|
Sep-13-2005
CHICAGO MARATHON ANNOUNCES WOMEN'S FIELD
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
Organizers of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon announced yesterday that
Masako Chiba of Japan, Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo., and Constantina
Tomescu-Dita of Romania are set to challenge U.S. record holder Deena Kastor
when their race steps off on Sunday, October 9.
"All eyes will obviously be on Deena Kastor in this year's LaSalle Bank
Chicago Marathon, but she will have some very strong competition," said
Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski in a press release. "Deena,
Constantina, Masako and Colleen are world-class competitors and have the
same goals to run fast. All four complement each other and in Chicago
competition has traditionally produced great performances."
Chiba, 29, has two world championships bronze medals in the 10,000m (1997)
and the marathon (2003). She's coming off of a 2:25:46 course record at the
Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo on August 28. She has a personal best time of
2:21:45 set in Osaka in 2003.
De Reuck, 41, is one of the most decorated athletes in distance running
history. Born in South Africa, she is a long-time resident of Boulder,
Colo., and became a U.S. citizen in December, 2000. She was the unexpected
winner of the U.S. Olympic Trials Women's Marathon in 2004 making the fifth
Olympic team of her career, and her first for the United States. She has
her eyes set on breaking Priscilla Welch's world masters record of 2:26:51
set in London in 1987.
Tomescu-Dita, 35, is the defending Chicago champion and just won a bronze
medal at the IAAF World Championships marathon in Helsinki. She was also
the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships bronze medalist from 2004 and has
a marathon personal best time of 2:22:50.
A U.S. woman has not won the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon since Kristy
Johnson in 1994. Kastor has said repeatedly that one of her remaining
goals, after winning an Olympic bronze medal in Athens last summer, was to
win a major marathon in the United States. She also wants to improve on her
U.S. record (2:21:16).
"I'm training for a sub-2:20 goal," Kastor commented in a prepared
statement. "That's my specific goal this year and I couldn't think of a
more fitting race to accomplish this because The LaSalle Bank Chicago
Marathon is one of the top races in the world."
|
