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Contact: Jack Fleming
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Marc Chalufour
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USA Women's Marathon Championship Guarantees Deep American Field
for 2007 Boston Marathon
2006 Seventh-Place Finisher Peter Gilmore Headlines U.S. Men's Field
BOSTON, MA- Five U.S. men placed in the top 10 in the 2006 Boston Marathon,
the strongest American showing in years. That momentum is carrying into the
2007 Boston Marathon on April 16. For the first time in Boston history the
race has been designated as the USA Women's Marathon Championship,
guaranteeing a deep field of American women. Peter Gilmore returns in the
men's field, looking to improve again after placing 10th in 2005 and
seventh in 2006.
Entrants in the USA Women's Marathon Championship will start in the Elite
Women's Start at 9:35 a.m., 25 minutes before the elite men begin. The
women will be competing for overall Boston Marathon prize money, as well as
a separate U.S.-only prize purse of $70,000. USATF will also award $10,500
of championship funds to the top five qualified athletes in the race. At
least two women from the field will be selected to represent the United
States at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, on September 2.
"Last year the men showed us that U.S. distance running is on the rise,
with five top-10 finishes. This year, the U.S. women are poised to do the
same," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic
Association. "This year's race, which includes the 2007 USA Women's
Marathon Championship, launches 12 months of focus on our country's top
women, culminating with the selection of the 2008 Olympic Team at the U.S.
Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon on April 20, 2008, the day before the
112th Boston Marathon."
Headlining the USA Women's Marathon Championship field will be Deena
Kastor, who was announced as an entrant by the Boston Marathon's principal
sponsor, John Hancock Financial Services, in January. Kastor was the
world's number-one ranked marathoner in 2006, setting an American Record of
2:19:36 in winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon. Kastor has been dominant
so far in 2007 as well, capturing the U.S. cross country title in dominant
fashion on February 10. Yesterday, she led the U.S. to a second-place
finish at the Yokohama International Ekiden in Japan, clocking the
second-fastest 10K split (31:09) in the field. Kastor will continue to
prepare for Boston by competing in the Gate River Run, the U.S. 15K
championship, on March 10. Kastor has captured 18 U.S. national titles in
her career, including the 2001 marathon championship.
The Boston field will also include another past U.S. marathon champion:
Sara Wells, who won that distinction in 2003. Additionally, five of the top
seven finishers from the 2006 USA Championship will compete in Boston: Mary
Akor (second place), Zoila Gomez (third), Turena Johnson Lane (fifth),
Jenny Crain (sixth), and Emily LeVan (seventh). LeVan also holds the
distinction of being the top American finisher in the past two Boston
Marathons, having placed 12th in 2005 and 13th in 2006.
Of the top 31 entrants in the 2007 field, 22 have already qualified for the
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon, while the remainder of the
field will be chasing either the "A" (2:39:00) or "B" (2:47:00) qualifying
standards.
The top entrant in the American men's field will be Peter Gilmore,
returning for his third consecutive Boston Marathon. In 2005, Gilmore
placed 10th in 2:17:32. In 2006, Gilmore improved to seventh with a
personal best time of 2:12:45. Gilmore then placed 10th, in 2:13:13, at the
2006 ING New York City Marathon. He was ranked as the fourth best U.S.
marathoner of 2006, according to Running Times. Also confirmed for 2007 are
Jason Lehmkuhle and Chris Lundstrom, both members of Team USA Minnesota, a
Twin Cities-based training group that also includes Sara Wells. Lehmkuhle
placed ninth in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Men's Marathon in a
personal best time of 2:16:27, while Lundstrom boasts a 2:17:34 personal
best. All three men have already posted qualifying times for the U.S.
Olympic Team Trials-Men's Marathon, to be run in New York City on November
3, 2007.
2007 USA Women's Marathon Championship Top Contenders:
Athlete PR OT Qualifier* Affiliation
Deena Kastor(CA) 2:19:36('06) 2:19:26 Team Running USA;
ASICS
Heather Hanscom(OR) 2:31:53('04) n/a Team Eugene
Sara Wells(MN) 2:33:15('04) n/a Team USA Minnesota;
ASICS
Sylvia Mosqueda(CA) 2:33:47 ('02) n/a
Mary Akor(CA) 2:33:50 ('06) 2:33:50
Turena Johnson Lane(FL) 2:34:43 ('05) 2:36:15 Brooks
Zoila Gomez(CO) 2:35:26 ('06) 2:35:26
Emily LeVan(ME) 2:37:01 ('06) 2:37:01 Boston Athletic
Association
Tamara Lave(CA) 2:37:32 ('02) n/a Mizuno
Jenny Crain(WI) 2:39:07 ('06) 2:39:07 Wisconsin Runner
Racing Team
Melissa White(MI) 2:39:21 ('06) 2:39:21 Hansons-Brooks
Distance Proj.
Michelle Simonaitis(UT) 2:40:35 ('01) n/a
Zika Rea(NC) 2:41:06 ('05) 2:41:06 ZAP Fitness
Veena Reddy(PA) 2:41:29 ('06) 2:41:29
Christine Lundy(CA) 2:41:55 ('04) 2:43:14 Impala Racing Team
Janelle Kraus(RI) 2:42:44 ('06) 2:42:44 Boston Athletic
Association
Anne Kugler(NY) 2:43:16 ('05) n/a
Dot McMahan(MI) 2:43:27 ('06) 2:43:27 Hansons-Brooks
Distance Proj.
Alvina Begay(AZ) 2:43:30 ('06) 2:43:30
Kasie Enman(VT) 2:44:06 ('06) 2:44:06 Boston Athletic
Association
Kristin Price(NC) 2:44:09 ('06) 2:44:09 adidas Raleigh Track
Club
Caryn Heffernan(WA) 2:44:18 ('06) 2:44:18 Club Northwest
Sopagna Eap(OR) 2:44:29 ('06) 2:44:29 Team Eugene
Melissa Rittenhouse(OH) 2:44:39 ('04) 2:45:14 Saucony
Yolanda Flamino(MI) 2:45:19 ('06) 2:45:19 Hansons-Brooks
Distance Proj.
Brianna Torres(AZ) 2:45:57 ('06) 2:45:57
Brett Ely(MA) 2:46:12 ('06) 2:46:12 Boston Athletic
Association
Lauren Knowles(GA) 2:46:31 ('06) 2:46:31 Atlanta Track Club
Ann Alyanak(OH) 2:48:04 ('05) n/a
Trisha Steidl(WA) 2:48:17 ('04) n/a
Desiree Davilla(MI) Debut n/a Hansons-Brooks
Distance Proj.
*Qualifying times for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon
must have been run on October 2, 2005, or on or after January 1, 2006.
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