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Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City Update: Diamond League Champion Morgan Uceny Added to Women's Field
World Championships Gold Medalist Jenny Simpson a Featured Entrant; Bernard Lagat, Shannon Rowbury Return to Iconic Road Mile on September 24
From New York Road RunnersSeptember 14, 2011; last updated 9/23/11
New York, NY
Update: Morgan Uceny, 26, of Mammoth Lakes, CA has been added to the women's elite field for the Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday, September 24. Uceny won the women's 1500m at the Brussels Diamond League meet on Friday, September 16 in a world-leading time of 4:00.06. She also is the only American distance runner to become a 2011 Diamond League champion [points are accumulated during the season in one event at any of 7 Diamond League meets plus a final meet]. A four-time All-American at Cornell University, Uceny is the current USA 1500m champion and won Diamond League 1500m races in Lausanne and Birmingham earlier this summer.
9/23/11 Other Fifth Avenue Mile entrants to watch:
Women
Sara Hall, 2011 USA road mile champion (4:30.8), Fifth Avenue Mile 2010 runner-up and 2006 champion
Maggie Vessey, USA 800m runner-up (2010, 2011), 2011 World 800m sixth place (1:58.50)
Marina Muncan, Serbia (mile personal best 4:31.84); trains with New Jersey New York Track Club
Men
David Torrence, 3-time USA road mile champion (3:58.4, 2011)
Original NYRR press release: Just weeks after her stunning 1500-meter victory at the IAAF World Championships of Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, American Jenny Simpson will conclude her “victory lap” tour by racing the Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday, September 24. The announcement was made by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
Jenny (Barringer) Simpson became the first American woman to win the 1500m world title since Mary Decker (1983) on September 1. The win capped a spectacular comeback for Simpson, who was slowed last year by a stress fracture and earlier this year by flu-like symptoms.
“After winning a World Championship medal, I can’t think of a more American place to return than New York City,” commented Jenny Simpson, 25, of Monument, CO, who is the national record-holder in the 3000m steeplechase. “I want to share the excitement of my season with everyone who has touched my career in a positive way. The Fifth Avenue Mile’s spirit of community running and celebration will be the perfect stage for me to complete my season. I’m so excited to be a part of it!”
The women's elite field this year is impressive: Oregon Track Club Elite member Sally Kipyego, 25, of Kenya won a 10,000m silver medal at the world championships; Hannah England, 24, of Great Britain finished just behind Simpson in the world 1500m race to win silver; two-time defending champion and 2009 world 1500m bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury, 26, of San Francisco, CA; and USA 800m champion Alysia Montano, 25, of Berkeley, CA (Bay Area Track Club).
“It has been a breakout season for Jenny, and a strong performance here in the most famous city mile in the world against a glittering lineup of rivals would put an exclamation point on her year,” stated NYRR CEO Wittenberg.
American superstar Bernard Lagat, 36, of Tucson, AZ will continue his quest to add a Fifth Avenue Mile title to his long list of achievements; he travels to New York as the 2011 World 5000m silver medalist.
In the Fifth Avenue Mile, Bernard Lagat finished second in 2010 and 2008, and fourth in 2009.
“I said I’m coming until I win it, so this year I’m going to win it and will be prepared for that,” emphasized Bernard Lagat on his entry in the road mile race along one of the most famous thoroughfares in the world. “I’m going to be tough to beat in New York.”
Bernard Lagat has won a record eight Wanamaker Mile titles at New York City's Millrose Games; he is the American record-holder in the 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m outdoors; and he won a 1500m/5000m double at the 2007 World Championships in Berlin. He was also a two-time Olympic medalist at 1500m while running for his native Kenya, earning the silver in 2004 and the bronze in 2000. This year, Lagat has broken the 21-year-old U.S. indoor record in the 2 Mile; he also holds the American indoor records at 1500m, 1 mile, and 3000m.
The stellar men's field includes defending champion Amine Laalou of Morocco, and four-time U.S. 800m champion Nick Symmonds of Eugene, OR. Laalou, 29, won the 2010 Fifth Avenue Mile in 3 minutes and 50.83 seconds. He finished fifth in the 2009 World 800m, and ran a personal best for one mile of 3:50.22 at the 2010 Nike Prefontaine Classic track meet. Symmonds placed fifth (1:45.12) in the 2011 World 800m on August 30.
Other top male entrants are Ingvill Måkestad Bovim, 30, of Norway, who placed sixth in the 2011 World 1500m, and American Anthony Famiglietti, 32, of Davidson, NC, a two-time Olympian in the 3000m steeplechase. "Fam" is a versatile middle- to long-distance runner with a range from 1500m to the half-marathon. He has a personal best of 3:55.71 for the mile, and has seen limited competitive action during the past two seasons. Learn more about the two-time Olympian and six-time U.S. champion at www.runfam.com.
The Fifth Avenue Mile begins on Fifth Avenue near East 80th Street and finishes at East 60th Street in Manhattan. The wheelchair and handcycle race will kick off the event at 9:00 am. After that, entrants will run in heats according to age and gender. The professional women’s race is scheduled to start at 12:50 pm, followed by the professional men’s race at 1:05 pm. A total prize purse of $30,000 for the men’s and women’s professional races will be offered, with the two winners finishers each receiving $5,000.
New York Road Runners
Headquartered in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to advancing the sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and meeting our community’s needs. NYRR's goal is to use expertise acquired in its 52-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives through participation in NYRR races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs. NYRR races and other events draw more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR’s premier event, is the largest marathon in the world, attracting the world’s top professional runners every year and raising nearly $25 million for charity in 2009. NYRR’s running-based youth programs, which currently serve more than 100,000 children in hundreds of schools and community centers, promote children’s health and fitness, character development, and personal achievement in underserved communities. For more information, see www.nyrr.org.