FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Japan's Yuri Kano to Run the NYC Half This Weekend
She was to have defended marathon title at Nagoya on March 13 in a race
canceled following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami
New York, March 18, 2011—Yuri Kano, a top Japanese runner and the winner of
the 2010 Nagoya International Ladies Marathon, flew from Tokyo to New York
on March 17 and will compete in the NYC Half this Sunday, March 20, it was
announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
"It is with open arms that we welcome Yuri at a time when we would like to
embrace all of Japan," said Wittenberg. "Yuri is a tough, gutsy runner whom
I fully expect will run strong through it all."
Kano, 32, a resident of Tokyo, had trained to defend her title on March 13
in Nagoya, a race that she'd hoped would qualify her to represent Japan at
the IAAF World Championships Marathon in Daegu, South Korea, this summer.
The race was cancelled in the wake of the devastating earthquake and
tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. NYRR and Kano's management team
began efforts early this week to bring her to New York to compete, and she
arrived from Tokyo on Thursday.
"Monday morning the first request came from Yuri Kano's coach, Manabu
Kawagoe, to see if it might be possible for Yuri to compete in this
weekend's NYC Half," said her agent, Brendan Reilly. "The response to my
e-mail to Mary Wittenberg was nearly instantaneous. She sent me a clear and
emphatic message: 'Absolutely. We will figure out a way to get Yuri to New
York.'"
Kano joins a stellar field for the NYC Half that includes U.S. Olympian and
World Championships bronze medalist Kara Goucher, ING New York City
Marathon 2010 champion Edna Kiplagat, Ethiopia Olympian and World
Championships medalist Werknesh Kidane, and British Olympian Jo Pavey.
She has run the NYC Half three times: 2008 (third, 1:10:31), 2007 (fourth,
1:11:05), and 2006 (fourth, 1:11:44). She has also run the NYRR New York
Mini 10K four times, most recently in 2009, and she finished ninth in
2:39:05 in the ING New York City Marathon 2009 after taking a significant
fall early in the race. She ran her half-marathon career best, 1:08:57, in
Sapporo in 2008.
The NYC Half 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
race will be broadcast live beginning at 7:15 a.m. EDT on Sunday at
tv.nyrr.org.
On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half 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.
New York Road Runners
Headquartered in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to
advancing the sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and
meeting our community's needs. Our goal is to use the expertise acquired in
our 52-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives
through participation in our races, community events, instruction and
training resources, and youth programs. Our races and other events draw
more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR's
premier event, is the largest and most inclusive marathon in the world,
attracting the world's top professional runners every year and raising
$30.8 million for charity in 2010. NYRR's running-based youth programs,
which currently serve more than 100,000 children in hundreds of schools and
community centers, promote children's health and fitness, character
development, and personal achievement in underserved communities. For more
information, visit www.nyrr.org.
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