Posted: September 18, 2005

Athletics: Kastor breaks half-marathon record

Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor added yet another American record to her resume on Sunday, winning the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 53 seconds. Her time over the half-marathon distance shattered Joan Benoit Samuelson's 21-year-old mark of 1:08:34, set in at the same race in Philadelphia in 1984.

Already the American record holder in the marathon (2:21:16) and the 10,000 meters on the track (30:50.32), Kastor also owns American road bests over 5 km (14:54), 8 km (24:36) and 15 km (47:15).

Her race in Philadelphia was a tune-up of sorts for the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, which Kastor will run October 9.

"I'm ecstatic," Kastor said of her latest history-making run. "I couldn't ask for a better race. It was a little harder than I expected and I knew it was going to hurt a little. I wasn't sure I would run that fast and I was starting to tire at the end."

Margaret Atodonyang of Kenya placed a distant second in 1:09:55. Ethiopia's Gudisa Shentema of Ethiopia won the men's race in 1:02:23.

For more information on the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance run, visit RunPhilly.com