Posted: June 4, 2005

Athletics: Despite Controversy, Leghzaoui Prevails In Albany

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

ALBANY, N.Y. (04-Jun) -- Asmae Leghzaoui found it difficult to run away from the controversy that dogged her throughout the week, but she easily ran away from all of her rivals at today's 27th Freihofer's Run for Women 5-K.

Leghzaoui, the tiny 28 year-old Moroccan who returned from a two-year drug suspension last April, won her sixth road race of the year in seven starts, seting her fifth course record. In warm and sunny conditions, she ran with the pack for the first kilometer (3:11), but surged away early in the second kilometer from key rivals Kim Smith, Merima Hashim, Marie Davenport and Katie McGregor. That 2:56 split quickly put her 20 seconds ahead, and her lead would only grow.

"I decided to break away and take off," she explained after the race, speaking in Arabic while her manager, Hussein Makke, interpreted for her.

Essentially racing only the clock, Leghzaoui let the pace sag a bit in the hilly third kilometer (3:12), but picked it up a little in the fourth (3:06). She shot several glances over her shoulder just to make sure she was in the clear. She thought that any of her rivals, especially Smith, could be coming back on her.

"I was giving a lot of respect to who they were," she said.

The last kilometer has a sweeping downhill to the finish line, and Leghzaoui used all of the hill to run her fastest kilometer of the race (2:53) to break the tape in 15:18, surpassing Lynn Jennings's long-standing course record set in 1995 (15:24*).

"Of course it meant a lot to me," Leghzaoui said of getting the record.

For Smith, who described herself as an inexperienced road racer, the battle was to control the second pack and beat everyone else. She held form well in the finish straight and crossed the line in 15:41.

"I was kind of running for second today," admitted Smith, the New Zealand record holder for 5000m, after the race. She then explained that both she and Davenport, who finished third in 15:45, had only decided to follow through on their committment to run on Thursday after race director, George Regan, apoligized to them for the comments attributed to him in the Albany Times-Union newspaper. In that article, Regan disparaged Lornah Kiplagat as being afraid to race Leghzaoui. He later said that his words were taken out of context. Kiplagat, along with Hilda Kibet (her cousin), Benita Johnson and Teresa Wanjiku, boycotted the race to protest Leghzaoui's inclusion in the elite field.

"It was on Thursday me and Marie decided to run," confirmed Smith.

As for Leghzaoui, she seemed to be meeting the controversy head-on, and in an article in the Washington Post yesterday apologized for her drug usage which she said was limited to 2003 (she ran two world road records in 2002). She apologized again at yesterday's pre-race press conference, and even donated her travel and lodging stipend to the local USATF organization, the Adirondack Association. The Albany crowd, and media, seemed sympathetic to her plight.

"I felt proud to be here," she said.

Leghzaoui, who earned $10,000 for first place plus a $1,000 bonus for setting the course record, became the first foreign winner since Carmen de Oliveira of Brazil won in 1992. Since 1993 the race has served as the U.S. open 5-K road running championship for women; Marla Runyan won the last three editions. She was unable to defend her title because she is pregnant with her first child.

Back in 18th place, Carmen Troncoso, 46, of Austin, Tex., won her fourth U.S. 5-K masters titles in seven attempts, finishing in 17:07. She first won in 1999 at age 40 (16:37), then 2000 (16:28), and 2003 (16:47). It was only the second time in the last seven years that she did not break 17 minutes.

"It wasn't easy, you know," Troncoso joked after the race.

Troncoso was mainly worried about Debbi Kilpatrick-Morris, 41, of Strongsville, Ohio. The Texan took the lead in the second kilometer and was able to hold off Kilpatrick-Morris throughout the race. She finished second (20th overall) in 17:10.

Kathryn Martin, 53, was the top 50-and-over finisher in 18:18.

*Jennings also ran 15:21 in 1996, but because of a misplaced directional cone, the course was later found to be 7 meters short

Top Results (more complete results in Monday's RRW)
 1. Asmae Leghzaoui, 28, MAR                  15:18 CR
 2. Kim Smith, 23, Providence, RI (NZL)       15:41 PB
 3. Marie Davenport, 30, Guilford, CT (IRL)   15:45
 4. Marima Hashim, 24, ETH                    15:49
 5. Katie McGregor, 27, St. Louis Park, MN    15:51
 6. Leah Malot, 32, KEN                       16:09
 7. Nicole Aish, 29, Albuquerque, NM          16:13
 8. Laura O'Neill, 23, New Haven, CT          16:22
 9. Naomi Wangui, 26, KEN                     16:26
10. Yimenashu Taye, 26, ETH                   16:32
11. Briana Shook, 24, Toledo, OH              16:40
12. Ann Gaffigan, 23, Lincoln, NE             16:41

40+ (U.S. Masters Championship)
 1. Carmen Troncoso, 46, Austin, TX           17:07
 2. Debbi Kilpatrick-Morris, 41, Strongsville 17:10
 3. Marisa Hanson, 41, Pleasant Valley, NY    17:27
 4. Doreen McCoubrie, 43, Malvern, PA         17:46
 5. Monica Joyce, 46, Pickney, MI             17:47