, so her 2009 victory casme as a shock. So far in 2010, Tulu took runner-up at the Nagoya Women's Marathon, finishing in 2:28:13 and finished a less than stellar 10th at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon (73:03). What she has available for New York City is anyone's guess, but with a field with this much talent and many track-turned marathoner debuts, Tulu will have to work hard to defend her title.

MarathonGuide.com: Ludmilla at London Marathon

Ludmilla Petrova
Age: 42
Country: Russia
Ludmilla Petrova is a marathon specialist with well over twenty career marathons dating back to 1997. This Russian can boast top 10 finishes at most of those races and she will be returning to race the New York City Marathon for the ninth time. Petrova won the 2000 edition of the race in 2:25:45 and has not won a marathon since.

What is most remarkable about this master's runner with nearly two decades of racing experience is that at 42 she can still compete at high levels against runners almost half her age. Petrova ran her personal best finish at the 2006 London Marathon with a 2:21:29, stealing the Russian national record at that time from Svetlana Zakharova. In 2008, she placed fifth in London in a 2:26:45 - the fastest finish for a 39-year-old. Focusing solely on marathons in 2008 and 2009, Petrova was runner-up to Paula Radcliffe at the 2008 New York City Marathon in 2:25:43 - the fastest of all of her New York City Marathons and claiming for her the world record for fastest female masters world record title. At the 2009 edition of the New York City Marathon, she proved herself against a field including marathon world record holder Radcliffe, 2009 Boston Marathon champion Salina Kosgei and Ethiopian track star Derartu Tulu. The race came down to a fight to the finish between the two oldest in the field - Tulu and Petrova in the final miles of the race.

One of the fastest in the 2010 New York City Marathon field, she remains a top competitor in the distance sport that incorporates strategy, skill, and past experience and has proven that age is of no bearing in the marathon. Expect to see Petrova in the lead pack and after two consecutive second place finishes in New York she will not let a victory slip away easily.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Erkesso winning 2010 Houston Marathon

Teyba Erkesso
Age: 28
Country: Ethiopia Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso will be racing her first New York City Marathon in an attempt to win her third marathon in a row. Her first attempt at the distance was at the dangerously hot 2007 Chicago Marathon which ended in a DNF. For a decade, Erkesso was primarily a competitor in cross country and the half marathon, but she quickly excelled in the marathon distance gaining victories at the 2008 Houston Marathon and 2009 Houston Marathon (2:24:18course record) and following up with a victory at the 2010 Boston Marathon in 2:26:11. She also returned to Chicago where she ran 4th place at the 2009 edition of the race (2:26:56), her slowest marathon finish to date.

Having proven her talents in a deep field of former champions at the 2010 Boston Marathon, Erkesso heads into the New York City Marathon as one of the favorites in the field. Yet, she won't be unrivalled as she will be met by Tatyana Pushkareva who nearly ran her down at the 2010 Boston Marathon as well as Salina Kosgei (3rd place in Boston) who will have Erkesso in their sights.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Inga Abitova at 2010 London Marathon

Inga Abitova
Age: 28
Country: Russia
Inga Abitova started her career on the track in the 3,000m before turning to the 10,000m and Marathon in 2004 and 2005 at age 23. She won the 2005 Belgrade Marathon in 2:38:20, and was a runner-up finish in 2:33:55 at Mumbai Marathon. She won the European Championships 10,000m in 2006 and was the 2007 Russian National Champion in the 10,000m. Abitova was sixth at the Olympics 10,000m (behind Flanagan who finished third) and took the Silver medal at the 2010 European Championships

Beginning in 2009, Abitova began to see breakthroughs in the marathon, improving her time to 2:25:55 at the 2009 London Marathon (6th place) and then finishing as runner-up at the 2010 London Marathon in 2:22:19 behind her compatriot Liliya Shobukhova. New York may be Abitova's race to win and a changing of the guard as the young Russian marathoners step up their performances.

> Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Yamauchi at 2010 NYC Half Marathon

Mara Yamauchi
Age: 37
Country: United Kingdom Japanese-based Brit, Mara Yamauchi has remained off-the-radar for sometime due in part to having little racing exposure in North America and having been overshadowed by fellow countrywoman and marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe. But at 37, Yamauchi's marathon career is starting to take off. It's surprising to learn that she almost threw in the towel in 2004 after her debut at the marathon distance. Yamauchi, an amateur athlete and Oxford graduate with a full-time job overseas in Japan, hoped to make the 2004 British Olympic team but after rigorous training finished 17th at her debut at the 2004 London Marathon (2:39:16).

Disappointed, many encouraged her to keep at it and she returned to London the following year to knock more than eight minutes off her time and finishing 10th in 2:31:52. Soon after, she further improved her time with a fifth place finish at the 2005 Tokyo Women's Marathon in 2:27:28. Her improvements continued with two sixth place finishes in London in 2006 (2:25:13) and 2007 (2:25:41). Then, having ensured consist and fast times, she realized her first marathon victory at the Osaka Marathon in 2:25:10, then finished in 6th place at the Beijing Olympic Marathon (2:27:29) and third place at the Tokyo Marathon (2:25:03).

