Ominami Twins Headline Field at America's Finest City Half Marathon
Posted Sunday, 10 August, 2008
SAN DIEGO - (August 10, 2008) - Defending women's champion Hiromi Ominami of Japan and her identical twin sister, Takami Ominami, last year's runner-up, will headline the women's professional field at the 31st America's Finest City Half Marathon presented by Nissan (AFC Half), announced the race organizer. Over 8,000 runners are expected to participate in the sold-out 13.1-mile road race set for Sunday, August 17 in San Diego.
In the men's field, Justin Young of Superior, Colo. will line up with a pack of Africans including Ethiopian Ezkyas Sisay and Kenyans Joseph Chirlee, Daniel Cheruiyot and Jynocel Basweti.
A top contender for the overall win, Young ran a six-minute personal best last April at the Fortis Rotterdam Marathon finishing in 2 hours, 13 minutes and 54 seconds - the second fastest U.S. marathon time of this year. Young, 29, comes to the race with a 1:03:58 half-marathon personal record (2007 USA National Half-Marathon Championships). An American male has not been the overall champion at the AFC Half since 1987.
Chirlee, 28, owns the fastest half-marathon personal record of the field (1:02:18 at the 2006 Philadelphia Distance Run). This will be Chirlee's first visit to San Diego since the 2007 Rock 'N' Roll Marathon where he tripped and fell just a few feet before the finish line but recovered for a fourth place finish (2:12:10).
Other Americans in the field include Trent Briney, who finished fourth in the 2004 U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials (2:12:35) and 2008 U.S. Men's Olympics Marathon Trials finisher Allen Wagner (2:18:25).
The Ominami twins, 32, have not raced together on American soil since Hiromi clocked a 1:12:49 victory at last year's AFC Half with Takami following in 1:14:58. Hiromi, the first born of the duo, has a half-marathon PR of 1:08:45 with Takami holding a 1:10:21 PR at the distance.
The women's field will also include Hyvon Ngetich of Kenya, who placed third at the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas last January (1:09:45), Leah Kiprono, also of Kenya, who ran in the 2007 AFC Half (1:17:20) and Ethiopian Zemedkun Gebre Belainesh who clocked 1:13:20 at the 2007 Parkersburg Half Marathon.
Three finishers of the 2008 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials will also join the women's field including: Mary Akor (2:39:34 at the Trials), Sally Meyerhoff (2:39:39) and Kara Roy (2:45:25).
The AFC Half course records are 1:02:24 for the men and 1:10:37 for the women. Competitors in the half-marathon will vie for $13,700 in prize money and bonuses.
The 31st AFC Half course starts at the Carbrillo National Monument, passes by the San Diego Bay and finishes in historic Balboa Park. The accompanying AFC 5K starts and finishes in Balboa Park.
Produced by Neil Finn Sports Management, Inc., the event weekend benefits the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and numerous other community organizations.
For more information, visit www.AFChalf.com or call (760) 692-2900.
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