Jelena Prokopcuka is chasing Grete Waitz.
Prokopcuka is trying to become the first woman to three-peat at the New York City (NYC) Marathon since Waitz in 1986. She's also competing with Gete Wami for the World Marathon Majors title and the US$500,000 prize.
"The New York Marathon is my favorite marathon," Prokopcuka said at a news conference on Wednesday. "To have a chance to win for the third time and the marathon majors is very exciting for me."
Waitz, a nine-time winner in New York, captured three consecutive titles from 1978-1980 and 1982-1986. She won her last laurel crown in 1988.
Wami is attempting to run her second marathon in 35 days after winning in Berlin. That victory gave her a 10-point lead in the race standings, and convinced her to enter the five-borough race in New York City.
"During the [Berlin] race, once I knew I was going to win, I didn't run with full force," Wami said.
After two years and 10 races, the chase for the inaugural World Marathon Majors women's title is coming down to the final event. Robert Cheruiyot wrapped up the prize on the men's side, but Prokopcuka must finish third or better to capture the title.
Prokopcuka won the NYC Marathon last year in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 5 seconds. She finished second in the Boston Marathon the past two years.
"My preparation was good, I've had a lot of hard workouts," said Prokopcuka, who's been training in the hills of Kaariuku, Estonia.
The 32-year-old Wami would be the first to win two major marathons with such a short turnaround. In 1983, Waitz won the world championship and New York City Marathon in a span of 11 weeks.
Wami, who took two weeks off after defending her title in Berlin, has been training in Ethiopia. She came directly to the news conference from the airport with her coach Getaneh Tessema and an interpreter.
"Ethiopia has quite a bit of highland terrain and flatlands as well," Wami said. "I've trained for both."
Wami, who finished second at the London Marathon this year, ran her first NYC Marathon in 2005 and was seventh in 2:27:40.
Others in the field on Sunday include world record holder Paula Radcliffe, Olympian Catherine Ndereba and Boston winner Lidiya Grigoryeva.
Prokopcuka will run the race in memory of her father-in-law, Sergei, who died this summer. The death affected her training, but she said she's ready to three-peat.
"I didn't go to Berlin this year because I wanted to think about New York," the 31-year-old Prokopcuka said. "For me, it's impossible to run five weeks between two marathons."
Wami, a three-time Olympian, is thinking ahead to representing Ethiopia in the Beijing Olympics. The runner with the fastest time qualifies for the team.
"The next significant race after the New York City Marathon will be the Olympics, and I'll have enough time to recover. I don't think these two races in such a short time will wear me down," Wami said.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
RSS