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ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon
(404) 210-2780
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Jenny Schmitt
Peloton Sports
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Joseph Chirlee and Valentina Levushinka Beat the Heat
to Win Inaugural ING Georgia Marathon
Set Course Standard with Top Times
(ATLANTA, March 25, 2007) – Today, Kenyan Joseph Chirlee and Russian
Valentina Levushkina bested a top elite field to win the inaugural ING
Georgia Marathon in record times at 2:19:17 and 2:41:25, respectively. As
an inaugural event, the winners' times for the half and full marathon set
the event and course records as a standard for future ING Georgia Marathon
hopefuls on the hilly neighborhood Atlanta course.
Despite having switched from the half marathon to the marathon only 48
hours prior to the event start, Chirlee maintained a blistering pace of
5:19 minutes per mile through the marathon course on an unseasonably warm
day. "I switched to the marathon because I felt like I was strong enough to
win," commented Chirlee. "But it's not about winning. Everybody that
finishes a marathon is a winner."
The women's field featured elite athletes from around the world, but
Levushkina led a trio of Russians in the top three women's positions.
Levushkina, who won the marathon in her first attempt at the distance,
explained: "I chose the ING Georgia Marathon as my first because of ING's
reputation in these races. And the hospitality here in Atlanta was
amazing."
For the inaugural ING Georgia Half Marathon, a pair of Kenyans took top
honors, with Laban Moiben winning the men's race with a time of 1:04:33 and
Janet Cherobon pacing the women in 1:16:33. In one of the largest wheeler
fields this year, Krige Schabort of South Africa and Amanda McGrory of the
United States raced to dramatic finishes to win the wheelchair divisions of
the ING Georgia Half Marathon. Schabort, a previous winner of the South
African National Championship Marathon, won the men's race with a time of
50.33. McGrory, a world champion wheeler and 2005 winner of the ING New
York City Marathon wheelchair competition, finished the wheelchair half
marathon in 58:09.
The first-ever ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon became the state's
largest long-distance running event, with all 15,000 spots selling out
before the race. Sporting a diverse race field, the event had a high ratio
of marathoners to half marathoners: 38 percent signed up for the marathon
and 62 percent signed up for the half marathon. As a combined group, the
racers represented all 50 states and 25 countries, with Ireland, Canada,
Kenya and Mexico having the highest representation among the international
athletes.
"The ING Georgia Marathon provided an opportunity for everybody to come
together and get a sense of the community spirit that we have here in
Atlanta," added Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. "We are glad to share that
community spirit with ING and the marathoners. It is an opportunity for all
of us to come together, and each of us in our own way can use this to begin
our own challenge of physical fitness."
The ING Georgia Marathon offered a special surprise for local racers in the
marathon and half-marathon events. The top male and female runners in the
marathon who are US citizens and permanent residents of Georgia were
awarded an all expenses paid trip for two to the prestigious 2007 ING
Amsterdam Marathon in Amsterdam, courtesy of Delta Airlines and Mizuno. Tom
Kutter of Loganville, Georgia, punched his ticket to Amsterdam with a
2:30:12 marathon finish, with Miranda Shapiro of Atlanta taking the women's
prize in 3:00:27. The grand prize for the top Georgians in the ING Half
Marathon was an all expense paid trip to the 2007 ING Bay To Breakers 12K
race in San Francisco, California, courtesy of KPMG. Andy Bishop of
Cartersville, Georgia, took the prize with a finish in 1:15:02, while Kyla
Barbour of Roswell, Georgia, won the women's prize at 1:33:14.
Men's Top Finishers – Marathon
1. Joseph Chirlee, 2:19:17
2. Jospeh Sitienei, 2:21:59
3. Jonathan Ndambuki, 2:22:46
4. Charles Kamindo, 2:23:17
Women's Top Finishers – Marathon
1. Valentina Levushkina, 2:41:25
2. Victoria Zueva, 2:44:59
3. Alena Vinitskaya, 2:45:57
4. Wioletta Kryza, 2:49:50
Men's Top Finishers – Half Marathon
1. Laban Moiben, 1:04:33
2. Chris Lundstrom, 1:06:32
3. Dominic Kipkembo Lagat, 1:06:57
Women's Top Finishers – Half Marathon
1. Janet Cherobon, 1:16:32
2. Claudia Colita, 1:17:17
3. Jill Horst, 1:22:53
Men's Top Finishers – Half Marathon, Wheelchair Division
1. Krige Schabort, 50:33
2. Tyler Byers, 53:50
3. Adam Bleakney, 54:36
Women's Top Finishers– Half Marathon, Wheelchair Division
1. Amanda McGrory, 58:09
2. Jessica Galli, 1:09:16
3. April Coughlin, 1:19:03
For more information on the results to the inaugural marathon or half
marathon, please visit www.inggeorgiamarathon.com. The 2008 ING
Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon will be held on Sunday, April 6, 2008.
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