Sammy Rongo and Geti Wami Win 2006 Utica Boilermaker By David Monti (c) 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved July 9, 2006
Sammy
Rongo and Gete Wami won today's 29th running of the Utica Boilermaker,
a 15 km road race held in Upstate New York, part of the Professional
Road Running Organization (PRRO) series of events.
Rongo, a
34-year-old Kenyan, ran a personal best 43:16 to beat runner-up Wilson
Kiprotich, also of Kenya, by 14 seconds, in pleasantly warm, but
somewhat humid, conditions. William Chebon Chebor finished third in
43:39, completing the Kenyan sweep of the podium. It was Rongo's
first-ever win in the United States, and it marked the 8th year in a
row that a Kenyan man had won the Boilermaker. Athletes from Africa
took the top 13 places in the men's race, and the top American was Mike
Morgan of Rochester Hills, Mich., who clocked 45:49 in 14th place.
Wami,
the three-time Olympic medalist, ran 49:31 and became the first
Ethiopian --male of female-- to win the Boilermaker. She finished just
two seconds ahead of Susan Chepkemei of Kenya; Jemima Jelegat, also of
Kenya, finished third in 49:39. The top American was Melissa White of
Sterling Heights, Mich., who finished seventh in 51:48.
The
event records of 42:40 by Joseph Kimani set in 1996 and 48:06 by
Catherine Ndereba in 2001 were never threatened. The winners each
received $6,000.
Top Finishers:
MEN - 1. Sammy Rongo, Kenya, 43:16 2. Wilson Kiprotich, Kenya, 43:30 3. William Chebon Chebor, Kenya, 43:39 4. Nephat Kinyanjui, Kenya, 44:24 5. Karim El Mabchour, Morocco, 44:51 6. Jacob Yator, Kenya, 44:52 7. D. Girma Tefera, Ethiopia, 44:54 8. Simon Njoroge, Kenya, 45:06 9. Benson Cheruiyot, Kenya, 45:07 10. Wilson Komen, Kenya, 45:09
