FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympians Viktor Röthlin and Christelle Daunay Headline
Strong European Contingent at ING New York City Marathon
Portugal's Ana Dulce Félix and Italy's Bruna Genovese and Rosaria Console
prepare for November 7 race
Röthlin is Europe's best chance to end 14-year men's title drought in New
York
Wheelchair field to feature Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Great Britain's
Shelly Woods
New York, September 27, 2010-Swiss Olympian, national marathon
record-holder, and 2010 European Champion Viktor Röthlin and French
marathon record-holder and ING New York City Marathon 2009 third-place
finisher Christelle Daunay will lead a strong contingent of European
contenders into the ING New York City Marathon 2010 on Sunday, November 7,
it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race
director Mary Wittenberg.
Ana Dulce Félix of Portugal and Italian Olympians Bruna Genovese and
Rosaria Console were also announced, joining a women's field that already
features Olympians Shalane Flanagan of the United States, Mara Yamauchi of
Great Britain, Kim Smith of New Zealand, and reigning World-Half Marathon
champion Mary Keitany of Kenya.
The last European woman's champion in New York was two-time winner Jelena
Prokopcuka of Latvia in 2005-'06.
Röthlin will be up against world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of
Ethiopia, defending champion Meb Keflezighi and World Championships
Half-Marathon bronze medalist Dathan Ritzenhein of the United States, and
2009 World Championships Marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui of Kenya as he
bids to become the first men's champion from Europe since Giacomo Leone of
Italy in 1996.
Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Shelly Woods of Great Britain were announced
for the wheelchair race.
"The Europeans are poised to make a major statement about their legitimacy
as a marathon power," said Wittenberg. "Viktor and Christelle are seasoned
competitors at the top of their games, and Ana is a newcomer to the
marathon with loads of promise. And the Italians always seem to do
something special here, so keep an eye on Rosaria and Bruna."
Röthlin, 35, hopes to build on his earlier success this year after winning
the European Athletics Championships marathon in August, which was his
first major race since his sixth-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympic
Marathon. He was out for the entire 2009 season, recuperating from a
pulmonary embolism and fluid buildup in his chest after contracting
thrombosis during a plane flight from Africa. The three-time Olympian took
the marathon bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan,
and he won the 2008 Tokyo Marathon, setting the current Swiss marathon
record of 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 23 seconds. He finished seventh in his
last appearance in New York, in 2005.
"I like New York because it is a race like the European Championships,
World Championships, and Olympics with no pacemakers; you race each other
and not against time," said Röthlin. "I have always been strong in the last
part of a race, and you need to be very tough in Central Park. In the past,
some bad stories and good stories have been written in Central Park. I hope
to write a good one."
Daunay, 35, was third in New York last year in 2:29:16 and finished 20th at
the Beijing Olympic Marathon. She lowered her own French national marathon
record to 2:24:22 with a runner-up showing at the Paris Marathon this
April.
Félix, 27, is one of the top distance runners from Portugal and will make
her marathon debut in New York City. After a strong 2009 season, which
included victories at the Great Ireland Run (10K) and the Göteborgsvarvet
Half-Marathon, Félix has continued her success into 2010, including a
runner-up finish at the Great North Run last week.
Genovese, 34, finished 10th at the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon and was
17th in Beijing. She set her personal best in 2006 at the Boston Marathon,
when she ran 2:25:28 to finish fourth.
Console, 30, competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she
finished 16th in the marathon. She set her marathon personal best in 2009
at the real,- Berlin Marathon, where she finished fourth in 2:26:45.
Console won her first marathon, the 2001 Padua Marathon.
Hug, 24, is one of the world's top young wheelchair athletes. In 2009, he
had four marathon victories and finished third at the ING New York City
Marathon. This year, Hug finished second at the Virgin London Marathon.
This will be his third ING New York City Marathon.
Woods, 24, set a world record of 3:21.22 in the wheelchair 1500 meters at
the Arbon WCR Meeting in Ibach, Switzerland, in June. She has had three
runner-up finishes at the ING New York City Marathon, most recently last
year, when she lost to defending champion Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland.
Hunkeler, a five-time ING New York City Marathon champion, will not be back
to defend her title this November, as she gave birth to her first child,
daughter Elin, on September 14.
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
nearly $25 million for charity in 2009. 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.
The ING New York City Marathon
The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon
is one of the world's great road races, drawing nearly 105,000 applicants.
The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the
more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the
media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and a
worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than
830,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central
Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information,
visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.
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