Wanjiru, Shobukhova repeat at Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Defending champions Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya and Liliya Shobukhova of Russia overcame stiff competition and difficult conditions to successfully defend their Bank of America Chicago Marathon titles Sunday.
A record field of 38,132 started the 33rd edition of The Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 70 degree weather as the race boasted the deepest men’s field in race history with Wanjiru facing the reigning London and Boston Marathon champions.
It was the London champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, who gave all him he could handle as the pair raced through Chicago. On several occasions, Kebede looked to have broken the Olympic champion but Wanjiru would battle back. As the pair raced up Michigan Avenue to the finish in Grant Park, Wanjiru made a decisive move at the 26 mile mark, kicking home to a 19 second win in 2:06:24.
On the women’s side, Shobukhova overtook early leader Astede Baysa of Ethiopia at 35 km to cruise to a three minute, 15 second win in 2:20:25.
Top ten finishes, personal bests for U.S. athletes
Jason Hartmann (Boulder, Colo.) led the U.S. men with an eighth-place finish, running a personal best of 2:11:06 as Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.) led the U.S. women with a fourth-place finish, also running a personal best of 2:26:20.
Double-duty for Samuelson
1984 Olympic Marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson (Freeport, Maine) turned in another amazing weekend of performances, running an American 50-54 year-old age-group record of 2:47:50 in Chicago on Sunday before hopping a flight to Boston where she ran the Tuft’s Health Plan 10K for Women on Monday where she cruised a comfortable 40:29 performance in the USA Women’s 10 km Championship.
For more information on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon visit www.chicagomarathon.com.
Two track and field athletes nominated for SI SportsKid of the Year
Two track and field athletes have been nominated for Sports Illustrated’s 2010 SportsKid of the Year Award. Click HERE to see the list of nominees and read their profiles. To vote for your favorite athlete, click on the circle next to his or her name and hit the "Submit Your Vote" button on the bottom of the page. This week's top three vote getters will be our SKOTY finalists. Voting closes on October 18 at 12 P.M. EST.
The three finalists, as chosen by your votes, will be revealed on October 19.
For more information on the finalists, and to vote for your favorite athlete, visit http://www.sikids.com/contests/skoty/2010/vote.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.
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