by Larry Eder
the Competitor Group gives us an eye-witness view of this great race!
Ethiopians Sweep Carlsbad 5000
More
than 8,600 runners participate; Americans place third in each
invitational race; Age group records highlight perfect day for 26th annual ‘Party by the Sea’
CARLSBAD,
Calif. – April 3, 2011 – A confident Dejen Gebremeskel and a wispy
Aheza Kiros gave Ethiopia a sweep of the men’s and women’s invitational
races on the 26th annual Carlsbad 5000 on Sunday morning. Both events produced dramatic finishes.
Gebremeskel,
last year’s runner-up, sat behind defending champion Eliud Kipchoge of
Kenya for most of the 3.1-mile race before spurting ahead in the final
100 meters and finishing in 13 minutes, 11 seconds. The time matched
Kipchoge’s winning performance of 2010 and equaled the fourth-fastest
clocking in history.
By
winning, Gebremeskel spoiled Kipchoge’s bid to break the world record
of 13:00, established by Sammy Kipketer in 2000 and tied by him a year
later. Kipchoge had said prior to the race that he thought he had a good
chance of taking down the record. However, he was sidetracked by
pacesetter Haron Lagat. Lagat was supposed to take the leaders through
the first two miles, but only managed to hang on for just over a mile.
By
dropping out, Lagat left Kipchoge to assume the lead. That led to some
gamesmanship between Kipchoge and Gebremeskel. Shortly past two miles,
Kipchoge signaled to Gebremeskel to take over the lead. The Ethiopian
refused, continuing to run just behind Kipchoge. Then when Gebremeskel
was only a few steps from the end, he pointed to the finish line,
indicating that he was the winner.
“I
knew I would win,” the 21-year-old Gebremeskel said. About his
finger-pointing, he said, “I got to the finish line first. I pointed
because I was happy that I won.”
As for the world record, he said, “Next year I will try for it.”
It’s
not often that a runner can outsmart Kipchoge, who was ranked No. 1 in
the world at 5000 meters in 2010, has won silver and bronze medals over
5000 meters in the past two Olympics and has been one of the world’s
most consistent runners since winning the World Championships at age 18
eight years ago.
“I
thought following him was best for me,” said Gebremeskel. “He has a
better PB than me. He’s a strong guy, he’s a tough guy. I like running
on someone’s shoulder because of the wind (here). Maybe I had more power
today because I didn’t have to work so hard.”
The
affable Kipchoge was not overly upset that Gebremeskel didn’t accept
his invitation to seize the lead. “I told him to go but he wouldn’t go,”
Kipchoge said. “I can’t be mad. I just couldn’t run a faster time. The
pacemaker slowed down. You can’t push if there are only two of us.”
Two
also was the operative number in the women’s invitational and followed a
similar script to the men’s race. After the start, Kiros, the 2009
winner and 2010 runner-up, and Pauline Korikwiang of Kenya broke away
from the field and waged a close battle throughout. Korikwiang held a
slim advantage until the closing 10-15 meters before Kiros swept past
her and won in 15:13, one second ahead of the Kenyan. “The last 200
meters I pushed it,” Kiros said. “I love this race.”
Aheza Kiros wins 2011 Carlsbad 5,000m, photo by PhotoRun.net
While
Kiros, 25, sidestepped questions about her tactics, Korikwiang, a team
gold medalist at the recent World Cross Country Championships and the
national junior record-holder for the 5000 on the track, was upset about
her second individual test on the roads.
“If
you push the pace and she doesn’t come and help, that’s not a good
race,” she said. “I pushed the race so I became tired at the last
minutes. If I had someone else to push the pace, I think I could have
run faster.”
Americans
did well in both races. Bobby Curtis of Ardmore, Pa., finished third in
the men’s race in 13:48, three-time Olympian Jen Rhines of Mammoth
Lakes, Calif., was third in the women’s event in 15:37, and was followed
by 2008 Olympian Christin Wurth-Thomas of Springdale, Ark., in 15:56.
