03-18-2007
Contact:
Special from Glenn Latimer
Men's LDR Chair
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Hometown favorite Anthony Famiglietti bided his time at the USA Men's 8 km Championships Sunday morning in Central Park, letting Abdi Abdirahman do the majority of the pace work before winning in 22:35.
Because of major Nor'Easter storm on Friday and Saturday that dumped six inches of snow and ice on Central Park, the race was postponed from Saturday until Sunday morning and was moved from one loop in Central Park to three loops of lower Central Park. A crew from NYRR worked all through Saturday, and early Sunday morning to insure the course loop was ready for the 52 athletes who toed the line for the USA Men's 8 km Championships.
Abdirahman went out hard from the gun, followed by fellow Olympian Famiglietti and 2005 8 km champion Jorge Torres. After passing the first two miles in 4:35 and 9:10, respectively, Abdirahman continued to lead through three miles in 13:38 with Famiglietti joining him in the lead by 5 km. Abdirahman and Famiglietti took the first two of three $1,000 bonuses that went to the first three athletes at that point, with Torres barely leading Dan Browne for the third.
Famiglietti assumed the lead just before four miles, putting five yards on Abdirahman as they passed through four miles in 18:12. Dan Browne moved into third at four miles in 18:27.
Famiglietti then lengthened his lead on his way to the finish in front of Tavern on the Green to win in 22:35, six seconds ahead of Abdirahman. The fast-closing Bolota Asmerom was third in 22:48, ahead of Dan Browne in 22:52.
"It is a great feeling to finally win in New York," said Famiglietti, a New Yorker himself. "I spend so much timing training in Central Park, so it is very special to win such a significant race there. I felt very good. I just bided my time and let Abdi do the work early on, and then I pushed the pace at the end."
The New York Road Runners offered a total purse of $35,000, with Famiglietti collecting $10,000 for the win. An additional $28,000 in bonuses was also available, including a 'prime' of $1,000 each to the top 3 athletes at the 5k point, who also finished in the top 10 overall.
USA Running Circuit
The 2007 USA Men's 8 km Championship was the third event of the 2007 edition of USA Track & Field's 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2007 USARC has nine events for men and seven events for women. Ryan Hall (Big Bear Lake, Calif.) currently leads the men's standings with 27 points.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.
The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
Results
1 Anthony Famiglietti 22:35 10,000 + 1,000 5k prime = $11,00
2 Abdi Abdirahman 22:41 7,000 + 1,000 5k prime = $8,000
3 Bolota Asmerom 22:48 5,000
4 Dan Browne 22:52 3,500
5 Ed Moran 22:54 2,500
6 Max King 22:57 1,500
7 Jorge Torres 23:02 1,250 + 1,000 5k prime = $2,250
8 Rod Koborsi 23:04 900
9 Seth Summerside 23:07 800
10 Patrick Tarpy 23:16 700
11 Matt Gabrielson 23:22 600
12 Patrick Gildea 23:25 500
13 Scott McGowan 23:26 400
14 Blake Boldon 23:28 200
15 Marty Rosendahl 23:30 150
16 Chris Graff 23:34
17 Joe Driscoll 23:35
18 Josh Eberly 23:37
19 Mike Smith 23:38
20 Kyle King 23:38
21 Chris Lundstrom 23:39
22 Matt Downin 23:49
23 Brandon Leslie 23:52
24 David Gramlich 23:55
25 Justin Young 23:58
For more information on the 2007 USA Men's 8 km Championships and the 2007 USARC, visit www.usatf.org.
