Posted: May 14, 2006

Athletics: Stunning Professional Debut For Cabada

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Fernando Cabada, the former NAIA star for Virginia Intermont, made a stunning professional debut at the U.S. 25-K Championships held at the Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Mich. today. He not only won the championship and the overall title over Julius Kibet of Kenya, but his finish time of 1:14:21 is a pending U.S. record.

"I wanted to be the aggressor going in, I wanted to win," said the NAIA All-American. "I got really excited because I knew I had the U.S. championship and I thought I was probably going to get the record but I just wanted to beat Kibet."

The previous U.S. record of 1:14:38 was set by Ed Eyestone in 1991. Cabada's time is equivalent to a 1:02-flat half-marathon.

Cabada has been in excellent form throughout the spring. He ran a 13:34.92 personal beat at 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays last month, and made his road racing debut with a half-marathon victory at the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville on April 30. The Nashville race was clearly a tune-up for today. Unpressed, he ran 1:04:56.

Kibet finished 44 seconds behind Cabada.

Viktoria Klimina of Russia was the overall winner of the women's race in 1:27:47, with Turena Johnson Lane taking the U.S. title in second place in 1:28:42.

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