The
Masters races also produced some sparkling competition with former UCLA
runners sweeping both events. In the men’s race, Christian
Cushing-Murray, 43, of Santa Ana, Calif., won for the third consecutive
year in 15:04. “I don’t think I’m as fit as last year,” he said,
laughing. “That’s what happens when you get over 40.”
The
hotly contested women’s event resulted in the first two finishers
posting the same time – 17:24 – but Tania Fischer, 45, of Santa Monica,
Calif., was declared the winner over Kathleen Jobes, 41, of Bethlehem,
Pa. For Fischer, the victory was retribution for having finished second,
third, fourth and fifth in her previous four Carlsbad 5000s.
“I
finally got the victory,” said Fischer, the head coach at Santa Monica
High School and a ceramics teacher. “Coming down the homestretch was
like running a relay in high school. This race is so incredible. Not
only are the spectators but also the other runners – everybody into it.”
Meanwhile,
two age group records were broken at the ‘World’s Fastest 5k’. Anne
Garrett, 77, of Oceanside, Calif., smashed the U.S. mark for the 75-79
group by finishing in 25:59, 13 seconds faster than the record she set
last year at Carlsbad, and Lenore Montgomery, 80, of North Vancouver, BC
set the world record for the 80-84 group with 29:16, eclipsing the
previous record of 29:23 established by Anne Clarke of Coral Stream,
Ill., at Park Ridge, Ill., in 1989.
For full results, photos and more, please visit Competitor.com.
Photos (Credit: Photorun.net)
Men’s Champion Dejen Gebremeskel
Top 3 Women – Elite Invitational
2011 Carlsbad 5000 Results
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Place, Name, Hometown, Time, Prize
Men’s Elite
1. Dejen Gebremeskel, Ethiopia, 13:11, $5,000
2. Eluid Kipchoge, Kenya, 13:14, $3,500
3. Bobby Curtis, Ardmore, PA, 13:48, $2,000
4. Juan Carlos Romero, Mexico, 13:50, $1,000
5. Haron Lagat, Kenya, 13:55, $800
6. Diego Alberto Borrego, Mexico, 14:06, $700
7. Craig Miller, Madison, WI, 14:08, $500
8. Tony Okello, Uganda, 14:11, $400
9. Jarrod Shoemaker, Maynard, MA, 14:12, $300
10. Ben St. Lawrence, Australia, 14:22, $200
Women’s Elite
1. Aheza Kiros, Ethiopia, 15:13, $5,000
2. Pauline Korikwiang, Kenya, 15:14, $3,500
3. Jen Rhines, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 15:37, $2,000
4. Christin Wurth-Thomas, Springdale, AR, 15:56, $1,000
5. Eloise Wellings, Australia, 16:06, $800
6. Stephanie Pezzullo, Flagstaff, AZ, 16:11, $700
7. Barbara Parker, Great Britain, 16:22, $500
8. Sara Slattery, Boulder, CO, 16:30, $400
9. Annie Bersagel, Stanford, CA, 16:40, $300
10. Brenda Martinez, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 16:59, $200
Men’s Masters
1. Christian Cushing-Murray, Santa Ana, CA, 15:04, $1,000
2. Chad Newtonm Pisgah Forest, NC, 15:10, $500
3. Dennis Simonaitis, Draper, UT, 15:11, $200
Women’s Masters
1. Tania Fischer, Santa Monica, CA, 17:24, $1,000
2. Kathleen Jobes, Bethlehem, PA, 17:24, $500
3. Carmen Ayala Troncoso, Austin, TX, 17:42, $200
Men’s Wheelchair
1. Scott Parsons, San Jose, CA, 10:59, $700
2. Eric Kaiser, Santa Barbara, CA, 12:16, $400
3. Edwin Figueroa, City of Commerce, CA, 13:31, $300
Women’s Wheelchair
1. Sandi Rush, Fallbrook, CA, 15:22, $700
2. Erica Davies, Carlsbad, CA, 22:20, $400
