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American Meb Keflezighi, 2009 ING New York City Marathon Champion, Racing NYC Half-Marathon
From the New York Road Runners
February 12, 2010
New York, NY
Current ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi (34, photo left by www.photorun.net) of Mammoth Lakes, CA will return to the scene of his finest triumph to compete in the first spring running of the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, March 21 in New York City. Meb Keflezighi will be running in his first competitive race since his historic win in New York last November.
Joining Meb Keflezighi will be a trio of outstanding compatriots including three-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman (33) of Tucson, AZ; two-time Olympic steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti (31) of Knoxville, TN; and former NCAA cross country champion Josh Rohatinsky (27) of Portland, OR. All men will join the previously announced long distance great, marathon world record-holder, and 2007 NYC Half-Marathon champion Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia.
"Meb's victory in New York last November was one of the shining moments in the storied history of our race and sport," NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg said. "Meb and the American athletes are stronger than ever. Each will be looking to take on Haile and the others in what promises to be a spectacular run through the city streets."
Meb Keflezighi made history in 2009, becoming the first American male to win the ING New York City Marathon since Alberto Salazar's victory in 1982. His winning time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 15 seconds was a personal best. The win was the pinnacle of his already illustrious career, which includes a silver medal (2:11:29) in the 2004 Olympic men's marathon, and second place (2:09:53) in the 2004 ING New York City Marathon.
A three-time national 10,000m champion (2000, 2002, 2004), Meb Keflezighi holds the American record at that distance (27:13.98), and has won 20 USA titles during his career. Among his national titles, Meb won the 2009 USA Cross Country Men's 12K (36:06) in Derwood, MD.
"Coming back to race in New York after the victory in the ING New York City Marathon will be very special for me and my supporters," said Meb Keflezighi, who will also be one of the leading contenders at the Boston Marathon in April. "I was a part of the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon in 2006, and I am delighted to be competing in the new spring edition."
Abdi Abdirahman, the 2007 NYC Half-Marathon runner-up, will return to New York after finishing ninth in the 2009 ING New York City Marathon in November. A four-time USA champion at 10,000m, Abdirahman will be making his fourth appearance in the NYC Half-Marathon; he finished third in his half-marathon debut in 2006, second in 2007 to Haile Gebrselassie, and fourth in 2009.
New York native Anthony Famiglietti will be making his half-marathon debut in New York. A two-time Olympic steeplechaser and 2009 USA 15K Championship winner, Anthony Famiglietti returns to New York after his 12th-place finish in the 2009 Healthy Kidney 10K last May.
Josh Rohatinsky will be making his NYC Half-Marathon debut. The 2006 NCAA cross country champion, Rohatinsky was ninth at the 2008 USA Olympic Marathon Trials, and finished seventh overall in the 2008 ING New York City Marathon 2008 in a personal best time of 2:14:23.
Half marathon best times for the American men: Abdi Abdirahman, 1:00:29 (New York, 2007); Meb Keflezighi, 1:01:00 (San Jose, CA, 2009); and Josh Rohatinsky, 1:02:45 (San Jose, 2008).
The NYC Half-Marathon will offer the largest half-marathon prize purse in the United States of $100,000. The men's and women's champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks for a non-marathon race in the country.
The NYC Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes and recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000 people applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished the event.
On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, March 21 will take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway to Battery Park in the heart of the city's financial district, finishing with a view of the Statue of Liberty.
New York Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. NYRR road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with the NYRR magazine and Web site, support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR's home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world's top professional runners. NYRR youth programs provide running to nearly 100,000 schoolchildren in New York City, around the country, and in South Africa; these youth would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. Learn more at www.nyrr.org.