S. GitahiTeferi outlasts Obiri to claim victory in New York Mini 10K race
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 11.06.23. | 19:29
The multiple-time world 5000m champion had not lost a race this year
2023 Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri finished second in the 51st edition of the Mastercard New York Mini 10-K event held in the early hours of Sunday morning in a record course time of 30.19 and only seven seconds behind race winner Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia.
Teferi - who clocked 30.12 to smash Moroccan Asmae Leghzaoui’s event record time of 30:29 that stood for 21 years - had to hold her wait till the last 200m of the race to bolt away from Obiri, ultimately winning and at the same time, halting Obiri’s hot start to the season.
NY Mini 10K results:
— Fast Women (@fast_women) June 10, 2023
1. Senbere Teferi 30:12 (course & event record)
2. Hellen Obiri 30:19
3. Laura Galván 31:14
4. Emily Sisson 31:16
5. Keira D'Amato 31:23
6. Cynthia Limo 31:27
7. Emily Durgin 31:35
8. Kellyn Taylor 32:15
9. Edna Kiplagat 32:17
10. Emma Grace Hurley 32:32
Obiri had enjoyed a brilliant start to the season that saw her open her season with the Kenya Defence Forces’ cross-country showdown early on in the year.
The two-time Olympic silver medalist would go on to win the RAK Half in February and then the New York City Half Marathon in March.
After her heroics in winning the 2023 Boston Marathon, Obiri successfully defended her Great Manchester Run 10km on 21 May in a 31:14 performance before embarking on a trip back to Kenya where she also dominated the Kenya Defence Forces Athletics Championships held at the Ulinzi Sports Complex last month.
“Until the very end I was trusting in God that I could win, that I could beat her,” Teferi told Race Results Weekly while referring to her quest to beat Obiri. “I knew that Hellen had a stronger kick than me. We were both kind of tired and had been competitive throughout. But as we approached the end I was just thinking, if she comes let her come. I just have to go for it.”
Teferi’s time was the fastest-ever on U.S. soil, eclipsing the 30:22 mark that Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei ran at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta in 2019.
Mexican international Laura Galván pipped Emily Sisson to come third in a time of 31:14 with Kenya’s former marathon champion Edna Kiplagat placing ninth in 32:17 minutes.
Another Kenyan - Cynthia Limo was sixth clocking 31:27.
Under both USA Track & Field and World Athletics rules, Teferi’s time cannot be considered for a USA all-comers record because this year’s Mini course was slightly downhill. The rules limit elevation loss for a road race to 1 meter per kilometer of race distance, and today’s race was measured at 1.53 meters per kilometer downhill.
