Posted: September 10, 2004

Athletics: Olympic Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi to Run ING New York City Marathon 2004

NEW YORK - (Sept. 8, 2004) - By every account, distance runner Meb Keflezighi has had a very successful season. Though he struggled with injury and illness last winter, he came back to finish second in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February, qualifying for his second Olympic team.

In March, Keflezighi, a Team Running USA athlete, won his fourth-straight USA 15K Championship; then, two weeks later, he was on the roads in New York City's Central Park, winning his second consecutive USA 8K Championship and setting a Central Park record.

Another win and USA Championships record in the 10,000 meters at the Olympic Track & Field Trials in July would be considered a pretty remarkable achievement for nearly anyone, but the UCLA grad was just getting warmed up. On August 29, Keflezighi topped all of his previous accomplishments by running to a surprise second-place finish (2:11:29) in the Olympic Games marathon. His was the first medal by an American man since Frank Shorter won the silver in Montreal in 1976.

Before Keflezighi can celebrate his stellar season, in which he has finished no worse than second place in any race he has entered, there is one more thing he wants to do. He wants to run the ING New York City Marathon.

Just 70 days after his remarkable silver medal performance in Athens, Keflezighi will toe the start line on Staten Island on November 7 as one of the favorites in one of the world's most competitive road races. Although two marathons in just over two months might sound like a heady task, it is not without precedent. Shorter returned from his second-place finish in Montreal to finish second in the 1976 New York City Marathon, and Norway's Grete Waitz complemented her 1984 Olympic marathon silver medal performance with a win in New York City later that year.

"It is undoubtedly a challenge for Meb to recover in such a short time, but it has been done before with success," said Allan Steinfeld, New York Road Runners president and CEO and ING New York City Marathon race director. "Meb ran within himself in Athens, and we expect him to be ready to contend here on November 7."

For his part, Keflezighi, 29, of San Diego, is excited about the prospect of continuing his success in New York. "I was a little bit underprepared coming into the Olympic Marathon Trials (in February), due to injury and illness, and I was able to finish second. I was prepared perfectly for the Olympic Marathon, and that preparation will only help me in New York."

A native of the African nation of Eritrea, Keflezighi moved to the United States in 1987 and became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He ran his first marathon in New York City in 2002, finishing ninth in 2:12:35, and his PR is 2:10:03 at Chicago in 2003.

Joining Keflezighi in New York will be perhaps the greatest contingent of Americans ever assembled at the New York City Marathon, including 3000 and 5000 meter American record-holder Bob Kennedy, as well as fellow Olympians Dan Browne, Abdi Abdirahman and Deena Kastor, who brought the marathon bronze medal home from Athens.

For more ING New York City Marathon information, go to: www.ingnycmarathon.org.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.