FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reigning Berlin Champion Gete Wami and 2007 Boston Winner Lidiya Grigoryeva
to Run ING New York City Marathon
Two-time champion and crowd favorite Tegla Loroupe also in the race
2007 Boston Marathon wheelchair champion Wakako Tsuchida to make New York
racing debut; defending silver medalist Shelly Woods to return
New York, September 18, 2007—A trio of champions was added to the ING New
York City Marathon 2007 women's race today, with the reigning real,-
Berlin-Marathon champion Gete Wami of Ethiopia, 2007 Boston Marathon winner
Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia, and two-time New York champion Tegla Loroupe
of Kenya (1994, 1995) joining the field for the November 4 race, it was
announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary
Wittenberg.
This triumvirate joins an accomplished women's field that includes two-time
defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia and the silver- and
bronze-medal finishers from last year's race, Tatiana Hladyr of Ukraine and
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya.
"It will be a 'who's who' of champions on our start line," Wittenberg said.
Wami, 32, will be attempting an almost unprecedented feat at this level, as
she returns to compete at New York only 35 days after defending her title
in Berlin on September 30.
Wami has plenty of incentive to win her first New York crown, including the
$500,000 champion's prize purse that will be awarded to the winner of the
inaugural 2006–7 World Marathon Majors series, which will conclude this
year in New York. Currently ranked second in the WMM points standings
behind Prokopcuka, Wami will have a chance to vault into first place in New
York, regardless of her performance in Berlin.
"Gete's decision to take aim at the World Marathon Majors crown a mere five
weeks after Berlin didn't surprise me," Wittenberg said. "She's a tough,
seasoned, wily competitor who knows how to prepare and how to run to win.
While most others would be on vacation five weeks after a marathon, I
expect Gete to be in the hunt for gold."
Wami, a three-time Olympic medalist on the track, has a marathon personal
best of 2:21:34, set in Berlin in 2006. She placed second at the 2007
Flora London Marathon and was seventh in New York in 2005, her only
previous appearance in the race.
Grigoryeva, 33, used her speed and track experience to pull away from the
field in the closing stages to win the Boston Marathon this spring in
2:29:18. This will be the fourth consecutive year that she has raced in New
York; her fifth-place finish last year was her best showing to date.
Loroupe, 34, is one of the sport's all-time greats, with two New York
crowns and wins at Berlin in 1999 and in London in 2000. She was the world
marathon record-holder from April 1998 through September 2001, setting the
standard at 2:20:47 and then lowering it to 2:20:43.
In the wheelchair professional race, two champions of World Marathon Majors
events will join the New York field. The 2007 London Marathon winner,
Shelly Woods, 21, of Great Britain, who was the runner-up in New York last
year, will return for this year's race, and Japan's Wakako Tsuchida, 33,
the 2007 Boston Marathon champion, will make her New York debut.
This year's ING New York City Marathon is the 38th running of the race, and
it offers a prize purse of more than $700,000 for the winners. The race
will be the last event in the inaugural World Marathon Majors Series that
will award a prize purse of $1 million to be divided between the male and
female champions.
JUST THE FACTS
The Champions
| Name | Gete Wami | Lidiya Grigoryeva | Tegla Loroupe |
| Age | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Hometown | Debre Birhan, Ethiopia | Cheboksary, Russia | Kapsait, Kenya |
| Marathon Personal Best | 2:21:34, Berlin, 2006 | 2:25:10, Los Angeles, 2006 | 2:20:43, Berlin, 1999 |
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