Posted: June 15, 2006

Athletics: Top International Field Expected at Steamboat Classic 4 Mile

Tomescu-Dita to defend women's title

PEORIA, Ill. - (June 13, 2006) - The thirty-third edition of the Steamboat Classic 4 Mile in downtown Peoria on Saturday, June 17 promises some high-powered and exciting international road racing, with top athletes vying for a potential prize purse of $40,000. Overall race champions will take home $4000. Below is the field.

Women
Included in the 2006 Steamboat professional field are several former Steamboat champions including 2003 and defending Steamboat Classic women's champion Constantina Tomescu-Dita. 2006 marks the sixth consecutive Steamboat appearance by the Romanian who has a terrific record in Peoria: 2001 - runner-up in 20:20; 2002 - 3rd in 20:25; 2003 - champion in 20:15; 2004 - 3rd in 20:57 and 2005 - champion in 20:45. Career highlights: 2004 La Salle Bank Chicago Marathon champion (2nd in 2005), 2005 Flora London Marathon runner-up and 2005 IAAF Half-Marathon world champion.

The main challengers to Tomescu-Dita should be Lornah Kiplagat (The Netherlands) and Benita Johnson (Australia), 2004 IAAF World Cross Country champion and 4th at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

For Kiplagat, a former Kenyan and now a Dutch citizen, 2006 marks her third appearance at Steamboat. She was race champion in 2001 in 19:33 (the second fastest 4 mile time in history) and runner-up in 1997 (19:56). The 2004 Olympian is a serious threat to break the world record of 19:28. Career highlights: silver medalist at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 5th at the Athens Olympic Games at 10,000m and 4th at the 2003 IAAF World Championships at 10,000m.

Based on recent road races, the stage is set for a Steamboat showdown between Kiplagat and Johnson. At the Freihofer's Run for Women 5K in Albany, N.Y. on June 3, Johnson won in 15:27 with Kiplagat third (15:47). Then on June 10, Kiplagat captured the Circle of Friends New York Mini 10K in Central Park in 31:27 with Johnson fourth (32:14).

Also in the women's field are: Nicole Aish (Colorado, USA), Olga Romanova (Russia) and from the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Michigan, Melissa White and Desi Davilla. A late addition to the field is 2004 Olympian Meskerem Legesse (Ethiopia) who has strong track credentials of 2:01.11 for 800m and 4:03.96 for 1500m.

Men
The men's race promises to be a battle between two top established road racers and a rising U.S. star. John Korir of Kenya, who has won nearly all of the major U.S. road races, will face off against veteran John Yuda of Tanzania and Fernando Cabada from Fresno, California - who set a U.S. 25K record in May 2006 when winning the Fifth Third River Bank Run. In April 2006 in two track races, he ran 13:34.9 for 5000m at Mt. SAC and then ran 28:25.6 for 10,000m at the Oregon Invitational. From Virginia Intermont College, an NAIA school, he is prepping for the USA Outdoor Track Championships in Indianapolis the week after Steamboat. Confident and brash, Cabada feels he can challenge the unofficial U.S. 4 mile record of 17:39 set at Steamboat by Gerard Donakowski in 1986.

Also in the field are six top athletes from the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, Clint Verran, Chad Johnson, Josh Moen, Josh Eberly and newcomers Jeff Gaudette and Ryan Sheehan.

From: Glenn Latimer, glennlat@aol.com.

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

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