Posted: August 20, 2007

Athletics (RWire): Kiplagat, Ominami Win 30th EAS America's Finest City Half Marathon Titles

Ominami twins finish 1-2; event record field of over 7,600 By Patrice Malloy SAN DIEGO - (August 19, 2007) - Spectators probably had thought they had seen it all during the 30 editions of the EAS America's Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego. Sightings have included two Oprah Winfrey finishes (1993 and 2000), three U.S. bests, one Masters world best and 150,000-plus participants from all over the globe. But on the event's sun-soaked 30th birthday on Sunday, they may have thought that they were seeing double when identical twins Hiromi and Takami Ominami of Japan ran by them, placing first and second in the women's division, respectively. Nelson Kiplagat of Kenya and Hiromi Ominami claimed their first AFC victories and $1500, Kiplagat finishing in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 25 seconds and Ominami clocking 1:12:49. In the men's race, the familiar sight of swift Africans in the lead was not a surprise to the spectators who lined the point-to-point scenic course. Kiplagat, Tesfaye Girma (ETH) and Richard Kemeli (KEN) reached the first mile in 4:52 with Josphat Ndeti (KEN) trailing just 50 yards back. Kiplagat, who came to the race with a 1:02:46 half-marathon personal best, and Girma, racing on American soil for the first time, soon dropped their competitors in favor of a side-by-side duel, passing the 10K marker at 29:09. Girma, 24, who has a half-marathon PR of 1:01:24, dramatically dropped off pace at the nine mile mark and quickly lost ground to Kiplagat. "I wasn't tired," explained Girma after the race. "It was my stomach." Finishing in second place in 1:06:20, Girma's gutsy performance earned him $1000. In the women's race, Hiromi Ominami led from the start, leaving her twin, Takami, to fend for herself. The first born of the two - by a 10-minute margin - Hiromi finished about two minutes ahead of her sister who ran 1:14:58. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 34, of Oakland, Calif. finished third (1:15:22) with Kenyan Evelyn Lagat fourth (1:16:39). A record of 7,633 runners from 46 states and 14 countries entered the sold-out half-marathon and accompanying AFC 5K - the highest number of entrants in the event's 30-year history. The event benefits the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and has raised over $2 million for non-profit organizations. The event is produced by Neil Finn Sports Management, Inc. of San Diego. 30th EAS America's Finest City Half Marathon - San Diego, CA, Sunday, August 19, 2007 More results at: AFCHalf.com. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest