FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Distance Legend Haile Gebrselassie Returns to the NYC Half-Marathon
2007 NYC Half-Marathon champion to make rare United States appearance
New York, January 20, 2010—Ethiopia's long distance legend and marathon
world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie will return to the bright lights of
New York to compete in the first spring running of the NYC Half-Marathon on
Sunday, March 21, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president
and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
"Haile is a superstar, a legendary champion, and an ambassador for the
sport, and we continue to be amazed by him," Wittenberg said. "To have him
back for the second time for the NYC Half-Marathon is a great thrill and a
win for this quickly growing event."
Widely considered the greatest distance runner of all time, Gebrselassie,
36, will be in action this Friday, January 22, when he defends his crown at
the Dubai Marathon, where he hopes to lower his marathon world record time
of 2:03:59, set in 2008 at the real-, Berlin Marathon.
The last time he competed in the United States, Gebrselassie made his debut
in the 2007 NYC Half-Marathon, completing the course in an event record
time of 59 minutes, 24 seconds.
"I'm very excited about going back to New York," Gebrselassie said. "I got
such a warm welcome when I ran the NYC Half-Marathon in 2007. I'm sure it
will be a wonderful event again and I'm looking forward to it."
He has won nine of out of 10 career 13.1-mile races, including a world
record 58 minutes, 55 seconds in 2006 in Tempe, AZ. (The record was later
broken by Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya.) The 1996 and 2000 Olympic 10,000-meter
gold medalist has won 122 races, only four of which (Atlanta, Boston,
Tempe, and New York) have been in the United States. He has now set 25
world records in his illustrious career with a total of 15 senior medals at
the Olympic Games (2), World Track & Field Championships (7), World Indoor
Championships (4), World Half-Marathon Championships (1), and World Cross
Country Championships (1).
Gebrselassie has focused on road racing and the marathon since the 2004
Olympic Games, and he captured his first title in a World Marathon Majors
race in Berlin in 2006. In addition to four straight wins in Berlin, he has
also claimed marathon victories in Amsterdam (2005), Fukuoka, Japan (2006),
and Dubai (2008, 2009).
Previously announced, the NYC Half-Marathon will offer the largest
half-marathon prize purse in the United States: $100,000. The men's and
women's champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks
for a non-marathon race in the country.
The NYC Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes
and recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000
people applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished.
On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will
take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through
Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway
to Battery Park in the heart of the city's financial district, finishing
with a view of the Statue of Liberty.
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