Ndereba, Dryer, Hladyr, and Tomescu-Dita Join Elite Women's Field at the ING New York City Marathon 2007
"Leading ladies" to join two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka

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Posted Friday, 7 September, 2007

New York, September 6, 2007--Newly crowned IAAF World Marathon Champion Catherine Ndereba (photo) of Kenya and two-time U.S. Olympian Elva Dryer joined a professional field of "leading ladies" to compete at the ING New York City Marathon 2007 on Sunday, November 4, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg. Ukrainian national record-holder Tatiana Hladyr, who finished second in New York in 2006, will return, while Olympian Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania will make her ING New York City Marathon debut.

These athletes join the previously announced two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia in a dazzling women's field for the 38th running of the famed five-borough race that will also serve as the culminating race in the inaugural World Marathon Majors series.

"With the top three finishers from last year back in Jelena, Tatiana, and Catherine, this year's race is one to watch," said Wittenberg. "The potent mix becomes even more intriguing with the addition of Constantina and Elva to the field."

Ndereba, 35, reclaimed the World Championships crown she first won in 2003 on Sunday with a time of two hours, 30 minutes, 37 seconds. The victory sends Ndereba up the World Marathon Majors (WMM) leaderboard into a tie for fourth place and gives her a chance to catch the front-running Prokopcuka for the overall WMM women's title and $500,000 jackpot prize.

Ndereba is a four-time champion of the Boston Marathon and a two-time winner of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, with only a New York title missing from her glittering resume.

"This is a very special year," said Ndereba, the runner-up in New York in 1999 and 2003. "I just won my gold medal in the World Championships and it feels wonderful to be heading back to New York. To win there means quite a lot. I have been running all those races in the U.S. and have won almost everything, but not New York. If get it I will have all of them in my bag."

Dryer, 35, of Albuquerque, finished second at the USA 20K Championships in New Haven, CT, on Monday in a personal-best time of 1:07:18. After starting her 2007 season by winning the USA Half-Marathon Championships in Houston in January with a debut of 1:11:42, Dryer will round out the season with her ING New York City Marathon debut.

"I am really excited to be running my first ING New York City Marathon," said Dryer, a 2000 and 2004 Olympian. " It is a stepping stone to the U.S. Olympic Trials and hopefully a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I am looking forward to the challenge of the ING New York City Marathon and I know it will be an experience to remember."

In her second consecutive ING New York City Marathon appearance last year, Hladyr, 32, was the only competitor who could keep up with the pace set by eventual champion Prokopcuka into the 20th mile, and eventually finished exactly one minute behind the winner in 2:26:05.

Tomescu-Dita, 37, who won the 2004 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, will be making her ING New York City Marathon debut after finishing third at the 2007 Flora London Marathon. Forced to withdraw from the IAAF World Championships Marathon in Osaka on Sunday due to tendinitis in her right knee, Tomescu-Dita is not expected to miss much training time.

The women's professional wheelchair athlete field includes every female wheelchair winner in the ING New York City Marathon since 2001, the first year that prize money was awarded in the wheelchair race. The past winners include Francesca Porcellato, 37, of Italy (2001); Cheri Blauwet, 27, of the United States (2002 and 2003); Edith Hunkeler, 35, of Switzerland, the course record-holder (2004 and 2005); and defending champion Amanda McGrory, 21, of the United States.

Ndereba, Dryer, Hladyr, and Tomescu-Dita join Prokopcuka, 2006 men's champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos, and 2004 champion Hendrick Ramaala for the ING New York City Marathon 2007, one of five events in the World Marathon Majors series that showcases the sport's top athletes and awards an unprecedented $1 million champion's prize. The WMM also includes the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin-Marathon, and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners, soon to celebrate its 50th anniversary, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR's home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world's top professional runners. Our youth programs provide running to 30,000 schoolchildren in New York City and around the country who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. 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 more than 98,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the 710,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.

World Marathon Majors
The ING New York City Marathon is one of five events in the World Marathon Majors series that showcases the sport's top athletes and awards an unprecedented $1 million champion's prize. The WMM series also includes the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin-Marathon, and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. For more information, visit www.worldmarathonmajors.com.

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