time defending ING New York City Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia and 2007 Boston Marathon winner Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia will join the world-class professional field for the NYRR New York Mini 10K on Saturday, 9 June.
Prokopcuka, a two-time Olympian, was runner-up to Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands in both 2005 and ’06. Last year, Kiplagat edged Prokopcuka by seven seconds to win in a time of 31:27.
Grigoryeva will be making her first appearance in the deeply talented field which also includes 2004 World Cross Country champion Benita Johnson of Australia and Commonwealth Games medallist Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain. Olympic Marathon silver medallist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Also in the field is a large group of Japanese professionals led by Yuri Kano, Kiyoko Shimahara, and Mari Ozaki. Kano, 28, last competed in New York at the first-ever NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE in 2006, where she finished fourth. She recently took third in the 2007 Osaka Ladies Marathon. Shimahara, 30, was fifth in the 2006 Boston Marathon and second in the 2006 Asian Games Marathon. Ozaki, 31, was the runner-up in the Osaka Ladies Marathon in both 2005 and 2007.
Richard Finn - NYRR - for the IAAF
