Catherine Ndereba to Run 2007 ING NYC Marathon By David Monti (c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NEW
YORK (06-Sep) -- Newly crowned world marathon champion, Catherine
Ndereba of Kenya, hopes to continue her winning ways at the ING New
York City Marathon set for Sunday, Nov. 4., race organizers the New
York Road Runners announced today.
Ndereba, 35, who became the
only woman to win a second world marathon title when she beat back an
impressive field in Osaka last Sunday, sees New York as the one great
race in America she has not yet won. She's won the Boston Marathon
four times and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon twice.
"This is
a very special year," said Ndereba, the runner-up in New York in 1999
and 2003 through a press release. "I just won my gold medal in the
World Championships and it feels wonderful to be heading back to New
York. To win there means quite a lot. I have been running all those
races in the U.S. and have won almost everything, but not New York. If
get it I will have all of them in my bag."
Ndereba is the
African record holder with a 2:18:47 personal best, and was the first
woman to break 2:19 in the marathon. In addition to her two world
titles (2003 and 2007) she earned silver medals at the 2005 IAAF World
Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games.
In addition to
two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, Ndereba will
also be racing the 2005 bronze medalist from the world championships
marathon, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, who will be making her
ING New York City Marathon debut. The 37 year-old Tomescu-Dita is the
Romanian record holder with a 2:21:30 personal best. She finished
third at last April's Flora London Marathon in 2:23:55.
Also
announced today were American Elva Dryer and Ukrainian Tetyana Hladyr.
Dryer, a two-time Olympian at 10,000m, will be running her first
marathon in New York, while Hladyr finished a surprising second in last
year's race.
"I
am really excited to be running my first ING New York City Marathon,"
said Dryer who has a 2:31:48 marathon personal best. "It is a stepping
stone to the U.S. Olympic Trials and hopefully a spot on the U.S.
Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I am looking forward to
the challenge of the ING New York City Marathon and I know it will be
an experience to remember."
Both Prokopcuka (55 points) and
Ndereba (35 points) are in the hunt for the $500,000 World Marathon
Majors jackpot which will be awarded the day after the ING New York
City Marathon. Prokopcuka is the series leader, while Ndereba is tied
for fourth place. Twenty-five points are awarded for a first place
finish, 15 for second, 10, 5, and 1 for fifth, so big changes can take
place in just a single race.
"With the top three finishers from
last year back in Jelena, Tetyana, and Catherine, this year's race is
one to watch,” said New York Road Runners president and CEO, Mary
Wittenberg. "The potent mix becomes even more intriguing with the
addition of Constantina and Elva to the field."
The ING New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world; last year's race had a record 37,866 finishers.