by Larry Eder
Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest distance runner of our generation, will be running the ING
New York City marathon for the first time, this coming November! The millions of fans along the course will be treated to seeing the little Emperor on the five borough course! Congrats to
NYRR for bringing him to run his first marathon in U.S.
Long Distance Legend Haile
Gebrselassie to Run 2010 ING New York City Marathon
This marks the marathon world record-holder’s ING
New York City Marathon debut and his first major marathon in the United States
New York, June 2,
2010–Long-distance legend, multiple Olympic and World
Championships gold medalist, and marathon world record-holder Haile
Gebrselassie of Ethiopia will make his first career appearance at the ING New
York City Marathon 2010 on November 7, it was announced today by New York Road
Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
“It is pretty much a thrill of a lifetime for us to
host Haile in the marathon,” said Wittenberg. “We have looked
forward to this day for literally years. Haile represents the very best of our
sport and more. We are privileged and honored to bring him here. I know
he’ll touch New Yorkers, as he has touched fans around the world.”
The announcement was made at Icahn Stadium, where
Gebrselassie joined 1,500 schoolchildren for the New York Road Runners Mighty
Milers Fun Run as part of the second annual National Running Day celebration.
“It has been a long
dream of mine to compete in this outstanding event, and I’m so excited
about competing for the first time in my career in the ING New York City
Marathon this November, ” said Gebrselassie. “I know my longtime friend
Tesfaye Jifar has the course record in New York and with all of us in the field
I believe that we might be able to make it a race which can be remembered for a
long time as a historical race.”
Widely considered the
greatest distance runner of all time, Gebrselassie, 37, set the marathon world
record in 2008 at the real,- Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:03:59.
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, 2010).
The 1996 and 2000 Olympic
10,000-meter gold medalist has won 124 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 Outdoor Championships (7), World Indoor Championships
(4), World Half-Marathon Championships (1), and World Cross Country
Championships (1).
It was also announced today that fresh off his course-record
victory of 2:09:34 at the Ottawa Marathon on Sunday, Arata Fujiwara of Japan
will run in this year’s race. Fuijwara, 28, was twice the runner-up at
the Tokyo Marathon (2008 and 2010) and was third at the Fukuoka Marathon in
2008. No Japanese man or woman has won the ING New York City Marathon.
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to
promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all,
and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs
draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and
website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of
more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York
City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and
cross country events. NYRR’s home base in New York, and its lifelong
identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status,
attracting the world’s top professional runners. Our youth
programs provide running to nearly 100,000 schoolchildren in New York City,
around the country, and in South Africa who would otherwise have few or no
fitness opportunities. 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.
