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Dibaba Wins Olympic 10,000 Meters, Sets Games Record
Flanagan breaks U.S. record for bronze
By Parker Morse, Running USA wire

BEIJING, China - (August 15, 2008) - Most great distance runner are made better by a great rival, and Tirunesh Dibaba is no exception. The young Ethiopian, who has won the last two 10,000m World titles and numerous World Cross Country crowns since emerging on the world stage in 2005, took her first Olympic gold Friday evening at Beijing's National Stadium, but not without first facing the most challenging competitor she has yet encountered at this distance. The duo produced what may have been the greatest 10,000 meter race in history.

Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, a former world record holder at 5000m and native of Ethiopia, was second to Dibaba in this race at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, pushing the pace late in the race and dropping all but Dibaba there. She attempted a similar strategy here in the "Bird's Nest" in the first track final of the Games, but unlike Osaka, where the early pace was sluggish, this time Abeylegesse, 25, took over a race made by Kenyan-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat. Kiplagat led the pack through a brisk 15:09 halfway split and reached 6000m in 18:12 before Abeylegesse took over and drove the pace even faster. Where Kiplagat's last kilometer was just under 3:03, Abeylegesse clicked off splits of 3:01, 2:57 and 2:57, reaching 9000m in 27:06.02 and presenting the real possibility that the 30:00 time might be cracked for the first time since Junxia Wang set the World record of 29:31.78 in Beijing in 1993.

Abeylegesse was not considering the finish time, however, so much as attempting to shake off Dibaba before the Ethiopian could deliver the devastating closing speed which has brought her 5000m world records indoors and out. Dibaba, 23, was up to the challenge, but it wasn't until the final lap that she moved outside Abeylegesse and took the lead.

Abeylegesse fought to maintain contact and stayed on Dibaba's shoulder until 200 meters remaining, but the "Baby-Faced Destroyer" drew away in the closing half-lap to win in 29:54.66, the second fastest time ever and the first sub-30:00 clocking since 1993. Abeylegesse, too, was under the 30:00 mark in 29:56.34, the third fastest mark all-time and the fastest women's 10,000m second place ever.

While the last two runners shaken by Abeylegesse and Dibaba had been Kenyans, Linet Masai and Lucy Wangui, American Shalane Flanagan, 27, was on the move in the closing two kilometers. After shadowing Kiplagat when both were shaken off in Abeylegesse's charge, Flanagan moved into fifth, then picked off Wangui when she was unable to hang on to Masai.

Finally beginning to reach her top speed, Flanagan, a 2004 Olympian, ran down Masai in the final kilometer and crossed the line third in 30:22.22, shattering her own U.S. record and equaling the best-ever American performance in this race.

After suffering severe gastrointestinal distress just three days earlier in the American training camp ("She was puking her guts out," said one USATF official), Flanagan's very participation was in question, and as the race approached, word spread among the American media that she planned to drop out and save herself for the 5000m if the race was going poorly. Instead, she hung on to the pack longer even than World Championships bronze medalist Kara Goucher (who ran a PR 30:55.16 to finish 10th) and delivered the same strong close which carried her to the U.S. Olympic Trials title seven weeks ago.

Flanagan's medal, which will be awarded during Saturday's competition, is the first American track medal, male or female, at a distance longer than 400 meters since Lynn Jennings' bronze in Barcelona 1992, which was also a U.S. record at the time.

Dibaba's mark stands as an Olympic record and African record.

Abeylegesse set a European record. And in fourth, Masai established a new World Junior record of 30:26.50, not to mention a Kenyan record. Five other athletes, including Goucher, set PRs. Rumors of conditions hostile to distance running in Beijing are apparently overstated, because after heavy rain on Thursday, Friday's races were run under blue skies and even the punishing humidity of the previous week had receded by the time the 10,000m started at 10:45pm local time. The reported temperature was 26 degrees centigrade, the relative humidity 53% - nearly perfect conditions for a historic race.

