Posted: October 28, 2005

Athletics: Noguchi To Be Honored

From David Monti

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

Reigning Olympic marathon champion, Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, will be honored with the Abebe Bikila Award on Saturday, Nov. 5 in New York City, the day before the 36th running of the ING New York City Marathon. The award will be presented at the United Nations preceding the Continental Airlines International Friendship Run, and Noghchi is expected to join the field 15,000 and complete the 5 mile route to the Marathon finish line in Central Park.

The award, presented annually since 1978 by the New York Road Runners, recognizes an individual for an outstanding contribution to the sport of distance running. Previous recipients include Lasse Viren, Grete Waitz, Alberto Salazar, Bill Rodgers, Tegla Loroupe, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Last year’s honoree was the 2004 men’s Olympic marathon champion, Stefano Baldini of Italy.

"Mizuki is richly deserving of this award, which honors her individual achievements as well as Japan’s rich tradition of Olympic and world champions," said Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of the New York Road Runners and also the race director of the ING New York City Marathon.

Noguchi, 27, set the Asian marathon record last month at the real, Berlin Marathon, clocking 2:19:12. She joined Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain), Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), Sun Yingjie (China), and compatriots Naoko Takahashi and Yoko Shibui as the only women in history to break the 2:20 barrier.

The award is named for the legendary Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, one of only two people ever to win two Olympic marathon gold medals (Rome, 1960, and Tokyo, 1964). Just five years after his second Olympic victory, Bikila was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. However, until his death in 1973 Bikila remained an outspoken advocate of marathon running and helped bring international attention to the sport.