2013 media guide - LA Marathon

THE COMPETITORS
THE COMPETITORS
took up racing again in 2007 to maintain fitness. He is a previous winner of the
P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Tempe, Arizona as well as the Rock ‘n’
Roll Marathon in San Diego. Parson has also been a fixture near the top of the
ASICS LA Marathon results as he has finished in the top five in the event for
four years in a row, including a fifth place finish in 2012, fourth in 2011, second
in 2010, and third in 2009.
RAFAEL BOTELLO JIMINEZ
Spain
Age: 34 (February 23, 1979)
Residence: Manlleu, Spain
Personal Best: 1:22:17, Padua, Italy (2007)
Botello holds the Spanish records for 800m, 5,000m, and 10,000m on the track,
in addition to records in the 5K and the marathon on the road. He has been in a
wheelchair since a spinal cord injury sustained in a bicycle accident in 2002, and
began competing in wheelchair races in 2003. Botello has represented Spain in
two World Championships and two Paralympic Games, narrowly missing a top-­‐
10 finish in the marathon in Beijing in 2008.
RICHARD COLMAN
Australia
Age: 28 (November 28, 1984)
Residence: Highton, Australia
Personal Best: 1:44:40, Melbourne Marathon (2011)
Richard Colman is a Paralympic sprinter born with spina bifida. He has
represented Australia in the Paralympic games three times, Athens in 2004,
Bejing in 2008 and London in 2012. Colman is a seven time medalist in the
Paralympic games and a world record breaker in the 2004 Paralympics in the
800m. Colman was born in Norway but moved to Australia at a young age
where he found a passion for the Australian Football League, basketball and
swimming. He was the first wheelchair goal empire in Australia’s Geelong
League.
Wheelchair Elite Field: Women
SHIRLEY REILLY– DEFENDING CHAMPION
United States
Age: 27 (May 29, 1985)
Residence: Tucson, Arizona
Personal Best: 1:37:36, Boston (2012)
2012 ASICS LA Marathon Result: 1 st , 1:57:09
A veteran of the ASICS LA Marathon, Reilly successfully defended her 2011 title
in 2012 winning in 1:57:09. She also won the race in 2006, clocking in at
1:55:23, came second in 2005 (1:51:51), third in 2008 (2:09:56) and second
again in 2010 (2:03:30). A two-­‐time Paralympian, she was seventh in the Beijing
Paralympic marathon in 2008 (1:40:26) and has been a steady finisher in the
top races nationwide, including a win (with Christina Ripp) in Columbus in 2005,
a win in the Boston Marathon in 2012, two third place finishes at that Boston
Marathon in 2006 and 2009, and a second place finish in Boston in 2010. Reilly
is a Native American who was born in Alaska, with congenital damage to her
spine. After finishing high school in Los Gatos, California, she moved to Arizona
to join the University of Arizona’s wheelchair Track and Road Racing Team.
SHELLY WOODS
Great Britain
Age: 26 (June 4, 1986)
Residence: Blackpool, England
Personal Best: 1:37:44, Padua, Italy (2008)
The holder of six British wheelchair records, Woods set the 1500m world
record in 2010 with a time of 3:21.2. She has been the runner-­‐up in the New
York four times, most recently in 2011. She earned two medals at the 2008
Paralympics, taking the silver in London. Woods has won the London, Paris and
ASICS LA Marathons, and she took the bronze medal in a demonstration 800
meters at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
SUSANNAH SCARONI
United States
Age: 21 (May 16, 1991)
Residence: Champaign, Illinois
Personal Best: 1:50:06, Grandma’s Marathon (2012)
Susannah Scaroni, originally from Tekoa, Washington, is a student at the
University of Illinois majoring in Dietetics. One of Susannah’s goals is to help
athletes understand how nutrition impacts one’s peak potential. Scaroni
competed in numerous events last year, including the Illinois half marathon
where she placed second, the Boston Marathon when she placed fifth with a
time of 1:50:44, and second in the Grandma’s Marathon with a time of 1:50:06.
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MEDIA GUIDE
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