04-05-2008
Contact:
Jim Estes
Associate Director LDR and Marketing
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661
RICHMOND, Va. - Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) successfully defended his 2007 title at the USA Men's 10 km Championship today in Richmond, Va. Abdirahman out-ran fellow Olympian Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.), running 28:34 for his second consecutive 10 km title. This year's championships were hosted by the Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers in conjunction with the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.
The field of nearly 20 U.S. men started under cloudy skies with occasional light rain. As they passed the first mile in 4:40, Abdirahman had established his place at the front of the pack with Browne, Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and the rest of the field in close pursuit.
The race was down to three men heading into the second mile with Abdirahman, Browne and Bizuneh 20 meters up on the field. By three miles, Bizuneh fell off the lead as Abdirahman and Browne began their race to the finish.
At four miles, Abdirahman opened a small lead on Browne though he wouldn't be completely clear of him until just after five miles. Over the final mile, Abdirahman would extend his lead to four seconds to take the 2008 title.
Bizuneh held on to the bronze medal, running 29:04 while Josh Moen (Readlyn, Iowa) finished fourth in 29:15 and Ryan Sheehan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) rounded out the top five in 29:20.
The fourth-largest 10 km in the U.S., the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K with more than 25,000 runners in 2007 and featured a total of $25,000 in prize money with Abdirahman earning $7,500 for the title.
About the USARC
The USA 10 km Championship was the fourth stop on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC) for men. Andrew Carlson (Bloomington, Minn.) currently leads the circuit with 27 points, Bizuneh is second with 26 and Browne is third with 24 points.
The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The fourteenth edition for the men and thirteenth for the women, the 2008 USARC has seven events for men and nine events for women.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.
The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2008 USA 10 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.