Following two victories at the 2009 Matsue Half-Marathon and 2009 Marugame Half-Marathon, Yamauchi returned to the 2009 London Marathon and was runner-up in a personal best of 2:23:12. Later that year a foot injury prevented her from competing in the World Championships in Berlin - a momentary setback for Yamauchi.

For 2010, wins of a 30K race in Oume and the highly competitive New York City Half-Marathon (69:25) where she beat Deena Kastor (USA) by 18 seconds have been highlights. But Yamauchi suffered disappointment 2010 London Marathon. Her fitness levels predicted a personal best (sub-2:23), but she ran a 2:26:16. In September she ran to an unremarkable fifth place finish (70:39) at the Great North Run; but her main focus has been on the New York City Marathon which she will be racing for the first time.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Salina Kosgei at 2010 Boston Marathon

Salina Kosgei
Age: 33
Country: Kenya
Salina Kosgei, the 2009 champion of the Boston Marathon, will return to New York to rematch Derartu Tulu, Ludmilla Petrova and Christelle Daunay. While expectations were high for a top performance for the Kenyan at the 2009 New York City Marathon, Kosgei took a tumble at mile 4 and developed an injury causing her to fade at mile 19 recovering only to finish in 5th place (2:31:53). The hamstring injury forced Kosgei to take time off after the New York City Marathon and affected her 2010 Boston Marathon performance as well. Although she could not defend her title, she outsprinted Waynishet Girma by one second to finish third (2:28:35).

Kosgei has a history of top finishes from other major marathons to her name including victories at the 2004 Paris Marathon, 2005 Prague Marathon, 2006 Singapore Marathon and top 5 performances at London (2007-4th place, 2008-4th place), Berlin (2006-2nd place), Tokyo (2008-2nd place), New York City (2005-4th place, 2009-5th place). While Kosgei is not the fastest woman in the field; she can hang with the leaders until she unleashes her strong finishing kick, which will make her deadly competition, especially if the field goes out slow from the start. The best example of her kick was at the 2009 Boston Marathon, with an epic sprint finish showdown between Kosgei and Dire Tune, at which she edged out the 2008 defending champion by a margin of less than a second to take the victory.

Kosgei ran the Maratona del Piceno one month after the 2010 Boston (2:46:14) and has not raced over 10 miles since. Her fitness levels will determine whether she will be a top competitor at the 2010 New York City Marathon.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Tatyana Pushkareva at 2010 Boston Marathon

Tatyana Pushkareva
Age: 25
Country: Russia
At 25, Tatyana Pushkareva of Russia has just entered the next level of competitive marathoning. Pushkareva's achievements include a third place finish at the Russian 10,000m championships (34:11), victories at the 2009 Country Music Marathon (2:36:44) and 2009 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon (2:30:30) and a ran to second place at 2009 Baltimore Marathon (2:35:45) which was one month before she winning in San Antonio!

As part of a younger wave of Russian women running faster times, Pushkareva had major improvements in 2010 at the Boston Marathon where she most notably ran strong to finish in second place in 2:26:14, recovering from a 1:20 deficit at mile 18 to nearly catch a fading Erkesso who maintained the win by only 3 secons. This was Pushkareva's first time competing against such a strong field. While she dropped out of the European Championships in Barcelona earlier this summer, Pushkareva remains on the roster for New York. One of the youngest in the field she will rematch some rivals from the 2010 Boston race, namely Teyba Erkesso and Salina Kosgei.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Mary Keitany at 2010 Berlin 25K Championships

Mary Keitany
Age: 28
Country: Kenya
Mary Keitany of Kenya is best known as a medalist at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2007 and 2009 where she won silver and gold respectively. With twenty nine half marathons to her name and a two year streak of victories in the distance, Keitany has run more sub-67:00 half marathons than anyone. She also gained the African record with her 66:36 finish at the 2009 Great Birmingham race last autumn.

But the Kenyan has still yet to excel in the marathon distance. She has tackled the 26.2 mile distance about fifteen times but her best remains 2:29:45 at the 2005 Frankfurt Marathon where she came in fourth and her finishes have averaged 2:30. But 2010 could be the year that she surprises everyone especially with the field wide open. After being runner up at Worlds Best 10K, Keitany has had a string of victories at the London 10K, the Berlin 25K and Lisbon Half Marathon. If anything, Keitany could help the women reach a fast half marathon split. Or the group can spur her on, pushing her talents in the distance to new limits.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Flanagan at 2010 Houston Half Marathon

Shalane Flanagan
Age: 29
Country: USA Shalane Flanagan's foray into distance road racing holds much promise. This two-time Olympian (2004 & 2008), Flanagan brought a bronze medal home for the USA in 2008, battling it out against a strong African and Russian field in the 10,000m at the Beijing Olympics. (Interestingly, Flanagan will be meeting experienced marathoner Inga Abitova who finished 6th in Beijing in the New York City Marathon field.) Flanagan is also the American record holder in the 3,000m and 10,000m and the reigning USA cross country champion. In 2010, she debuted in the half marathon distance at the USA Half Marathon Championships held in Houston, Texas, winning the event in 69:41. In September, she bettered her time at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon with a 68:37 4th place finish, just behind Worknesh Kidane. Slightly disappointed by her performance despite setting a personal best, Flanagan cited the warm conditions and the highly competitive field to be factors in her performance. She felt that she gave it her best and would tweak her training and return focus to the marathon.

