(http://running.competitor.com/category/news), http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/251256-Indoor-Track-and-Field-2014-on-Flotrack/article/25714-RESULTS-2014-NYC-Half-Marathon#.Uygsra-_ncs
Tervehdys,
Kenian naismaratoonari Sally Kipyego ja miesmaratoonari Geoffrey Mutai voittivat New Yorkin puolimaratonit 16.3.2014. Brittiläinen Mo Farah sijoittui toiseksi - Farah oli HATC:issa tänä vuonna kanssamme samaan aikaan.
Osa teistä muistanee, että kävin Kenian nopean juoksijan Geoffrey Mutain kanssa viime vuonna samalla hierojalla siis Juliuksen luona. Tutustuimme tuolloin Itenissä ja hän lupasi tulla käymään Suomessa - ehkä jossakin vaiheessa Tampereella :)
Tämän vuoden kolmeviikkoisen leirijaksomme alussa yhtenä aamuna minua tuli vastaan kenialaisten juoksijoiden ryhmä, jonka kärjessä juoksi kevyin askelin tuo kuuluisuus Geoffrey Mutai. Hän tunnisti minut ja tervehti läpsäyttämällä oikella kädellään vasempaan käteeni - koskettava tapaaminen!
Oheisesta artikkelista voitte lukea, miten Nykin puolikas sujui kenialaisilta Sallylta ja Geoffreyltä sekä brittiläiseltä Molta.
Terveisin Harri
NEW YORK — Kenyans swept the top spots at
Sunday’s NYC Half Marathon, as Sally Kipyego and Geoffrey Mutai claimed runaway
victories in 1:08:31 and 1:00:50, respectively, in very cold conditions.
Kipyego, a member of the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite racing in her debut half
marathon, clocked a new event record by four seconds.
“It went
fantastic. I knew I was fit coming in but just because it was a new distance I
didn’t really know how it was going to turn out,” Kipyego told WABC-TV moments
after winning. “I’m just so glad that I got my first win in the half marathon
on the streets of New York.”Through the opening kilometers of the women’s race, Kipyego was joined by American Molly Huddle, Great Britain’s Gemma Steel, Croatia’s Lisa Stublic, and Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba. Together the pack would run up and down the hills of Central Park.
Leaving the
park just before the 10K mark, Kipyego and Huddle had established themselves
out front, somewhat of a surprise considering both were racing their first half
marathons. Tagging along was Deba, last year’s TCS New York City Marathon
runner-up.
After
turning onto the West Side Highway, Kipyego began to pull away just before the
10-mile mark (about 16K). Running side by side with a pair of men, the 2012
Olympic silver medalist at 10,000m extended her lead with each step taken
towards Lower Manhattan.
“It was
very good. I think it was a little of everything, the last bit of it was a
little bit downhill so I think that helped a lot,” she said. “The last three
miles were painful.”
Kipyego
approached the finish with no one in sight, breaking the tape with a beaming
smile and her hands in the air in 1:08:31. Kipyego dipped under Firehiwot
Dado’s event record of 1:08:35 by four seconds which was set on a slightly
different course.Kipyego said she sees a future in the event, though for the time being she’ll return to the track.
“I look
forward to maybe going into the marathon in the future, but for right now I’ll
go back to track and see how the summer goes,” she said.
Rounding
out the top three were Deba, second in 1:08:59 (a new personal best by 54
seconds), with Huddle third in 1:09:04.
“It was
good. I think I stuck my nose in it in the beginning and the distance got to me
a little in the end, but it was definitely a fun experience. I definitely want
to do another one,” said Huddle, 29. “It was what I expected. I knew the last
three miles would be my questionable, uncomfortable zone, and it was, so I
think I can work on that and definitely get better at it.”
Placing
seventh overall, second among Americans, was Desiree (Davila) Linden in
1:11:37. She will race the Boston Marathon on April 21.The men’s race really got going when Geoffrey Mutai began pushing out front shortly beyond 5 kilometers. When Mutai took control of the pace, double Olympic champion Mo Farah immediately responded, shedding his outer layer and moving into Mutai’s slipstream. Also tagging along was Kenya’s Stephen Sambu, a training partner of Bernard Lagat.
In a scene
reminiscent of the 2011 NYC Half — a race Farah won — a mid-race fall in
Central Park would mix things up. Farah, running close on the leader’s heels
between miles five and six (8k to 10K), got tangled up and fell hard to the
ground. Losing about 20 meters, Farah returned to his feet only to see Mutai
and Sambu having broken away out front.
Mutai’s
sudden surge wasn’t a direct result of Farah’s fall, the athlete said.
“Together,
my colleague, we were leading in the front. We didn’t — we only knew someone
fell down, but we did not know who was that. So we continue with our pace,”
said Mutai. “We did not know. We come to realize later in the finishing that it
was Mo. Unfortunately, we were disappointed because we were expecting a
challenge from him.”
After
passing through Times Square together, Mutai broke from Sambu thanks to a quick
4:25 mile split. Sporting a long sleeve shirt to fight off the biting cold,
Mutai continued to open up his stride down the West Side Highway.Cruising to the win in 1:00:50 Mutai, like Kipyego, earned $20,000 for finishing first.
“For me, as
I was continuing alone, I tried to push it, and I know I was testing my body,”
said Mutai, who will race the Virgin Money London Marathon in four weeks. “I
know I had good training. So for me, I do not mind where I was in the race. For
me, I was testing my body. When I am in a race, I’m focusing for that race. I’m
not only looking for my colleagues as I know, when someone is strong, we’ll
push it together. But for me, I’m running my own race all the time.”
With his
NYC Half win, Mutai now has three major victories in the Big Apple: in 2011 he
won the TCS New York City Marathon in a course record of 2:05:06, returning
last year to claim the top spot once again in 2:08:24.
While Mutai
led out front in the race’s latter stages, Farah put in a valiant effort to
catch back up to Sambu. In the Battery Park Tunnel, Farah drew even, eventually
passing for second in the final 105-meter straight to the finish line. It was a
remarkable recovery given how hard he had fallen.
“Yeah, I’m
not sure what happened. I just remember falling down and hit the ground quite
hard,” Farah told reporters. “At that point, I just wanted to get back up and get
behind, get with the group.”
Moments
after crossing the line in 1:01:07, Farah collapsed at the finish line, and
received immediate medical attention. He was taken to the medical tent in a
wheelchair, but was able to walk under his own steam when he left the recovery
area.
“I don’t remember
passing out, but I think it was just I tried so hard in the race, obviously,
taking a fall and then going through,” Farah recounted. “I’m all right. It’s
fine. It’s no big deal.”
Taking
third was Sambu in 1:01:08. Matt Tegenkamp was the top American, sixth in
1:02:05; it was his debut half marathon.
“I thought
I was in really good fitness coming in. I was a little disappointed just — I
mean, we lost probably 40 seconds in the first 2.5 miles of the race,” said
Tegenkamp. “By mile 11, I started really cramping up, my right side, but like
I’m glad I’ve run a marathon before because I knew it was just kind of the bad
patch of the race, just check off a little bit, regroup. And I still felt
really strong all the way into the finish, felt like I had a really strong
finish, was able to change gears. I think there’s a lot of exciting things to
look forward to in 2014.”
Meb
Keflezighi, who led briefly early in the race, finished 10th in 1:02:53. He’ll
be racing the Boston Marathon next month.
This was
the ninth, and largest, edition of the NYC Half. The New York Road Runners
reported a record 20,750 finishers.
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