2013 media guide - LA Marathon

THE COMPETITORS
THE COMPETITORS
Elite Field: Women
ZEMZEM AHMED
DEENA KASTOR
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Age: 40 (Date of Birth: February 14, 1973)
Residence: Mammoth Lakes, California, USA
Personal Best: 2:19:36 (London, 2006)
Affiliation: ASICS
A 25-­‐time U.S. champion and U.S. record holder for the marathon, Kastor won
the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens,
Greece. Kastor also holds the U.S. women’s marathon record thanks to her win at
the 2006 London Marathon when she posted a time of 2:19:36. She also made
U.S. half-­‐marathon history just one year earlier in 2005 when she shattered Joan
Benoit Samuelson’s long-­‐standing American record by 41 seconds with a time of
1:07:53 in Philadelphia.
ETHIOPIA
Age: 28 (Date of Birth: December 27, 1984)
Residence: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Personal Best: 2:27:16 (Frankfurt, 2012)
Affiliation: Nike
Ahmed ran a personal best of 2:27:16 in the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, placing
sixth in the event. She achieved her half-­‐marathon best with a time of 73:31 in
the 2012 Zhuhai Half Marathon where she came in third place after taking two
years off from competing. She went on to beat her own time by finishing the
2013 Houston Half Marathon in 73:25 last January.
SHURU DIRIBA
ETHIOPIA
COLLEEN DE REUCK
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Age: 48 (Date of Birth: April 13, 1964)
Residence: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Personal Best: 2:26:35 (Berlin, 1996)
Affiliation: Colorado Racing
De Reuck achieved her first major success at the 1995 Honolulu Marathon,
finishing the race in 2:37:29. She won the Berlin Marathon the next year, posting
a time of 2:26:35, her personal best. At age 45, she finished 8th overall in the
2009 Boston Marathon, beating the W40 winner by more than a minute, and the
next competitor in her own division by 14 minutes. In January 2012, De Reuck ran
in the 2012 US Olympic Team Marathon Trials, finishing in 2:38:52.
Age: 27 (Date of Birth: October 22, 1985)
Residence: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Personal Best: 2:28:26 (Dublin, 2009)
Affiliation: Adidas
Diriba posted a time of 2:34:31 in the 2011 Dublin Marathon and 2:30:08 in the
2012 Firenze Marathon. She also ran the 2010 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San
Diego, finishing in 14 th place with a time of 2:29:09. Her best time yet came in
2009 at the Dublin Marathon when she ran the race in 2:28:26.
66 ASICS LA MARATHON
MEDIA GUIDE
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