Contact:
Richard Finn, 212-423-2229 or Erin Kendrigan at 212-423-2294.

NEW YORK - (October 24, 2000) - Joseph Chebet of Kenya and Adriana Fernandez of Mexico will be coming back to defend their New York City Marathon titles against a stellar international field on November 5 it was announced by Allan Steinfeld, President of the New York Road Runners Club and Marathon Race Director.

Chebet is expected to be tested in the 5-borough 26.2-mile race by a formidable men's field that already includes former two-time champions John Kagwe also of Kenya and German Silva of Mexico. Last year Chebet, 30, pulled ahead of Domingos Castro of Portugal just before the 25-mile mark and held on for a six-second win in a time of 2:09:14. Chebet's NYC Marathon victory followed his victory earlier in the year at the Boston Marathon and marked the first time that a man had won both the New York City and Boston Marathons in the same year since Alberto Salazar in 1982.

Fernandez, 29, ran away to her NYC Marathon victory in the event's second fastest-time by a woman of 2:25:06 (behind Australian Lisa Ondieki's 2:24:40 in 1992).

This year's New York City Marathon, the world's largest marathon, will celebrate the 25th edition of the five-borough race. For more race information, visit its website at: http://www.nycmarathon.org

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Special thanks to 
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Coordinator for providing us this press release.
USATF Road Running Information Center
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