Contacts:
NYRR Media Relations
Robert Molke: (o) 646.758.9711 (c) 646.531.2425 (e) [email protected]
Chris Weiller: (o) 212.320.4046 (c) 917.816.7900 (e) [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Champions Lead Star-Studded Field in the World’s Most Iconic Road Mile on
Sunday, September 13 in the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile
2014 defending champion Jenny Simpson joins past winners Shannon Rowbury, Matthew Centrowitz,
Nick Willis, and Bernard Lagat in event to be televised live on WABC-TV, Channel 7 and ESPN2 from 1:00
to 1:30 p.m.
6,000 runners are expected to run past thousands of supporters lining the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile course
in races throughout the day, including the Youth Mile featuring local 11 year-old world record holder
Jonah Gorevic, the NYPD/FDNY Mile, and other local elite and notable age group races
New York, September 8, 2015—Defending women’s champion, American Jenny Simpson, will lead an
elite field of runners, including past champions Shannon Rowbury, Matthew Centrowitz, and Bernard
Lagat of the United States, and Nick Willis of New Zealand, at the 35th annual NYRR 5th Avenue Mile on
Sunday, September 13, it was announced today by Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New York Road
Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon.
“We are thrilled to welcome back to the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile defending champion Jenny and past
champions Shannon, Matt, ‘Kip’, and Nick, to lead an outstanding group of milers in this year’s race,”
said Ciaccia. “This is the running world’s most iconic road mile. Our Men’s and Women’s pro races will
be the finale to a great day for thousands of runners, and will be broadcast live locally on WABC-TV,
Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and globally on various international sports networks.”
The 2015 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile will be televised live from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. ET on WABC-TV, Channel 7
in the New York tri-state area and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2. Both the men’s and women’s
professional races will be featured live on the broadcast of the world’s largest road mile race. Interviews
and highlights of the Youth Mile and other races will round out the broadcast. Viewers can also watch
live via the WATCH ABC app, and via WatchESPN on computers, tablets, smartphones, Amazon Fire TV
and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and Xbox One for those who have video
subscriptions from affiliated providers. Coverage will also be available on demand at abc7NY.com.
International viewers can watch the broadcast via a variety of global broadcast partners (international
viewers should check local listings).
Also featured in the live broadcast will be highlights from earlier in the day, including the NYRR 5th
Avenue Mile Youth Mile (ages eight to 14), featuring 11-year-old mile world record-holder Jonah Gorevic
of Rye, NY. Jonah will be joined by 200 young runners in the famed run down 5th Avenue. New this year
is the Youth Wheelchair Invitational Exhibition, including seven kids ages 11 to 17 from wheelchair
racing teams in the New York tri-state area, which will follow the adult wheelchair and handcycle race at
8:30 a.m. to kick-off the day’s age-group and specialty races.
“From kids to seniors, to the new Youth Wheelchair Invitational Exhibition, the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile
celebrates runners of all ages and abilities,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road
Runners. “6,000 runners will make the trip down 5th Avenue past people cheering from the Met at 80th
Street to Grand Army Plaza at 60th Street. The event is really about a community coming together to
share in the excitement of a unique New York day and one of NYRR’s most prestigious events.”
Simpson, 29, of Boulder, CO, is the defending NYRR 5th Avenue Mile champion and made history last
year as the first woman to win three NYRR 5th Avenue Mile titles (2011, 2013, 2014). She won the 2011
IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships at 1500 meters and returned to take the silver in
2013. In 2014, she captured the IAAF Diamond League series title at that distance. Simpson has a 1500meter personal best of 3:57.22, the third-fastest American performance in history.
“For the fifth season in a row, I can't wait to finish my racing calendar at the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile,”
said Simpson. “After countless miles run all around the world, I can't wait to return to the USA and race
my final mile of the year in front of a home crowd.”
Rowbury, 30, of Portland, OR, broke the 32-year-old American 1500-meter record this summer with a
3:56.29 performance in Monaco. She earned a bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Track and Field
Championships in the 1500 meters is a two-time Olympian. Rowbury, the 2009 and 2010 NYRR 5th
Avenue Mile champion, is the former 2-mile indoor American record-holder and a four-time national
champion in the 1500 meters (2008, 2009), indoor 3000 meters (2008), and the road mile (2009).
“I am thrilled to be ending my season with the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile,” said Rowbury. “New York Road
Runners has a history of putting on the world's top road races and I always love being a part of their
events. After a long season on the road, racing on home soil is a great pleasure.”
Centrowitz, 25, of Portland, OR, captured the bronze medal at the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track and
Field Championships 1500 meters; he improved to silver in 2013, and finished fourth in the event at the
2012 London Olympics. Centrowitz, the 2012 Fifth Avenue Mile champion and 2012 and 2015 NYRR
Wanamaker Mile champion is the third-fastest American of all time in the 1500 meters (3:30.40). He
won the USA outdoor 1500-meter title in 2011, 2013, and 2015.
“I love running in New York and look forward to my third NYRR 5th Avenue Mile,” said Centrowitz. “This
will be my third race in New York this year. I won the NYRR Wannamaker mile at the Millrose Games and
ran an 800-meter PR of 1:44 at the New York Diamond League meet. I hope this one goes as well. I have
lots of family on the East coast and they always come out to support, which means a lot to me.”
Leading up to the professional men’s and women’s races, a wide variety of mile races will be held during
the day including the NYPD/FDNY Mile, the George Sheehan Memorial Miles for runners 60 to 69 and
70+, and the women’s and men’s NYRR Road Mile Championships, featuring top local athletes including
Paralympic 1500-meter world record-holder Mike Brannigan of Northport, NY.
