Posted: May 27, 2005

Athletics: World Champion and Three-time Olympian Joins Women's Elite Field at Coca-Cola Zero^TM Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (May 27, 2005) -- Veteran distance runner Gete Wami, a three-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Cross Country champion, is a new addition to an already stellar elite field assembled for the Coca-Cola Zero Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, Sunday, June 5, 2005.

Ethiopia's national record holder in the marathon, Wami, 30, owns a personal best of 2:22:19, set in Amsterdam in 2002. She won a bronze medal in the 10,000-meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and was a double medalist on the track at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, capturing the silver medal in the 10,000-meters and a bronze medal in the 5,000-meters. She claimed her World XC Championship titles in 1996, '99 and '01 and also won a World Championship on the track, in the 10,000-meters in 1999.

Wami joins a marathon field that includes five former Rock 'n' Roll champions, headlined by the defending men's and women's winners from 2004; Kenyan Joseph Ngolepus and Russian Tatiana Titova. They will battle a field that includes event record holder Philip Tarus and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Joyce Chepchumba.

The elite runners will all be vying for a prize purse that awards $20,000 and a new vehicle to both the men's and women's champions. Each second place finisher earns $20,000 and all told, the total prize purse is valued at nearly $200,000.

The invitational field will be the first to traverse the newly designed course that will welcome more than 20,000 runners and walkers on June 5. To learn more about the marathon or to registration, visit www.rnrmarathon.com. or call 800/311-1255.

Coca-Cola Zero^TM Rock 'n' Roll Marathon - Sunday, June 5, 2005

(As of May 27, 2005)

2005 Men's Elite Open Field
NAME                       AGE    COUNTRY       BEST          FACT/COMMENT
Joseph Ngolepus            30     KEN           2:07:57       1st '04 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,
                                                              3rd '03 London Marathon
Ondoro Osoro               37     KEN           2:06:54       1st '03 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,
                                                              1st '98 Chicago Marathon
Belay Wolasha              34     ETH           2:10:57       1st '00 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
Michael Rotich             22     KEN           2:06:33       2nd '04Rotterdam Marathon,


                                                              8th '03 World Champ, Marathon
Tekeste Kebede             25     ETH           2:11:48       3rd '04 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,
                                                              3rd '05 Xiamen Marathon
Christopher Cheboibich     28     KEN           2:08:17       2nd '02 & 5th '03 Boston Marathon
Richard Maiyo              28     KEN           2:09:47       1st '05 Brescia Marathon
Philip Tanui               29     KEN           2:09:56       1st '05 Maratona d'Europa
Stephen Kiogora            30     KEN           2:09:21       4th '04 Boston Marathon
David Mutua                28     KEN           2:12:11       6th '03 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
Philip Tarus               30     KEN           2:08:33       4th '05 P.F. Chang's RNRM, 1st '98 & '99 RNR
Dereje Tamirat             25     ETH           2:23:10 (Alt) 8th '04 Abebe Bikila Marathon
Mark Saina                 34     KEN           2:09:00       1st '05 Los Angeles Marathon
Simon Bor                  36     KEN           2:07:55       4th '05 Los Angeles Marathon
Joseph Nguran              30     KEN           2:13:31       1st '04 Reims Marathon
Laban Chege                35     KEN           DEBUT         N/A
Tomokazu Sakamoto          28     JPN           2:16:55       N/A
Mitsunori Hirayama         29     JPN           2:12:25       N/A

Pacesetters
Joseph Kariuki       35    KEN
Michael Aish         28    NZL
Benson Cherono       21    KEN

2005 Women's Elite Open Field                   
NAME                       AGE    COUNTRY       BEST          FACT/COMMENT
Tatiana Titova             39     RUS           2:29:36       1st '04 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (PR)
Gete Wami                  31     ETH           2:22:19       3x Olympic medalist, 4x World Champion
Kerryn McCann              38     AUS           2:25:59       1st '02 Commonwealth Games Marathon
Joyce Chepchumba           34     KEN           2:23:22       2000 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist
Hellen Kimutai             27     KEN           2:25:52       3rd '05 Los Angeles Marathon
Elena Burykina             33     RUS           2:28:09       3rd '04 Rotterdam Marathon
Margaret Atodonyang        25     KEN           2:29:19       2nd '04 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
Anne Jelegat               36     KEN           2:29:23       1st '04 Carpi (ITA) Marathon
Malgorzata Sobanska        36     POL           2:26:08       2nd '05 Hamburg Marathon
Abebe Tola                 28     ETH           2:29:54       4th '05 Rome Marathon
Lina Usmanova              23     RUS           2:33:01       2nd '04 Russian Nat'l Marathon Champs