Four Olympians, Defending Champions to Battle for Equalizer Bonus
Record-Holders Abdirahman, Goucher Return to Medtronic TC 10 Mile
Four American Olympians fresh off their efforts at this summer’s London Games will race for
USA Men’s and Women’s 10 Mile Championships on October 7 at the Medtronic TC 10 Mile,
held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.
Duluth native Kara Goucher, the Medtronic TC 10 Mile women’s record holder, will be joined by
fellow Olympians Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, the 2011 Medtronic TC 10 Mile women’s champion,
Julie Culley, last year’s Medtronic TC 10 Mile women’s runner-up and Abdi Abdirahman, a twotime Medtronic TC 10 Mile champion and the men’s course record holder.
The Olympians won’t just be competing for titles among their own gender. Again this year, the
Medtronic TC 10 Mile will feature a $10,000 Equalizer Bonus for the first USA Champion – male
or female – to cross the State Capitol grounds finish line. Last year, men’s champion Mo
Trafeh, who returns this year, caught Cherobon-Bawcom in the final mile of the race.
Cherobon-Bawcom and the rest of the women’s field started with a seven-minute head-start.
“We’re elated that four athletes who represented the USA in London are coming to the Twin
Cities to compete for USA titles with us,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia
Brophy Achman said. “They, Mo Trafeh and the rest of the field are going to produce an
exciting race and some well-earned national titles.”
Goucher, who grew up in Duluth and currently resides in Portland, Ore., finished 11th in the
Olympic women’s marathon in London, running 2:26:07. The 2007 World Track & Field
Championships bronze medalist at 10,000-meters won the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in 2008,
setting the course record of 53:16 in the process.
Cherobon-Bawcom, a Rome, Ga. resident, finished 12th in the women’s 10,000-meters at the
London Games, running a personal best 31:12.68. The Kenyan-born, naturalized American
citizen won last year’s USA Women’s 10 Mile title in her first visit to the event, clocking 54:15 on
the challenging route from downtown Minneapolis to St. Paul.
Culley, of New Brunswick, N.J., finished 14th in the final of the women’s 5,000-meters in London
in 15:28.22. Culley qualified for the Olympics by winning the Olympic Trials 5000-meters in
Eugene, Ore. in 15:13.77. Last year at the Medtronic TC 10 Mile, Culley clocked 54:28 as the
women’s runner-up.
Abdirahman, who has represented the United States in four straight Olympic Games, was
unable to finish the Olympic marathon this summer due to a knee injury. The Tucson, Ariz.
resident, returns to the Medtronic TC 10 Mile seeking his third USA 10 Mile title at the event and
his fifth overall. Last year, the Somali-born American finished sixth in 47:00. He ran 46:35
when he set the event record in 2009.
Twin Cities In Motion will announce the complete professional athlete field for the USA Men’s
and Women’s 10 Mile Championships during the first week of October.
About Twin Cities In Motion (TCM): Twin Cities In Motion (formerly Twin Cities Marathon, Inc.) is the
non-profit organization that provides nationally recognized, high quality running events throughout the
year, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. With a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle
through running, TCM and its charity partners contribute over $500,000 to related causes each year. For
more information, visit www.tcmevents.org, www.facebook.com/TwinCitiesInMotion, and follow us on
Twitter @tcmarathon.
Media Contacts:
Teresa Fudenberg
Marketing & Media Director
Twin Cities In Motion
Office: 651-289-7704
Mobile: 612-220-8595
[email protected]
Charlie Mahler,
Media & Communications Assistant
Twin Cities In Motion
Office: 651-289-7708
Mobile: 952-288-6097
[email protected]
2635 University Avenue West, Suite 190, St. Paul, MN 55114