Injury Forces Defending Champion Edna Kiplagat Out of ING New York City Marathon

Withdrawal Gives Shubokova World Marathon Majors Series Women’s Crow

Courtesy of the NYRR

New York, October 5, 2011 — A knee injury has forced defending champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya out of next month’s ING New York City Marathon, it was announced today by New York Road Runners officials. 

Kiplagat, 32, hurt her left knee in a fall during the IAAF World Championships marathon in Daegu, South Korea, in August. She got up and won that race, but she was unable to fully recover from the injury in time for her title defense on Sunday, November 6.

Edna Kiplagat In NY Last Year

''I am thankful for NYC for giving me opportunity to come back and defend my title, but unfortunately I am not in a position to defend my title at this year's ING New York City Marathon,” Kiplagat said in an email to NYRR officials. “As I said last year upon winning in New York, it was the greatest day of my athletic career. The New York City experience was just fantastic, and I was very much looking forward to trying to win again this year."

“Unfortunately, the physical therapy and treatment I had to do for my knee after falling in Daegu took much more time than I expected. Although I am now able to train well and there is no lingering pain, the recovery and treatment took more or less the whole month of September. I was only able to train once a day in September.”

“After discussing it more this weekend with my husband Gilbert, who is also my coach, we decided that with less than five weeks until New York, I will not be able to be in my top shape for the race there. I know from last year that athletes need to be in peak condition to compete to win in New York City, so the best decision is to withdraw from this year's race. This was a very difficult decision, because of the great treatment I have received from everybody in New York during the past year, and also because the World Marathon Majors title is still undecided, but we think it is best to not run when I will not be at 100%.”

Kiplagat won in New York last year in 2:28:20, beating runner-up Shalane Flanagan of the United States by 20 seconds and third-place finisher Mary Keitany of Kenya by 41 seconds.

Edna Kiplagat and Family In Kenya This Summer

Keitany, this year’s Virgin London Marathon champion, returns this year and is joined by reigning Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel of Kenya along with New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, Jo Pavey of Great Britain, Olympian Jéssica Augusto of Portugal, and Americans Jen Rhines and Lauren Fleshman.  

Kiplagat’s withdrawal seals the 2010-11 World Marathon Majors series women’s title and $500,000 jackpot prize for Russian Liliya Shobukhova.

Only Kiplagat had a chance of passing Shobukova in the WMM series with only the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this Sunday and New York remaining on the calendar. Shobukova will defend her title in Chicago.

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. Our goal is to use the expertise acquired in our 53-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives through participation in our races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs.  Our 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 and most inclusive marathon in the world, attracting the world’s top professional runners every year and raising $30.8 million for charity in 2010. 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, visit www.nyrr.org.

The ING New York City Marathon

The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, drawing some 140,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the $650,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than 875,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visitwww.ingnycmarathon.org. 

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