Champions Return to the 2003 Country Music Marathon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - (April 22, 2003) - The 2003 Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon welcomes the return of two of its past champions when the race kicks off at Centennial Park in Nashville this Saturday, April 26.

E-mail this page  Printer-friendly page

Posted Wednesday, 23 April, 2003

Contact: Audra Hoffmeyer, (858) 450-6510; Kim Detwiller, (615) 799-5616

Luke Kibet of Kenya and Romania's Aurica Buia Seek Titles

The event, in its fourth year, features an elite field of runners highlighted by Kenya's Luke Kibet and Romania's Aurica Buia.

Kibet, 29, won the inaugural Country Music Marathon in 2000, in a time of 2:12:55, just ahead of countrymen Elias Chelanga (2:13:05) and Sammy Maritem (2:13:38). Kibet, who owns a marathon best of 2:10:18, finished second in 2001.

Buia, 33, is a two-time Country Music Marathon champion, having won the race in 2001 and 2002. She earned the 2001 crown handily, posting a time of 2:34.40, ahead of Russia's Ramilia Burangulova, who crossed in 2:36:08. In 2002, Buia ran a 2:35:58 en route to the title. She owns a personal best of 2:31:39 in the marathon.

Both the men's and women's elite fields will battle for a prize purse that exceeds $80,000. The champion in each field will receive $15,000 with a $10,000 bonus to the first male finisher under 2:11:00 and an additional $10,000 for breaking 2:10:00. The first woman to finish under 2:30:00 also receives a $10,000 bonus with an additional $10,000 on the line for breaking 2:29:00.

The elite fields, with 14 men and nine women, feature participants from Kenya, Russia and Venezuela, among others. Four men will be making their marathon debut.

The 26.2-mile marathon and 13.1-mile 1/2 marathon follows the same route as it did in 2002, starting at West End Avenue near Centennial Park, winding its way in and out of the downtown area and finishing at The Coliseum. In addition, the successful Country Music Kids' Marathon returns for it's third year. The day will be capped off by an evening concert featuring Rebecca Lynn Howard and Diamond Rio at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Visit the race website at: http://www.cmmarathon.com

ELITE FIELDS (as of 4/18/03)

MEN
BIB#/Runner/Age/Country PR/Quick Fact
2 Luke Kibet, 29, KEN 2:10:18 2000 CMM champion, 2nd 01 CMM
4 Elias Chelanga, 28, KEN 2:12:49 2nd 00 CMM
6 Paul Tangus, 29, KEN 2:12:33 3rd 02 Monaco Int'l Marathon
8 Julius Rutto, 31, KEN 2:08:10 1st 99 Paris Marathon
10 Joseph Kamau, 30, KEN 2:10:41 2nd 97 Boston Marathon
12 Jomo Kororia, 22, KEN Debut
14 Mohamed Nazipov, 41, RUS 2:10:34 3rd 01 CMM
16 Oleg Bolhovets, 26, RUS 2:17:22 2nd 02 Cleveland Marathon
18 Jackson Omweri, 26, KEN 2:12:28 5th 02 Grandma's Marathon
20 Pedro Mora, 25, VEN Debut
22 Hugo Jiminez, 28, COL 2:15:24 1st 02 Santiago Marathon
24 Abderrazak Haki, 32, MAR 2:14:58 5th 00 Cal International
26 Eric Quiros, 29, CRC Debut
28 Larryn Sanchez, 28, VEN Debut 1:05:45 PR 2nd 01 Maracaibo HM

WOMEN
BIB#/Runner/Age/Country PR/Quick Fact
1 Aurica Buia, 33, ROM 2:31.39 1st 01 & 02 CMM
3 Natalia Galushko, 31, BLR 2:29:47 3rd 02 CMM
5 Olga Kovpotina, 33, UKR 2:27:37 3rd 00 CMM
7 Irina Bogacheva, 41, KGZ 2:27:41 1st 99 Suzuki Rock 'N' Roll
Marathon
9 Larisa Timkina, 36, MOL 2:34:03 2nd 03 Motorola Austin Marathon
11 Tatiana Titova, 37, RUS 2:31:12 1st 02 Cal International Marathon
15 Anfissa Kossatcheva, RUS 2:34:12 1st 97 & 98 Sevilla Marathon
17 Norelys Lugo, 25, VEN 1:16:00 03 San Sebastian Half Champ
19 Anne Kosgei, 25, KEN 2:30:09 4th 02 CMM, 2nd 02 Venice Marathon

* This is a preliminary list of elite athletes. An updated list with athlete
biographies will be available at the Elite Athlete Media Briefing on
Thursday, April 25, 2:00pm at the Fitness & Music Expo (Nashville Convention
Center).

# # #

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services
USATF Road Running Information Center
5522 Camino Cerralvo
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252
http://www.runningusa.org
http://www.usaldr.org

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page