Team USA men fourth, women fifth at IAAF World Half Marathon Championships

Team USA men fourth, women fifth at IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
10/6/2012

INDIANAPOLIS - Team USA’s men finished fourth and the women took fifth place at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Saturday morning in Kavarna, Bulgaria.

Augustus Maiyo (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Luke Puskedra (Eugene, Ore.) led Team USA’s men as the pair ran within a second of each other through the 15 km mark. Maiyo pulled ahead over the remainder of the course to take the top U.S. spot in 15th place in 1:02:33. Puskedra was not far behind as he took 17th in 1:02:17. Ian Burrell (Tucson, Ariz.) finished in 1:04:37 to take 28th place and give the men a cummulative team time of 3:09:56. Scott Smith (Flagstaff, Ariz.) finished 36th in 1:05:46 and Michael Eaton (Bowling Green, Ky.) was 59th in 1:08:52.

Maegan Krifchin (Dewitt, N.Y.) was the top finisher for Team USA’s women in 13th place in a time of 1:12:29. Adriana Nelson (Fort Collins, Colo.) was 18th in 1:13:30, and Shalane Flanagan (Portland, Ore.) was 25th in 1:14:41. The top three women produced a cummulative team time of 3:40:40. Michelle Frey (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Alvina Begay (Flagstaff, Ariz.) rounded out the Team USA squad as they finished in 32nd and 33rd respectively. Frey finished in 1:16:55, with Begay close behind in 1:16:58.

In the men’s team race, Kenya took first place (3:03:52) with Eritrea second (3:04:41) and Ethiopia third (3:05:43). The same three countries claimed the individual podium spots as Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea won in 1:00:19, with Deressa Chimsa of Ethiopia second (1:00:51) and John Nzau Mwangangi of Kenya third (1:01:01).

The women’s team scores saw Ethiopia take first (3:27:52), Kenya second (3:28:39) and Japan third (3:34:45). Ethiopian women took the first two spots as Meseret Hailu won in a personal best of 1:08:55 and Feyse Tadese was second in 1:08:56. Paskalia Chepkorir Kipkoech of Kenya was third in 1:09:04.

For more information on the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, visit www.usatf.org.