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USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

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  • USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

    (press release)

    INDIANAPOLIS-USA Track & Field announced Team USA's marathon representatives for the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Athletics to be held in Helsinki, Finland August 6-14. Three team members, Jill Boaz, Kelly Keane and Clint Verran, have prior World Championships marathon experience, having been on the 2003 team that competed in Paris. The roster also includes 2001 USA men's champion Scott Larson. Men's roster: Trent Briney , 26, of Rochester Hills, Mich., burst on to the U.S. scene with a fourth-place (2:12:34) performance at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials. It was that performance that earned him his first Team USA appearance. Recent performances from Briney include a personal best of 28:44 for 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational. Briney was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Peter Gilmore, 28, of San Mateo, Calif. With a tenth-place finish in 2005, Gilmore recently contributed to the most successful U.S. showings at the Boston Marathon in over a decade. His marathon career includes an eighth-place finish at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials and a second-place finish at the California International Marathon in a personal best of 2:14:02. Scott Larson, 34, of Boulder, Colo. One of the more experienced marathoners on the team, Larson was the 2001 USA Marathon Champion and has twice finished in the top-ten at the Olympic Trials (4th in 2000 and 6th in 2004). Larson earned his spot on the squad as the top U.S. finisher at the 2004 Twin Cities Marathon, where he was third overall in a personal best of 2:14:11. Brian Sell, 27, of Rochester Hills, Mich., also made his mark at the 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon. After leading by as much as one minute, he eventually faded to 12th. Not disheartened by the experience, Sell reappeared at the 2004 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, finishing with a personal best of 2:13:18. In 2005 Sell has continued his progress with a second-place finish at the USA 10 Mile Championships (47:37) and a ninth-place finish (first U.S.) at the Lilac Bloomsday Run on May 1. Clint Verran, 29, of Rochester Hills, Mich., is an IAAF World Championships Marathon veteran finishing 39th (2:16:42) in 2003 in Paris. His international experience also includes a 17th place finish at the 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. In 2005, Verran was the top U.S. finisher at the Freescale Marathon in Austin, Texas, with a time of 2:17:14. He has a marathon best of 2:14:17. Women : Jill Boaz, 38, of Los Osos, Calif., is making her third appearance for Team USA in the marathon at the World Championships. In both of her previous outings, she was the top U.S. finisher, placing 32nd in 2001 and 33rd in a personal best of 2:34:54 in 2003. Boaz earned her ticket to Helsinki last fall when she was the first U.S. finisher, fifth overall at the Twin Cities Marathon in a time of 2:36:08. Jenny Crain, 37, of Milwaukee, Wis., recently finished fifth at the USA 8 km Championships, sixth at the USA 15 km Championships and was the first U.S. finisher at the 2004 ING New York City Marathon. A two-time qualifier for the Olympic trials Marathon, Crain finished 11th at the 2004 Olympic Trials with a personal best of 2:37:36. Heather Hanscom, 27, of Arlington, Va., has a brief but solid marathon background that includes a sixth-place finish at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials in a personal best of 2:31:53. In her debut at the distance, Hanscom won the 2003 Marine Corps Marathon in 2:37:59. Kelly Keane, 32, of The Woodlands, Tex. A member of the marathon team at the 2003 World Championships, Keane continues to make a name for herself on the U.S. road racing scene. So far in 2005, she has produced personal bests at three distances including a 2:32:27 when she won the HP Houston Marathon in January. Turena Johnson Lane , 29, of Muncie, Ind. The 2004 USA 20 km Champion, Johnson Lane earned her place on the Helsinki team at the 2004 Twin Cities Marathon where she finished sixth overall and second American behind Boaz in a personal best of 2:37:39. A veteran of three U.S. Ekiden relay teams, Johnson Lane was 20th at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials. The coaches for the U.S. marathon team are Jack Hazen and Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick. The 2005 IAAF World Championships in Athletics marathon course runs through the heart of Helsinki and passes close to the El&auml;intarha sports field near the Olympic Stadium, inside which the competitors will cross the finish line after running the 10km loop 3.5 times. For more information on Team USA and the 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics visit www.usatf.org <http://www.usatf.org/> .

  • #2
    Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

    Good luck against the Africans because they are
    your only comp at this distance.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

      Not to take anything way from the team members, but are these truly America's best marathon runners? Didn't the USA win a men's Olympic medal in 04? Why isn't that person on the team?

      Also why no trials? In the past, the Olympic Trials process has always been debated as unfair in that the best may not have their best performance that day. Is the US moving away from the trails system?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

        The WC qualifying process has always been approached differently than the Olys, correct?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

          Perhaps, but I don't see any medals coming from this group. Sorry about being so pesimistic. Its just not very important obviously.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

            For those "notable" absentees: This will get in the way of some serious Autumn-season money on the USA East Coast. Olympic dreams have been met, now it:s adding fortune to that fame.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

              With those funny African names of Baldini and ....

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

                This just points up the fact (yet again) that the mere fact that something is designated a "championship" meet doesn't mean that the athletes will really care about it...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: USATF Names Helsinki Marathon Squads

                  >For those "notable" absentees: This will get in the way of some serious
                  >Autumn-season money on the USA East Coast. Olympic dreams have been met, now
                  >it:s adding fortune to that fame.


                  Well put!

                  Comment

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