Posted: March 25, 2005

Athletics: Kastor, Famiglietti Top Us 8-K Championships On Saturday

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor and steeplechase Olympian Anthony Famiglietti headline the fields at Saturday's men's and women's USA 8 km Championships at Randall's Island, New York.

Kastor, who will be making her 2005 debut, returns to New York for her first race since running the ING New York City Marathon only nine weeks after her bronze-medal effort at last summer's Olympic Games. Kastor's dramatic and emotional come-from-behind medal-winning performance in Athens was the first Olympic marathon medal for the U.S. since Joan Benoit Samuelson's gold in 1984. In the New York race, Kastor, the national record holder in the marathon, dropped out in the 16th mile, suffering from leg cramps and knee pains.

In the men's race, Famiglietti, from nearby Port Jefferson, N.Y., leads a field that includes Jorge Torres, who was 13th in the short course race in last weekend's IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Ryan Shay, who earlier this month won the national 15 km title --his fifth national crown overall-- is among the top contenders as well.

The men's race has been hit with several late hour scratches. Olympian Tim Broe, the winner in 2002 and fourth in 2003, will be sidelined with strep throat; Runners World reported that double Olympian Dan Browne is undergoing knee surgery; while others dropping out this week are Jason Lehmkuhle, Chad Johnson and Christian Hesch.

Kastor's stiffest challenge could come from fellow Olympic marathoner Jen Rhines, who earlier in the month took top honors at at the national 15 km championships. 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson and Amy Rudolph, a 1996 and 2000 Olympian are also in the field, as is Katie McGregor, who contested last weekend's World Cross long course race.

The two races, run separately, will start and finish on the new track at Ichan Stadium, a new $42 million facility that will officially open next month.

The 8 km Championships, the third stop for the men and the second for women on the 2005 USA Running Circuit (USARC), offers a combined $40,000 in guaranteed prize money, paid 15 deep. Another $52,000 is available in incentives and time bonuses. A $25,000 national record bonus is on offer as well. The men's record, 22:04, was set by Alberto Salazar in 1981. Lynn Jennings set the women's record of 25:02 in 1991. The 2005 USARC road series has a total guaranteed prize purse of $463,750. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

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