Olympians Bernard Lagat, Shannon Rowbury to Close Out Their Seasons at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
Posted Wednesday, 17 September, 2008
NEW YORK - (September 17, 2008) - U.S. Olympic mile stars Bernard Lagat and Shannon Rowbury will close out their 2008 seasons with their road racing debuts at the famed Continental Airlines® Fifth Avenue Mile on Sunday, September 21, it was announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
Lagat and Rowbury headline a deep professional field of 10 Olympians competing in the 28th running of the world-famous mile road race down Fifth Avenue, including Americans Nick Symmonds, Erin Donohue, Nick Willis of New Zealand and Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain.
"Featuring a blockbuster cast of stars like Bernard, Shannon, Nick and others, the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile promises to deliver a big finale as the curtain drops on this long and dramatic Olympic season for many in the field," said Wittenberg. "Speed will be the name of the game on the world's most famous street on Sunday."
Lagat, 33, of Tucson, AZ, was a two-time Olympic medalist for Kenya in 2000 and 2004 before becoming a U.S. citizen and going on to win the 1500 and 5000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track and Field in June. In 2007, Lagat captured double gold at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka. A six-time winner of the renowned Wanamaker Mile, Lagat will be aiming to become only the second man in history to win both the Fifth Avenue and Wanamaker miles in the same year. Only Isaac Viciosa of Spain in 1997 has won the Wanamaker Mile and Fifth Avenue Mile double.
Symmonds, 24, of Eugene, OR, made headlines around the country with his victory in an epic 800 meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Symmonds was a semi-finalist at the Olympic Games, finishing fifth in his semi-final. Earlier in the year, he took sixth at the World Indoor Championships.
Willis, 25, earned one of nine overall New Zealand medals at the Olympic Games, winning bronze at the 1500 meters in Beijing. A three-time NCAA champion for the University of Michigan, Willis was the gold medalist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the 1500 meters. He holds New Zealand records at the 1500 and 3000 meter distances.
Rowbury, 23, of San Francisco, CA, had a breakout season, running 4:20.34 to become America's second fastest female miler ever (behind Mary Decker Slaney's 4:16.71). Rowbury, who will turn 24 two days before the race, finished seventh in the 1500 meter Olympic final. In February, the Duke grad won the indoor 3000 meter title at the USA Championships in Boston.
Donohue, 25, of Chapel Hill, NC, earned a spot on her first Olympic team with a runner-up finish in the 1500 at the U.S. Olympic Trials. A New Jersey native who grew up running in New York, Donohue was also a World Championship semi-finalist in 2007. She finished third in the Fifth Avenue Mile in 2006.
Dobriskey, 24, narrowly missed the podium in the 1500 meters at the 2008 Olympic Games, finishing fourth in a personal best 4:02.10. She was the Commonwealth Games 1500 meter gold medalist in 2006.
The race down the world-famous thoroughfare begins near East 80th Street and finishes at East 60th Street. The wheelchair and handcycle race will kick off the event at 9:00am. After that, entrants will run in heats according to age and gender. The professional women's race is scheduled to start at 12:45pm, followed by the professional men's race at 1:05pm.
JUST THE FACTS: The Field
WOMEN
Lisa Dobriskey, Great Britain, 4th 2008 Olympic Games 1500 meters
Erin Donohue, United States, 2008 Olympian 1500 meters
Lindsey Gallo, United States, six-time Big Ten champion
Nikeya Green, United States, 2007 USA Indoor 800m champion
Sara Hall, United States, 2006 Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile champion
Sarah Jamieson, Australia, 2008 Olympian 1500 meters
Rose Kosgei, Kenya, 2008 Carlsbad 5000 meters runner-up
Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopia, World junior record, indoor 800m (2:01.03)
Amy Mortimer, United States, 2007 Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile runner-up
Marina Muncan, Serbia, Serbian record holder, 1500m (4:08.02)
Shannon Rowbury, United States, 2008 Olympian; 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials 1500m champion
MEN
Adrian Blincoe, New Zealand, 2008 Olympian 5000 meters
Nate Brannen, Canada, 2008 Olympian 1500 meters
Bernard Lagat, United States, 2008 Olympian; 2007 World 1500m and 5000m champion
Will Leer, United States, 4th U.S. Olympic Trials 1500m
Chris Lukezic, United States, 7th 2006 World Indoor Championships 1500m
Jon Rankin, United States, 3rd 2007 Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
John Richardson, United States, NCAA Championships qualifier
Phil Sakala, United States, 2004 IC4A champion 1500 meters
Chris Solinsky, United States, 5th U.S. Olympic Trials 5000m
Kevin Sullivan, Canada, 2008 Olympian 1500 meters
Nick Symmonds, United States, 2008 Olympian; U.S. Olympic Trials 800m champion
James Thie, Great Britain, two-time Welsh champion
David Torrence, United States, University of California school record, mile (3:58.62)
Nick Willis, New Zealand, 2008 Olympic Games 1500m bronze medalist
For more information, visit: www.NYRR.org
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