Stellar International Field on Tap for NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE
A galaxy of international stars, including 2008 Olympic marathoners Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, Benita Johnson of Australia, Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa, and Madaí Pérez of Mexico will have entered the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE.
“Even more than a major international race, this year’s NYC Half provides a pre-game glimpse at some of our sport’s favorites as they head into Beijing,” Wittenberg said. “We welcome Catherine, Benita, Hendrick, Madaí—stars in their own right—to our July running summit of Olympians.”
Ndereba, 36, won the 2007 IAAF World Championships Marathon in Osaka, Japan; she was also the 2003 world champion and the 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist and is a four-time Boston Marathon and two-time Chicago Marathon champion. Known as “Catherine the Great,” Ndereba won the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE title in 2006 and finished second last year.
Johnson, 29, was the runner-up here in 2006 to Ndereba and has a sparkling record at the half-marathon distance, having never finished lower than third place in seven career races. The 2004 IAAF World Cross Country champion, she won the 2008 Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K.
Ramaala, 36, is a three-time Olympian and holds the South African half-marathon record of 59:20. He was the ING New York City Marathon 2004 champion and placed second to Paul Tergat in 2005 in the closest finish in race history.
Pérez, 28, finished six seconds behind winner Hilda Kibet in 32:49 on June 7 at the NYRR New York Mini 10K. Coached by German Silva, the 1994 and 1995 New York City Marathon winner, Pérez set the Mexican marathon mark of 2:22:59 in finishing fourth at the 2006 Chicago Marathon.
Also entered are last year’s IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships silver medalist Patrick Makau and his Kenyan countryman Felix Limo. Makau, 23, is returning to New York after capturing the Healthy Kidney 10K crown in Central Park in May and will be putting a four-race winning streak at the half-marathon (13.1-mile) distance on the line. Limo, 27, is one of the premier marathon runners in the world, with World Marathon Majors Series crowns at Berlin (2004), Chicago (2005), and London (2006).
On the women’s side, Yuri Kano, 29, of Japan, who took fourth place in the NYC Half in each of the last two years, returns fresh off a personal best of 1:08:57, set in winning the Sapporo Half-Marathon.
Athletes will vie for a prize purse of more than $70,000, with the male and female winners each receiving $10,000.
Check back soon for bios of all the top-seeded runners.