At 29, Flanagan, the progeny of Cheryl Treworgy (Cheryl Bridges), a former marathon world record holder and five-time World Cross Country athlete, and Steve Flanagan, 2:18 marathoner and World Cross Country Championships runner, Flanagan is making the transition to the marathon at the 2010 New York City Marathon in a much anticipated debut. If her performances in the half marathon distance are indicative of her marathon potential, Flanagan will win the USA Marathon Championships in her debut and possibly the marathon itself.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Perez at 2010 Boston Marathon

Madai Perez
Age: 30
Country: Mexico

Mexican national record holder Madai Perez, returns to the New York City Marathon for the first time since 2004. Perez has been getting back to form after taking one and a half years off to have a baby. Her first road race back to test her fitness was the 2010 New York City Half Marathon where she ran to a third place finish in 69:45, a personal best time. Confidently, she returned to the 2010 Boston Marathon field; but was not met with good results. She ran a 2:36:04, a disappointing 14th place finish.

Coached by past New York City Marathon champion German Silva, Perez finished third at the 2007 Boston Marathon in 2:30:16 in challenging weather conditions. Although Perez has yet to win a marathon, her other achievements include a second place finish at the 2004 Rotterdam Marathon (2:27:08) and a fourth place place at the 2006 Chicago Marathon (2:22:59 PR, Mexican national record). Perez will be looking to better her time in New York where she finished in 2:29:57 (9th place) in 2004. If training is going well and her fitness is back, expect to see Perez in with the leaders.

Martin Hak for MarathonGuide.com: Christelle Daunay at the 2010 ING New York City Marathon Pre-Race Press Conference

Christelle Daunay
Age: 35
Country: France

Olympian and French National Marathon Record Holder Christelle Daunay returns to the 2010 New York City Marathon elite field after a third place finish in the prior year's event. Her marathons prior to 2009 did not portend greatness: finishes of 2:28:54 at the 2007 Paris Marathon (3rd place), 2:28:24 at the 2008 Osaka Marathon (10th place) and 2:31:48 at the 2008 Olympic Games Marathon (20th place), but in 2009, Daunay saw a breakthrough and set a personal record of 2:25:43 at the Paris Marathon proving that the hard marathon training was beginning to pay off.

Daunay's racing season incorporates a mix of track races from 1500m to 10,000m, cross country and half and full marathons - she works on it all. Of note in 2010, at the Paris Marathon she shattered her previous French National marathon record by over 1 minute finishing in 2:24:22 (2nd place). Also in 2010, Daunay ran a personal best half marathon in Reims, France finishing in 68:34, her first sub-70:00 finish.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Kidane at 2010 NYC Half Marathon

Worknesh Kidane - WITHDRAWN
Age: 29
Country: Ethiopia
Worknesh Kidane of Ethiopia has already had an illustrious running career from track to cross country to the roads spanning over a decade. Similar to her husband Gebre Gebremariam, who also will debut in the 26.2 mile distance at the 2010 New York City Marathon, Kidane began in junior level competions in the 3,000, 5,000m and 10,000m; as well as in cross country. Her accolades include five medals at the World Cross Country Championships, silver medal from the 2003 World Championships 10,000m, a 4th place from the 2004 Athens Olympic 10,000m and top 3 finishes at a number of road races ranging from 5K to the Half Marathon.

A jack of all trades and a master of none, Kidane who had taken time off from racing in 2006, 2007 and much of 2008 has been on the road racing circuit for 2010. Along with some cross-country races, she has four top 4 finishes on the roads. She won the Great Manchester 10K (31:19), finished third at the NYRR Women's Mini 10K (personal best 31:18), finished third at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon (68:31) and 4th at the London 5K (15:35). There may not be rhyme or reason behind her training or racing schedule, but Kidane is talented yet off-the-radar enough to give a surprise performance in her marathon debut, just as her husband is expected to. Although a longshot, it would be a great story to see the husband/wife duo as champions of New York.

Coverage Homepage

Post Race: Men's Race | Women's Race | Complete Searchable Results

Race Day: As It Happens - Live Coverage

Pre-Race:
Men: Men's Preview & Starter List | Men's Athlete Bios
Women: Women's Preview & Starter List | USA Championships Preview | Women's Athlete Bios
Head-to-Heads: Elite Athlete Past Matchups
Extras: Pace Calculator/Pace Guide | Videos (Athletes/Archival/More...)
Additional Interviews: The Chilean Miner! | Haile Gebrselassie & Paul Tergat
More News: Press Releases | News
Featured Book/Movie: Run For Your Life | A Race Like No Other