Both Flanagan and Goucher plan to double back in the 5000m, where preliminary rounds will be run on Tuesday. The third American in the 10,000m was Amy Yoder Begley, who finished 26th in 32:38.28 after apparently suffering a side cramp during the race.

Flanagan credited her own concentration on relaxation for her astounding race. "My coach said to fall asleep for a couple laps and then give it go. I was just running so within myself trying to stay calm."

Dibaba said, "It was a terrible race," referring to the effort required for the win. "It was really very tough. It was the right place to break the world record and I had hoped I would, but it was not so. Next year, I'm sure I'll do it."

Olympic Games: Beijing
National Stadium / "Bird's Nest"
Friday, August 15, 2008

Women's 10,000m Final
1) Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), 29:54.66*, Gold
2) Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR), 29:56.34, Silver
3) Shalane Flanagan (USA), 30:22.22#, Bronze
4) Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (KEN), 30:26.50
5) Mariya Konovalova (RUS), 30:35.84
6) Inga Abitova (RUS), 30:37.33
7) Lucy Kabuu Wangui (KEN), 30:39.96
8) Lornah Kiplagat (NED), 30:40.27
9) Kim Smith (NZL), 30:51.00
10) Kara Goucher (USA), 30:55.16
Other U.S.
26) Amy Begley Yoder (USA), 32:38.28
*Olympic record (previous record, 30:17.49, Derartu Tulu (ETH), Sydney 2000)
#U.S. record (previous record, 30:34.49, Shalane Flanagan, 05/04/08)

Complete results, starts lists, daily schedule and more at: www.iaaf.org/OLY08/results/eventCode=3659/index.html

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Tomescu Dita Breaks Away to Win Olympic Marathon
Ndereba defends silver; Zhou earns the bronze
By Parker Morse, Running USA wire

BEIJING, China - (August 17, 2008) - Constantina Tomescu Dita of Romania is known for making her move early, and nobody was surprised (or bothered to cover the move) when she burst from the large Olympic women's marathon pack near halfway on Sunday morning.

Catherine Ndereba of Kenya is known for running conservatively and waiting until others have made the race before she puts in her move, and everybody was surprised when the 2004 Olympic silver medalist allowed the chase pack to dawdle over a minute behind Tomescu Dita until it was too late to catch her.

At age 38, then, Tomescu Dita became the oldest Olympic Marathon medalist when she took the gold in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds, her daring early move finally scoring a victory on the biggest possible stage for a marathoner. Tomescu Dita was 20th in Athens, scored a bronze at the Helsinki World Championships in 2005 and won the 2004 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. Ndereba eventually dueled with China's Chunxiu Zhou to take silver in 2:27:06; Zhou the bronze in 2:27:07.

The race began at 7:30am local time in Tiananmen Square, in front of the Forbidden City, and was not without its bizarre moments. At the 1K mark, for example, the marker, placed a meter or two out from the curb, was engulfed and knocked over by the pack of marathoners. The large pack caused mayhem at every fluid station as athletes scrambled for their bottles, and the heavy traffic led to more than a few falls as the women, unused to running in such a large pack, struggled to stay out of each others' way.

Conditions were favorable for marathoning, with a temperature of 75F at the start and moderate humidity under a light overcast; the temperature in the stadium actually cooled to 71F during the race.

The British team of Liz Yelling, Osaka Marathon champion Mara Yamauchi and World record holder Paula Radcliffe dominated the front of the pack in the first half, though Mamorallo Tjoka of Lesotho did much of the early pace work. Tjoka, wearing a long beaded necklace, appeared to be favoring her right ankle and eventually dropped out after stopping more than once to loosen it up. Near 15K, Yelling suffered a nasty fall, and though she immediately rejoined the pack, she suffered significant road burns to her right shoulder and back.

