FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dathan Ritzenhein to Take on Alan Webb at the Central Park Challenge
Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and former champion Jorge Torres
also added to USA Men's 8K Championship field
NEW YORK - (February 20, 2008) - Dathan Ritzenhein will take on fellow
Olympian Alan Webb in a renewal of one of America's leading long distance
rivalries at the Central Park Challenge on Saturday, March 15. In addition
to Ritzenhein, New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg also
announced Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and 2005 USA 8K champion Jorge Torres.
The event, which will feature the USA Men's 8K Championship, Women's
Invitational, and NYRR 8000 people's race, is expected to draw a host of
America's best distance runners from the mile to the marathon. The races
will be contested over the 8K (4.97-mile) distance with a total prize-money
purse of $70,000 - $20,000 of which will go to the top male and female
finishers ($10,000 each).
Ritzenhein holds a 5-2 advantage in races against the previously announced
Webb, a 2004 Olympian and the U.S. mile record holder. The rivalry dates
back to 1999 when they were two of the premier high school runners at the
Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships. In that race,
Ritzenhein captured the victory in a course-record 14:29.83; Webb was
eighth. The pair has taken turns in the top spot in their last two
meetings: Webb won the 10,000-meter race at the Payton Jordan Cardinal
Invitational in 2006, and Ritzenhein won the 2-mile at the Prefontaine
Classic last year.
"Stars since high school, Alan and Dathan are among the most exciting and
accomplished runners the United States has ever seen," Wittenberg said.
"They are both riding high heading into the Olympic year, and we are
honored they have chosen the Central Park Challenge to make their 2008 New
York City debuts. Fan favorite Abdi and former champ Torres won't allow
anyone an easy win."
Ritzenhein, 25, of Eugene, OR, will return to Central Park, the location of
two of his greatest career successes to-date. Last November, he earned a
berth on the 2008 Olympic team in the marathon after finishing second in an
epic U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon race in Central Park. Prior
to that in 2007, Ritz won the Healthy Kidney 10K in a Central Park record
of 28:08.
"Alan [Webb] and I seem to have been attached at the hip since high
school," Ritzenhein said. "Every time we race it seems to be an exciting
competition, and hopefully it will be another one at the USA 8K
Championship. I was surprised at both how good I felt in the USA Cross
Country Championships and at my fitness. I hope to carry that momentum into
this race and the rest of the season."
Abdirahman, 31, of Tucson, AZ, had a stellar 2007 following his
second-place finish in the 2007 USA 8K Championship - he won three national
titles at the 10,000 meter, 10K and 10 mile distances. He was also the
runner-up in the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE last August.
In 2005, fresh off his 13th-place finish at the IAAF World Cross Country
Championships, Torres, 27, of Boulder, CO, ran away from Abdirahman at the
USA 8K Championship to win his first U.S. title as a professional. In 2006,
he won the U.S. national title in the 10,000 meters. Torres' twin brother
Edwardo is also entered in the race this year.
Track & Field Olympic Trials contenders James Carney, Aaron Aguayo, Ian
Dobson, Josh McAdams, Ed Moran and Bolota Asmerom were also announced.
Carney, 29, of Boulder, CO, most recently won the 2008 U.S. Half-Marathon
title in January in Houston. Aguayo, 24, of Tempe, AZ, made his first World
Championships team last summer in the 3000-meter steeplechase after
completing his eligibility at Arizona State University in 2007. Dobson, 26,
was the 2005 NCAA indoor champion, and currently trains with Team Running
USA in Mammoth Lakes, CA. McAdams, 27, of Orem, UT, was the 2007 USA
champion in the 3000m steeplechase and a gold medalist in that event at the
2007 Pan American Games. Moran, 27, of Williamsburg, VA, was the 2007 Pan
American Games gold medalist in the 5000 meters. Asmerom, 29, of Eugene,
OR, was a 2000 Olympian for Eritrea, and became a U.S. citizen in 2002. He
has twice finished third twice at the USA 8K Championship, in 2004 and
2007.
Ritzenhein, Jorge Torres and Moran all experienced early-season success
this past weekend at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego,
earning qualifying spots on the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
team. The men will compete in the championships on March 29 in Edinburgh,
Scotland. Ritzenhein powered his way to a convincing victory in the 12K
race with a time of 35:03, while Torres was runner-up (35:29) and Moran was
fourth (35:42). In total, six athletes scheduled to compete in the 8K
finished in the top 10: Carney (sixth place, 35:56), Max King (seventh,
35:57) and Edwardo Torres (ninth, 36:01).
A $10,000 bonus will be awarded to any winner who breaks the existing
American 8K record of 22:04 for the men (Alberto Salazar, 1981) or 24:36
for the women (Deena Kastor, 2005).
For more information, visit: NYRR.org
###
|
