Glusac,
Johnson win first U.S. titles at River Bank Run 25k
Kagwe misses world record, Zakharova nabs course record
From Charlie
Mahler, Running USA wire
GRAND RAPIDS,
Mich. - (May 12, 2001) - Emerging U.S. distance runners Chad Johnson
and Milena Glusac, both members of the Team USA Distance Running
program, captured their first USA Championships today at the 24th
River Bank Run 25K presented by Old Kent and Fifth Third Bank in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. With a 40 degree, cloudless day as the backdrop,
the event also witnessed a near-miss attempt at the men's world
record and a new course record for women.
In the open
men's race, two-time New York City Marathon champion John Kagwe
battled fellow Kenyan Ronald Mogaka until the final 800 meters before
sprinting away to a 1:14:07 to 1:14:12 victory, #5 and #6 all-time
performers. Kagwe and Mogaka were under world record pace through
12 miles but somehow lost ground on the still-pending mark of 1:13:44
set by Kenya's Rodgers Rop in Berlin last weekend.
In the open
women's race, 2001 London Marathon runner-up and defending River
Bank Run champion Svetlana Zakharova of Russia used a withering
surge at 8.5 miles to obliterate the five-runner lead pack of Glusac,
Teresa Wanjiku of Kenya, Kristin Chisum and Deena Drossin. Zakharova
then sped to the finish in 1:24:39 (#5 all-time) - four seconds
under Joan Benoit Samuelson's course record from 1986. Wanjiku finished
second in 1:25:44 with Glusac of
Fallbrook, Calif. third in 1:26:05.
Glusac's USA
25K title-winning run also notched the first sub-1:27:00 25K clocking
for a U.S. woman since 1997 and places her fourth on the U.S. all-time
25K list. Her win adds yet another laurel to an impressive year
and a half of racing. Glusac, 25, a Team USA Southern California
member, returned to form in 2000 and finished 10th in the IAAF World
Half-Marathon
Championships last November.
Following Oregon
graduate Glusac in the USA 25K Championship were defending U.S.
champ Kristin Chisum of Wayland, Mass., second, in 1:27:26, Deena
Drossin third in 1:28:20, Kim Pawelek fourth in 1:30:00 and Linda
Somers Smith fifth in 1:31:00. 1996 Olympic marathoner Somers Smith,
40, also won the master's division.
Drossin, 28,
undertaking her longest competitive effort to date, fought to stay
within striking distance of Zakharova through 11 miles, but found
the going difficult in the final stages. Drossin, a 2000 U.S. Olympian,
went from 15 to 30 seconds down on Zakharova between miles 11 and
12 and was caught by Glusac just after the 13 mile mark before fading
further.
In the USA
25K men's race, Johnson's win came down to the final miles as well,
with a strong drive to the finish separating him from runner-up
Peter DeLaCerda and third placer Michael Donnelly.
Johnson's finishing
drive brought him home in 1:16:11, ahead of DeLaCerda's 1:16:29
and Donnelly's 1:16:36. Johnson's Hansons Running Shop Team USA
Michigan teammate Jim Jurcevich and Jimmy Hearld rounded out the
U.S. top five in 1:17:20 and 1:17:33, respectively.
The River Bank
Run results shuffled the standings considerably in the USA Running
Circuit. Donnelly now leads the men's points race with 17, followed
by Meb Keflezighi and Johnson with 15 points each. On the women's
side, Drossin moves into first position with 25 points, followed
by Glusac with 22 points and Chisum with 18.
River Bank
Run 25K: USA Championship
Grand Rapids, MI, May 12, 2001
(unofficial results)
MEN
1) John Kagwe (KEN) 1:14:07
2) Ronald Mogaka (KEN) 1:14:12
3) Stephen Kiogora (KEN) 1:15:11
4) Chad Johnson (MI) 1:16:11
5) Joseph Kariuki (KEN) 1:16:17
6) Peter DeLaCerda (CO) 1:16:29
7) Mike Donnelly (RI) 1:16:36
8) Jim Jurcevich (MI) 1:17:20
9) Jimmy Hearld (KY) 1:17:33
10) Weldon Johnson (AZ) 1:17:39
11) John Sence (OH) 1:17:48
12) Mike Mykytok (NJ) 1:17:52
13) Paul Aufdemberge (MI) 1:18:33
14) Andrei Kuznetsov (RUS) 1:19:07*
15) Kurt Keiser (MN) 1:19:26
*First Master (40+)
WOMEN
1) Svetlana Zakharova (RUS) 1:24:39, course record
2) Teresa Wanjiku (KEN) 1:25:44
3) Milena Glusac (CA) 1:26:05, 4th fastest American all-time
4) Kristin Chisum (MA) 1:27:26
5) Deena Drossin (CO) 1:28:20
6) Kim Pawelek (FL) 1:30:00
7) Linda Somers Smith (CA) 1:31:00*
8) Michelle LaFleur (GA) 1:31:53
9) Lorraine Masuoka (IL) 1:32:54
10) Marie Boyd (NM) 1:34:10
11) Amy Wing (MI) 1:34:16
12) Seana Larson (MI) 1:34:37
*First Master (40+)
http://www.riverbankrun.com/results/
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