Japan's Reiko Tosa, 2007 Worlds bronze medalist, was another significant casualty, falling off the lead pack before the 20K mark and struggling in apparent agony through 25K before finally dropping out.

Radcliffe might have been such a collapse, first making a pit stop not long after Tomescu Dita broke away, then stopping in the late stages of the race to stretch a cramping calf. Radcliffe was determined to finish, however, and she eventually placed 23rd in 2:32:38, the first marathon race she's finished without winning.

Meanwhile in the front, Ndereba, 36, was biding her time as first Chinese ace Zhou and then Kenyan Martha Komu took turns leading the pursuit.

Zhou's surges thinned the chase pack down from 20 or more to eleven, then six when Radcliffe fell off the back. Britain's Yamauchi and Russia's Irina Timofeeva were the last to be dropped, and when the race entered Olympic Park at 40K, Tomescu Dita, visibly suffering, still held a minute's lead.

Though it shrank dramatically, it lasted her to the finish. Zhou and Ndereba didn't shake China's Xiaolin Zhu and Komu until they entered the stadium, at that point 150 meters behind Dita, and the pair began their sprints with 300 meters remaining. Ndereba did not gain the upper hand for good until 50 meters before the finish line, leaving bronze for Zhou.

"In the last kilometers, I was looking back because I didn't want to lose the medal," said Dita, who maintained regular 5K splits between 16:48 and 17:07 through the second half of the race. "I kept looking back to check because I felt a little bit in my legs. Sometimes in the past I lost time, but this time I stayed in the last two kilometers. I pushed my hardest in the second half."

Ndereba, who might have caught Dita had she moved to chase her sooner, refused to second guess her own decision. "Disappointment is not in my vocabulary," said the two-time world champion.

Zhou, the 2007 Worlds silver medalist, blamed her failure to give chase on her own fitness. "I have had several injuries this year and I haven't trained regularly," she explained. "I just kept following my rhythm."

Team USA suffered early in the race. While Blake Russell was visible in the pack, Deena Kastor, the defending bronze medalist, discovered a nagging injury in her right foot was too painful to let her run with her natural gait. Then, approaching the 5K mark, "I felt a pop," she reported. [A post-race x-ray revealed a broken right foot.] She limped to the side of the course and tried to deal with the problem, but was unable to even walk without a limp. "I didn't expect to be finishing the marathon in a bus," she admitted. "As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on."

Magdalena Lewy Boulet also struggled. "I hurt my knee a few days ago," she reported. "I just can't bend it, and it got worse and worse. I was hoping it would warm up and go away, but it got really stiff. I was limping the whole way." Lewy Boulet would drop out after 15K.

Russell would be the only finisher for Team USA, 27th in 2:33:13.

Despite feared adverse conditions for the marathon, the field as a whole had better luck than the Americans. Only 12 athletes did not finish out of 81 starters.

Olympic Games: Beijing
Streets of Beijing and finish at National Stadium / "Bird's Nest"
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Women's Marathon
1) Constantina Tomescu Dita (ROU), 2:26:44, Gold
2) Catherine Ndereba (KEN), 2:27:06, Silver
3) Chunxiu Zhou (CHN), 2:27:07, Bronze
4) Xiaolin Zhu (CHN), 2:27:16
5) Martha Komu (KEN), 2:27:23
6) Mara Yamauchi (GBR), 2:27:29
7) Irina Timofeyeva (RUS), 2:27:31
8) Lidia Simon (ROU), 2:27:51
9) Souad Aït Salem (ALG), 2:28:29
10) Salina Jebet Kosgei (KEN), 2:29:28
U.S. results
27) Blake Russell (USA), 2:33:13
Deena Kastor (USA) - DNF (right foot)
Magdalena Lewy Boulet (USA) - DNF (knee)

Complete results, starts lists, daily schedule and more at: www.iaaf.org/OLY08/results/eventCode=3659/index.html

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Young, Ominami Win 31st America's Finest City Half Marathon Presented by Nissan
Young is the first U.S. male race champion since 1987; Ominami repeats
By Patrice Malloy

SAN DIEGO - (August 17, 2008) - For the first time since 1987, an American male has claimed the overall victory at the 31st America's Finest City Half Marathon Presented by Nissan held this Sunday morning in San Diego.

