July 7, 2005 - Press Release
Eastern Europeans strengthen field for women\'s 8k race
KINGSPORT TN-
The group of elite runners entered for the 2005 Indian Path Medical Center & SunTrust Bank Crazy 8\'s 8K continues to grow.
Romania\'s Luminita Talpos and Russia\'s Victoria Klimina join an already stellar women\'s field for the July 16 race.
This duo will lead a charge for the women\'s 8K world record of 24:28 set by Asmae Leghzaoui in the 2002 Crazy 8\'s. If the record is broken, the winner earns the Regional Eye Center\'s $10,008 bonus.
Talpos and Klimina finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the prestigious Peachtree 10K Road Race held July 4 in Atlanta.
Talpos has a personal best of 31:54 in the 10K while Klimina has gone that distance in 31:05.
2000 Crazy 8\'s women\'s champion Naomi Wangui from Kenya returns for another shot at the crown. She finished sixth in 2001, fourth in 2002 and eighth in 2003.
Other women who have committed to run in this year\'s Crazy 8\'s include Astere Demissie of Ethiopia and Kathy Newberry of the United States. Demissie was 10th at Peachtree and has a personal best of 31:57 in the 10K.
Newberry is one of America\'s most promising young runners. Her 10K personal best is 32:45.78. Newberry finished 33rd in the 2005 World Cross Country Championships.
\"The women\'s field is shaping up to be anyone\'s race,\" said co-event director and elite athlete recruiter Hank Brown. \"I think I would give a slight edge to Talpos and Kliminia, but there are several others we can\'t ignore.
\"That\'s what I like to see, a close race,\" Brown added. \"I think Demissie is a real threat and Wangui knows this course better than anyone. Newberry could be our first American winner in many years.\"
Crazy 8\'s is managed by We Run Events.