PITTSBURGH, Pa. (May 2nd) - Former Mexican citizen, Alfredo Vigueras of Woodland, Calif., picked the perfect time to win his first marathon, taking the U.S. Marathon Championship at the UPMC Health System/City of Pittsburgh Marathon in 2:14:19. The victory was worth $25,000 and it was Vigueras' third U.S. road running title. Eddy Hellebuyck of Albuquerque, N.M. was second in 2:16:58 while Steven Swift of Cromwell, Ct. placed third in 2:17:26. By finishing in the top three, these athletes earned the right to represent the United States at the 1999 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Seville, Spain next August.

"I think I ran a very smart race," said an emotional Vigueras, 35, who spent eight weeks preparing for the race in an isolated training camp in the mountains of Mexico. Fighting back tears he added, "I feel so strong today. "I trained specifically for this kind of course."

The training camp had no running water, no electricity and no telephone which cut Vigueras completely off from his family. "My daughter didn't recognize me right away," he said recounting his reunion with his family after he concluded his altitude training last week. "It made me so sad."

The race unraveled quickly when Scott Larson of Boulder, Co. pulled away from the pack with the designated pace setter, Peter De La Cerda of Alamosa, Co. at the five mile mark. By the half-way point at 13.1 miles, Larson had built up his lead to 53 seconds and was on a 2:13 marathon pace. It looked as if he might run away with the race. Vigueras was in the chase pack with Hellebuyck, Swift and John Sence of Cincinnati, Oh. The group was running strong and sensed that Larson would eventually come back to them.

"When a guy is that far in front he is either a lot stronger than you or making a mistake," said Hellebuyck, running in his first championship as a U.S. citizen. The former Belgian Olympian, who has run 20 sub-2:15 marathons, only obtained U.S. citizenship last month.

In the 14th mile, Vigueras made his bid for victory, breaking away from Hellebuyck and Swift while Sence fell further back, and eventually dropped out. Vigueras drew even with Larson at the 18 mile mark and tried to give him encouragement.

"I said to him, 'Let's go, let's go,' " said Vigueras, but Larson was slowing. By mile 20 Vigueras was leading by almost half a minute, and the lead was building every mile. Several minutes back, Hellebuyck broke away from Swift and began to stalk Larson. Larson eventually abandoned the race in the 25th mile, allowing Hellebuyck to take over second and Swift third.

Vigueras, who had won the U.S. road running titles at 25-K and the half-marathon in 1996, soloed home, running the second half of the race faster than the first. His relatively slow winning time was respectable considering the hilly nature of the Pittsburgh course and the unusually warm temperatures.

In the non-U.S. championship women's race, Tatiana Titova of Russia won uncontested over hometown favorite, Cheryl Collins Gatons of Greensburg, Pa., in 2:39:59. Gatons finished in 2:46:51 over Charlene Lyford of Greene, N.Y. who was only another 15 seconds back in third.

The warm temperatures took their toll on the field, as eight of the top-20 seeded men dropped out of the race. Nonetheless, there were six new 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifiers who had not previously run 2:22 or better. So far 61 men and qualified for the Trials which will also be held in Pittsburgh in just over a year.

Nearly 5500 runners competed in the marathon, the Mellon Bank Four-Person Marathon Relay, and the Tri-State Health System 5-K, the highest in the history of the event.

U.S. MEN'S MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS OFFICIAL RESULTS:
1. Alfredo Vigueras, Woodland, CA, 2:14:20 ($25,000)
2. Eddy Hellebuyck, Albuquerque, NM, 2:16:58 ($15,000)
3. Steve Swift, Cromwell, CT, 2:17:26 ($10,000)
4. Randy Ashley, Brevard, NC, 2:19:23 ($7500)
5. Jon Hume, Lakewood, CO, 2:20:09 ($5000)
6. Craig Dickson, Olympia, WA, 2:20:21 ($4000)
[Philippe Rolly, FRA, 2:20:54]
7. Jason Bodnar, Davie, FL, 2:21:18 ($3000)
8. Fred Kieser, Cleveland, OH, 2:21:29 ($2500)
9. Carlos Paradelo, Tempe, AZ, 2:21:36 ($2000)
10. Dave Dunham, Bradford, MA, 2:21:55 ($1000)
11. Matthew Sandercock, Upper Darby, PA, 2:21:56 ($250)
12. Danny Reed, Laguna Niguel, CA, 2:21:56 ($250)
13. Weldon Johnson, Washington, DC, 2:22:17
14. Rene Guillen, Laredo, TX, 2:24:00
15. Eric Morrison, Lakewood, CO, 2:24:44
16. Darrell General, Mitchellville, MD, 2:25:50
17. Byrne Decker, MI, 2:27:47
18. Keith Stopen, Ann Arbor, MI, 2:28:57
19. Andy Spaulding, New Canan, CT, 2:29:14
20. Tony Nogueira, Glen Ridge, NJ, 2:30:03

WOMEN' OFFICIAL RESULTS (NON-U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP RACE):
1. Tatiana Titova, Gainesvlle, FL (Russia), 2:39:59 ($5500)
2. Cheryl Collins Gatons, Greensburg, PA, 2:46:51 ($3000)
3. Charlene Lyford, Greene, NY, 2:47:06 ($1500)
4. Tammy Slusser, Monroeville, PA, 2:52:04 ($1000)
5. Nadezhda Gusselshchikova, Gainesville, FL (Russia), 2:53:17 ($500)

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