Justin Young of Colo. put his training regime to the test, winning in 1 hour, 5 minutes and 46 seconds. Defending women's champion, Hiromi Ominami, of Japan duplicated her 2007 victory finishing in 1:12:47, two seconds faster than her 2007 effort. Both earned $1500 for their victories with Ominami pocketing a $500 bonus for being a past champion.

A record field of over 7,900 runners from 47 states and 16 countries participated in the sold-out America's Finest City Half Marathon and its accompanying AFC 5K under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

Young, 29, was the only man to stray from the large chase pack trailing early-leader Christian Hesch. Young patiently claimed the lead at mile 5 and never looked back, for the most part, anyway.

"I didn't feel confident that I was going to win until I was at the top of the hill," said Young, referring to the race's infamous 6th Avenue hill, a challenging uphill stretch of the course leading up to the finish in Balboa Park. "You never know what the Kenyans are capable of," continued Young.

Kenyans have claimed victories in 12 of the last 20 overall AFC Half finishes.

"My training has been going very well. I felt pretty confident that I could run the pace I set for myself," said Young, who has been logging 130 mile a week training sessions in the outskirts of Boulder. Young has run the second fastest U.S. marathon time of this year (2:13:54 at the Rotterdam Marathon) and has his sights set on a Twin Cities Marathon victory in October.

Kenyan Joseph Chirlee, the only semi-serious threat to Young in the later miles, chalked up the upset to a very slow early pace and not enough time to make up for it. "I didn't realize how slow we were going," said Chirlee, who had never lost to an American-born competitor until this race. "By the time I realized he (Young) was serious, it was too late."

Chirlee and Jynocei Basweti finished second and third in 1:06:40 and 1:07:15, respectively. Hesch did not finish.

In the women's race, Ominami, Hyvon Netich (KEN) and Zemedkun Gebre Belainesh (ETH) ran together for most of the race until Ominami pulled way in the final mile for the win. Netich, 23, finished 12 seconds back (1:12:59) for second place with Belainesh finishing third (1:14:33).

"My goal was for my sister and I to go 1-2 like last year," said Hiromi, 32, through an interpreter. "But Takami was not in good shape today."

Takami Ominami, Hiromi's identical twin sister and last year's runner-up, finished fifth in 1:16:47. American Sally Meyerhoff of Arizona placed fourth in 1:15:43.

The event benefits the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and has raised over $2.3 million for non-profit organizations. The event is produced by Neil Finn Sports Management, Inc. of San Diego.

31st America's Finest City Half Marathon Presented by Nissan
San Diego, CA, Sunday, August 17, 2008

MEN
1) Justin Young (USA / CO), 1:05:46, $1500
2) Joseph Chirlee (KEN), 1:06:40, $1000
3) Jynocei Basweti (KEN), 1:07:15, $750
4) Mario Macias (USA / CO), 1:07:57, $500
5) Trent Briney (USA / AZ), 1:08:08, $300

Masters (40+): Rick Herr (USA / CA), 1:17:55, $300

WOMEN
1) Hiromi Ominami (JPN), 1:12:47, $2000 ($1500 plus $500 past winner bonus)
2) Hyvon Ngetich (KEN), 1:12:59, $1000
3) Zemedkun Gebre Belainesh (ETH), 1:14:33, $750
4) Sally Meyerhoff (USA / AZ), 1:15:43, $500
5) Takami Ominami (JPN), 1:16:47, $300

Masters (40+): Anette Ronnerman (USA / IL), 1:26:53, $300

More results at: AFCHalf.com

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232
Ryan@RunningUSA.org | www.RunningUSA.org