FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Injury Forces Defending Champion Edna Kiplagat Out of
ING New York City Marathon
Withdrawal Gives Shobukhova World Marathon Majors Series Women's Crown
New York, October 5, 2011 - A knee injury has forced defending champion
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya out of next month's ING New York City Marathon, it
was announced today by New York Road Runners officials.
Kiplagat, 32, hurt her left knee in a fall during the IAAF World
Championships marathon in Daegu, South Korea, in August. She got up and won
that race, but she was unable to fully recover from the injury in time for
her title defense on Sunday, November 6.
"I am thankful for NYC for giving me opportunity to come back and defend
my title, but unfortunately I am not in a position to defend my title at
this year's ING New York City Marathon," Kiplagat said in an email to NYRR
officials. "As I said last year upon winning in New York, it was the
greatest day of my athletic career. The New York City experience was just
fantastic, and I was very much looking forward to trying to win again this
year."
"Unfortunately, the physical therapy and treatment I had to do for my knee
after falling in Daegu took much more time than I expected. Although I am
now able to train well and there is no lingering pain, the recovery and
treatment took more or less the whole month of September. I was only able
to train once a day in September."
"After discussing it more this weekend with my husband Gilbert, who is also
my coach, we decided that with less than five weeks until New York, I will
not be able to be in my top shape for the race there. I know from last year
that athletes need to be in peak condition to compete to win in New York
City, so the best decision is to withdraw from this year's race. This was a
very difficult decision, because of the great treatment I have received
from everybody in New York during the past year, and also because the World
Marathon Majors title is still undecided, but we think it is best to not
run when I will not be at 100%."
Kiplagat won in New York last year in 2:28:20, beating runner-up Shalane
Flanagan of the United States by 20 seconds and third-place finisher Mary
Keitany of Kenya by 41 seconds.
Keitany, this year's Virgin London Marathon champion, returns this year and
is joined by reigning Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel of Kenya
along with New Zealand Olympian Kim Smith, Jo Pavey of Great Britain,
Olympian Jéssica Augusto of Portugal, and Americans Jen Rhines and Lauren
Fleshman.
Kiplagat's withdrawal seals the 2010-11 World Marathon Majors series
women's title and $500,000 jackpot prize for Russian Liliya Shobukhova.
Only Kiplagat had a chance of passing Shobukova in the WMM series with only
the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this Sunday and New York remaining on
the calendar. Shobukova will defend her title in Chicago.
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.
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 some 140,000 applicants.
The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the
$650,000 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 875,000 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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