Some of you old-timers
may remember the Joan Benoit
controversy back in Boston 1983,
Kevin Ryan,
http://www.honolulumarathon.org/?s=1983
was working as a running reporter
covering the women's race and thought he
would be following Allison Roe instead
he found himself running with Joan Benoit.
It was clear he was not coaching or assisting
(He wore a New Balance singlet) the Nike
Athletics West runner from Maine, but
people talked and rumored that he had,
since she wasn't wearing a watch and
there was no vehicle with a clock
leading the first woman.
As for the Ethiopians...
who ran on December 12th.
Maybe they don't know each other.
Sure some have claimed
they live together in Flagstaff
and train up there at altitude,
but why would he register in the
Honolulu Marathon as being from Garland TX?
Ezkyas Sisay Garland TX USA 9874
They list him as the first person
to drop out and give him a place of 20177.
20,176 finished the event.
He's got a bad track record,
he's dropped out of two of the
four events he ran with her
and his pacing duties
leave something to be desired.
He had her running at a sub 1:07
half marathon pace through 8 miles
at Big Sur and she slowed down by more
than three minutes over the final 5 miles.
In Kingsport, TN one more sign that
they hardly know each other...
why she lives in Pennsylvania!
28 10/124 26 Ezkyas Sisay 21 M Flagstaff AZ 25:36 0:25:35.99 5:09
29 1/114 60 Belainesh Zemedkun 22 F West Chester PA 25:37 0:25:36.85 5:10
It was bad enough when she won $4,000 in TN
moved on to CA and won $3,000 the next week
then Big Sur came and she won $2,000 with the
same "spiritual guidance".
The tipping point was when she won forty grand
in Honolulu. Boy, the race officials must feel like
a bunch of rubes that got snookered by some
city slickers.