Reigning Berlin Champion Gete Wami to Run ING New York City Marathon
ING New York City Marathon - September 25, 2007

Wami, 32, will be attempting an almost unprecedented feat at this level, as she returns to compete at New York only 35 days after defending her title in Berlin on September 30.

Wami has plenty of incentive to win her first New York crown, including the $500,000 champion’s prize purse that will be awarded to the winner of the inaugural 2006–7 World Marathon Majors series, which will conclude this year in New York. Currently ranked second in the WMM points standings behind Prokopcuka, Wami will have a chance to vault into first place in New York, regardless of her performance in Berlin.

“Gete’s decision to take aim at the World Marathon Majors crown a mere five weeks after Berlin didn’t surprise me,” Wittenberg said. “She’s a tough, seasoned, wily competitor who knows how to prepare and how to run to win. While most others would be on vacation five weeks after a marathon, I expect Gete to be in the hunt for gold.”

Wami, a three-time Olympic medalist on the track, has a marathon personal best of 2:21:34, set in Berlin in 2006. She placed second at the 2007 Flora London Marathon and was seventh in New York in 2005, her only previous appearance in the race ...