Former New York Giants running back and radio personality Tiki Barber will also be running in one of the
day’s mile races.
Additional Featured and Select Athlete Backgrounds and Notable Performances
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Lagat, 40, of Tucson, AZ, is the 2011 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile champion. He recorded top-three
finishes at 13 global championships, including five IAAF World Championship titles, an Olympic
1500-meter silver medal in 2004, and an Olympic 1500-meter bronze medal in 2000. He is a fourtime Olympian, holds six American records, and has won eight NYRR Wanamaker Mile titles.
Willis, 32, is a two-time NYRR 5th Avenue Mile champion (2008, 2013). He set the 1500-meter
national record in the 1500 meters (3:29.66) this summer and won a silver medal at the 2008
Olympic Games in that event. In 2006, he became the first New Zealand athlete to win the
Commonwealth Games 1500 meters.
Henrik Ingebrigtsen, 24, of Norway, won the gold medal at the 2012 European Championships in
the 1500 meters; in the 2014 Championships, he earned a silver medal in the same event. He
finished fifth in the 2012 Olympic Games 1500 meters and set the Norwegian 1500-meter record in
2014 with a 3:31.46. He also holds the indoor 1500-meter and 3000-meter Norwegian records.
Treniere Moser, 33, of Portland, OR, is a four-time 1500-meter champion at the USA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships (2005, 2006, 2007, 2013) and the winner of the same event at the 2006
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In 2014, she finished third in the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile
and fifth at the IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships 1500 meters.
Heather Kampf, 29, of Minneapolis, MN, captured her third USA Road Mile Championship title in
May. The “Queen of the Road Mile” has recorded three victories at both the Ryan Shay Mile and the
GNC Live Well Liberty Mile. Kampf, who owns a road-mile personal best of 4:21.39, was a nine-time
All American at the University of Minnesota and won the 2006 NCAA Outdoor 800-meter title.
Nicole Tully, 28, of Englewood, NJ, captured her first national title at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track
and Field Championships in the 5000 meters, qualifying her for her first IAAF World Track and Field
Championships. A local athlete on the New Jersey-New York Track Club and representative of the
New York Athletic Club, she was a two-time All American at the University of Villanova.
Alysia Montano, 29, of Canyon Country, CA, captured the bronze medal in the 800 meters at the
2010 IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships. She won her sixth USA Outdoor 800-meter
title this past June and won the 2015 USA Indoor 600-meter title. She set the 600-meter American
record at the 2013 NYRR Millrose Games with a performance of 1:23:59.
Professional Men
Name
Bernard Lagat, USA
Nick Willis, NZL
Matthew Centrowitz, USA
Henrik Ingebrigtsen, NOR
Pieter-Jan Hannes, BEL
Chris O’Hare, GBR
Ryan Gregson, AUS
Personal Best Mile, 1500 Meters
3:47.28, 3:26.34
3:49.83, 3:29.66
3:50.53, 3:30.40
3:50.72, 3:31.46
3:51.84, 3:34.49
3:52.98, 3:34.83
3:52.24, 3:31.06
Twitter Handle
@Lagat1500
@nickwillis
@MattCentrowitz
@HenrikInge
@PJHANNES
@chrisohare1500
@RyanGregson25
David Torrence, USA
Dan Huling, USA
Garrett Heath, USA
Jakob Holusa, CZE
Kyle Merber, USA
Charlie Grice, GBR
Christian Soratos, USA
Mac Fleet, USA
Ford Palmer, USA
Daniel Winn, USA
Colby Alexander, USA
Professional Women
Name
Shannon Rowbury, USA
Jenny Simpson, USA
Aisha Praught, JAM
Treniere Moser, USA
Amanda Eccleston, USA
Heather Wilson, USA
Heather Kampf, USA
Rachel Schneider, USA
Nicole Tully, USA
Genevieve LaCaze, AUS
Alysia Montano, USA
Susan Kuijken, NED
Kerri Gallagher, USA
3:52.01, 3:33.23
3:53 (road), 3:37.53
3:53.15, 3:34.12
3:53.46, 3:34.26
3:54.76, 3:34.54
3:54.61, 3:35.29
3:55.27 (indoors), 3:39.68
3:56.77, 3:38.35
3:56.79 (indoors), 3:36.98
3:57.62 (indoors), 3:37.56
3:59.19, 3:36.56
@David_Torrence
@DanielHuling
@_garrettheath
-@TheRealMerb
@CharlieGrice1
@soratos_miler
@macfleet1
@GoFordPalmer
@DanielWinn
@okaycolby
Personal Best Mile, 1500 Meters
4:20.34, 3:56.29
4:25.91 (indoors), 3:57.22
4:27.61 (indoors), 4:15.57
4:28.86 (indoors), 4:02.85
4:29.06, 4:08.08
4:29.39, 4:07.47
4:30.14 (indoors), 4:06.16
4:30.62 (indoors), 4:06.90
4:30.65, 4:06.87
4:32.19, 4:10.29
4:34.0 (hand-timed), 4:28.43
4:34.11 (indoors), 4:05.38
4:34.42, 4:03.56
Twitter Handle
@ShannonRowbury
@trackjenny
@aishapraught
@TreniereMoser
@AmandaEcc
@heathawilson
@HeatherRaeKampf
@rachschneid3
@NicoleSchappert
@GenGen_LaCaze
@AlysiaMontano
@susankuijken
@kgall3
For more information about the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile, visit the event webpage at nyrr.org. Media
information can be found before race day on the NYRR online media center, including professional
athlete fields and a downloadable media guide.
About New York Road Runners
Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier
community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. NYRR’s
commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth running
initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each
year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s
premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually
on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional
athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit
www.nyrr.org.