Posted: June 10, 2006

Athletics: Kiplagat Wins Third Mini Title

From David Monti

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

(L to R) Lornah Kiplagat (NED), Gete Wami (ETH) and Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) posing after yesterday's Circle of Friends New York Mini 10-K in New York City. Kiplagat won the race for the third time, and defended her title, while Prokopcuka was the runner-up for the second year in a row, despite running 44 seconds faster.(Photo credit: Jane Monti, Race Results Weekly.)

NEW YORK (10-Jun) -- Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands defended her title and won her third Circle of Friends New York Mini 10-K here today, despite spending much of yesterday sick in bed. She crossed the finish line adjacent to Tavern on the Green in Central Park in 31:27, the fastest winning time at this race since 2003.

Her victory was worth $10,000 in prize money plus a $1,000 bonus for breaking 32-minutes.

Kiplagat, 32, led three-time Olympic medalist Gete Wami of Ethiopia and reigning ING New York City Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia through the 5-K mark in 15:38. She gently increased the pace in the sixth kilometer, leaving Wami to battle it out with Prokopcuka for second. The Latvian left the Ethiopian in the 8th kilometer, closed a bit on Kiplagat in the ninth kilometer, but Kiplagat had put the race out of reach.

Prokopcuka finished second in 31:34, just one second short of her national record, while Wami held on for third in 31:56. Australian Benita Johnson moved up from fifth to fourth, finishing in 32:14 ahead of Ukranian Natalya Berkut (32:17). Amy Rudolph of Providence, R.I., finished sixth in 32:34 and Jen Rhines of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was seventh in 32:39.

In all, nine women broke 33 minutes on the hilly, certified one-lap course; 20 women broke 35 minutes.

Organized by the New York Road Runners, the "Mini" is the oldest all-women's road race in the world, and celebrated its 35th edition today. Complete results and race coverage are available at NYRR.org.

Circle of Friends New York Mini 10-K - Central Park, New York, NY, USA; Saturday, June 10 (Distance: 10 km, certified one-loop course; hilly)

Top-20 Results - 
 1. Lornah Kiplagat, 32, NED, 31:27 (31:26.7)
 2. Jelena Prokopcuka, 29, LAT, 31:34 (31:33.8)
 3. Gete Wami, 31, ETH, 31:56 (31:55.1)
 4. Benita Johnson, 27, AUS, 32:14
 5. Natalia Berkut, 31, UKR, 32:17
 6. Amy Rudolph, 31, Providence, RI, 32:34
 7. Jen Rhines, 31, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 32:39
 8. Yumi Sato, 29, JPN, 32:42
 9. Yuri Kano, 27, JPN, 32:55
10. Fatima Ayachi, 27, MAR, 33:13
11. Samia Akbar, 24, Herndon, VA, 33:14 PB
12. Nicola Aish, 30, Gunnison, CO, 33:22
13. Kate O'Neill, 25, San Digo, CA, 33:32
14. Marie Davenport, 31, IRL, 33:51
15. Yasuko Hashimoto, 30, JPN, 34:00
16. Bruna Genovese, 29, ITA, 34:08
17. Alemtsehay Misganaw, 25, ETH, 34:10
18. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 32, Oakland, CA, 34:26
19. Sarah Scholl, 24, CT, 34:52
20. Mikie Takanaka, 25, JPN, 34:53

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