John Korir wins Steamboat Classic. © Victor Sailer
Kenya’s John Korir, who is a member of team KIMbia, took the prestigious Steamboat Classic in Peoria, Illinois over the weekend. He clocked 18:16 minutes for the four-mile race, and was eight seconds ahead of the U.S.’s Josh Moen. It was the second win in as many weeks for Korir, who has been one of the strongest runners on the U.S. road race circuit in recent years. A week earlier, the 30-year-old Kenyan had won the Bellin Run, a 10-kilometer race in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Lornah Kiplagat (Netherlands) was the women’s winner at the Steamboat Classic. She easily beat Australia’s Benita Johnson, who had defeated Kiplagat two weeks earlier at the Freihofer’s 5K. Kiplagat clocked 19:43, 30 seconds ahead of Johnson. Maria Mazilu of the U.S. came in third in 20:52. As it was for Korir, Kiplagat’s win was her second in as many weeks, as she had won the Circle of Friends Mini 10K in New York City the previous weekend.
The other major American road race of the weekend was the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. The 30th edition of the race had a field of nearly 10,000 runners between the marathon and the half marathon. On a very warm day, Russia’s Sergey Lukin won in 2:14:30 hours. Lukin passed the defending champion, Wesley Ngetich, a little more than five kilometers from the finish. The Kenyan then faded badly and finished sixth. Another Russian, Pavel Andreev, took second in 2:16:46. Galina Karnatsevich, of Belarus, was the fastest woman in 2:33:39, while Ukraine’s Svetlana Nekhorosh came in second in 2:37:33.
Two Championships in Kenya
A large number of Kenyan elite runners are employed by the national prison or police service. Last week, they gathered for their individual championships in Nairobi, where the track racing occurs at 5,000 feet of altitude.
Two women’s races became the highlights of the prison championships. Two great marathon runners met in the 10,000-meter final. In the end, the Olympic and World Championships marathon silver medalist, Catherine Ndereba, won the title in 33:31.3 minutes. Susan Chepkemei, who has placed second at the ING New York City Marathon three times, came in second in 33:34.0. Ndereba’s younger sister, Anastasia, took third place in 34:38.3. In the 5,000m, Selina Kosgei sprinted away from Edith Masai to win in 16:01.4. Masai crossed the line just three-tenths of a second later.
At the police championships, youngster Emmanuel Chamer caused a surprise by winning the 10,000m in 28:18.2. KIMbia’s top road racer Gilbert Okari was second in 28:43.8. Richard Matelong won the 5,000m in 13:35.2, while Olympic steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi took his event in 8:36.0.
In the women’s events, Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Isabelle Ochichi achieved a double. She won the 1500m in 4:28.2 and the 5,000m in 16:13.7. KIMbia’s Edna Kiplagat placed second in both races with times of 4:31.8 and 16:20.2.
