Posted: May 4, 2006

Athletics: Craig Mottram to Aim for Central Park Record in Defense of His Healthy Kidney 10K Crown

Andrew Letherby, Viktor Röthlin and Matt Downin also entered

NEW YORK - (May 2, 2006) - Two-time Australian Olympian Craig Mottram will return to New York City for the first time since winning the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile last September to defend his title in the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, May 20 in Central Park, it was announced on Tuesday by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

After clocking the second-fastest 10K ever in Central Park, 28:28, to win the inaugural race in 2005, Mottram is now taking aim at the Central Park record of 28:10, set on a similar course by Paul Koech of Kenya at the 1997 Trevira Twosome.

"When I come back to New York for the Healthy Kidney 10K, I want to do more than just win it. I want that course record for a 10K in Central Park," said Mottram, 25, who is currently training with countryman Andrew Letherby in Boulder, Colo.

Mottram will be challenged by a world-class international field including Letherby, Viktor Röthlin of Switzerland (seventh at the ING New York City Marathon 2005 in 2:11:44) and Matt Downin of the United States (11th at the ING New York City Marathon 2005 in 2:14:28).

Mottram has already put together a stellar 2006 season, winning the Reebok Boston Indoor Games 2 Mile over Olympic silver medalist Sileshi Sihine, dismantling the Oceanic Record for 2000 meters and winning the silver medal in front of a hometown crowd at the Commonwealth Games 5000 meters in Melbourne. On April 9, he won his fourth consecutive BUPA Great Ireland Run in Dublin, defeating European Cross Country champion Sergey Lebid.

"Craig is a superstar in our sport. Nothing but the win satisfies him," Wittenberg said of Mottram, the 2005 IAAF World Championships 5000 meters bronze medalist. "He is a fair and fierce competitor in the tradition of other Australian champions like John Newcombe, Greg Norman and Rob de Castella. He's on the rise and we haven't seen close to the best of him yet."

The Healthy Kidney 10K is an open race led by a small field of professional male runners and offers $20,000 prize money to the top eight male finishers, with $7500 for the winner.

The race is sponsored by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to benefit the National Kidney Foundation, Inc., in appreciation of American medical excellence in the kidney transplant field. The late UAE president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan benefited from American expertise, knowledge and research when he received a kidney transplant in 2000. More than 45 embassy staff members and other UAE representatives finished the Healthy Kidney 10K in 2005.

For more information, visit: NYRR.org.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.

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