http://www.dailycamera.com/bolderboulder/ci_25837572/afewerki-berhane-puts-eritrea-bolder-boulder-map-thrilling
Afewerki Berhane puts Eritrea on Bolder Boulder map with thrilling win in
men's pro race
Allan Kiprono fails to win third straight by less than 2 seconds
By Kyle Ringo, Buffzone.com
POSTED: 05/26/2014 02:37:56 PM MDT | UPDATED: ABOUT 3 HOURS AGO
Kenya's Allan Kiprono, left, No. 23, Kevin Kochei, No. 24, Lani Rutto, No.
22, Eritrea's Kiflom Sium, No. 30, Mexico's Juan Nieves, No. 16, USA's
Bobby Curtis, No. 3, and Ethiopia's Tilahun Regassa, No. 26, lead the pack
of men out of the start gate during the Bolder Boulder Men's International
race ...
Afewerki Berhane did his best to remove any drama from the men's pro race
at the Bolder Boulder on Monday and he succeeded nearly all the way to the
finish line.
But two-time champion Allan Kiprono wasn't going away quietly. Instead of
fading into a distant second place as so many opt to do in Boulder's
Memorial Day classic, Kiprono surged as he entered Folsom Field.
Perhaps he sensed Berhane slowing to bask in the roar of the crowd about 60
yards in front of him. Kiprono was attempting to become the first man in
race history to win three consecutive times, but Berhane realized the roar
of the crowd wasn't only for him just in time and picked up the pace to win
by a little more than 1 second.
Berhane crossed the finish line on a picturesque day beneath the Flatirons
in 29 minutes, 11.37 seconds to give Eritrea its first individual victory
in the race in its first year participating. Kiprono wished he hadn't
waited quite so long to make his move, falling just shy of making history
and finishing in 29:13.01.
"It was too late for me," Kiprono said, still trying to catch his breath a
few minutes after one of the most exciting finishes in Bolder Boulder
history.
Berhane's winning time was the fastest at the Bolder Boulder since
Ethiopia's Tilahun Regassa won in 28:17 in 2009. It was the second-fastest
time in the past 11 years. Six runners finished in less than 30 minutes,
the most since 2008.
"I am so happy to win and put my country on the map," Berhane said through
translator Yohannes Amanuel.
Berhane, who finished fourth last week in the Bay to Breakers in San
Francisco, said he expected to win before the race started and knew he was
strong enough to pull away at 4-kilometer mark.
Berhane's victory was only the first reason for team Eritrea to celebrate
Monday. Teammates Samson Gebreyohannes and Kiflom Sium finished fifth and
10th, respectively, to give Eritrea the victory in the International Team
Challenge.
Sitting around a lunch table on the club level in Folsom Field several
hours after the race, the three Eritreans gave an emphatic 'Yes' when asked
if they will return to Boulder in the future.
Sean Quigley was the first American to cross the finish line. Running for
the USA White team, Quigley finished in 30:04.67. Ryan Hall was the second
American finisher running for USA Red in 30:12.97.
Hall teamed with Bobby Curtis and Luke Puskesdra, who finished 11th and
12th, respectively, to finish third in the team challenge.
Ethiopia had won the team challenge in six of the past seven years and also
had produced two of the top three individual finishers in seven consecutive
years until Monday. The Ethiopians finished second in the team challenge.
Contact staff writer Kyle Ringo at ringok_at_dailycamera.com or
twitter.com/kyleringo.
Received on Mon May 26 2014 - 17:24:24 EDT