KIMbia Athletics

Four KIMbia athletes wore the Stars & Stripes at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.  Tim Nelson led things off on Monday evening in the 10,000m, where he finished 17th in a field of thirty-one.  With nine sub-27:00 athletes in the field, Nelson was shooting for a top-15 finish, representative of the number of finalists taken in the 5000m. Though he fell just short of that goal, Nelson clocked 28:18 in a credible World Championships debut, wrapping up what has been a banner 2009 year for him.

Three days later, his teammates hit the track in the prelim of the 5000m.  Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky ran intelligently in what turned out to be a rather briskly-paced first heat of two, keeping themselves within reach of one of the five automatic qualifying spots at all times. With six athletes getting separation in the final lap, Tegenkamp would secure automatic qualification to the finals by crossing the line second, behind Kenenisa Bekele, while Solinsky finished sixth, first in line to earn a time qualifier.  Coming home in 13:20, Solinsky admitted to easing back a bit in the final stretch, given that the pace was as fair as it was, and expecting that his time would hold up for one of the five time-qualifiers. Read the full article

Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky qualified to the 5000m finals at the World Championships in Berlin last night!  Everyone in the KIMbia family is immensely proud and super pumped for Matt and Chris to battle it out for a medal on Sunday at 10:25am Eastern Time.  As a fan, you are a huge part of that community, and all of the athletes truly apprieciate your support.  To show their appreciation, Matt and Chris want to give back by offering one fan a piece of their USA Track and Field gear that they are wearing in Berlin.  Also, the lucky winner will have the option of having it autographed by the KIMbia guys in Berlin.

 Here’s how it works: Log into your facebook account and go to the KIMbia facebook fan page.  At the page, share your well wishes on behalf of your personal running community.  Whether that is your high school team, college team, running club, or shoe store, just make sure you get your team’s name out there and make sure we know they are supporting Matt and Chris in the 5000m final (ex. “On behalf of the St. Xavier High School Cross Country team, good luck Matt and Chris! Beat Bekele!).  Once you have posted your message, get as many friends as possible to “like” your comment (facebook lingo, if you don’t understand, put your landline phone down and get with the times!).  The commenter with the most “likes” by the end of the 5k final will win a special piece of Team USA gear (Don’t worry, it’s not a sock).

Most importantly, though, tune into the 5000m final this Sunday at 10:25am Eastern Time here and scream yourself hoarse as Matt and Chris chase down a coveted World Championship medal!

Take a peek into the family dynamic of the KIMbia group as they prepare for the World Championships. From the father figure (Matt), to the optimist (Evan), to the Angry Bear (guess who?), and an appearance by Tim Nelson (nickname unknown), the group has a unique and fun attitude toward all the time they spend together while training in Europe.

With so many strong KIMbia showings at Maine’s Beach to Beacon, we are pleased to share some thoughts from those athletes who turned in such solid efforts.  Leading all KIMbia athletes, Boaz Cheboiywo took 2nd by just a few seconds and, according to Race Results Weekly, explained his runner-up finish, by saying of race-winner Ed Muge, “When you have an athlete of that caliber, he gets ten meters on you, you’re not going to catch him.”  Muge was the defending champion, while Boaz’s placing was an improvement on finishing fifth in 2008. Read the full article

The summer of 2009 has been a big time learning experience for Evan Jager, and he’s had to do that learning quickly.  At just 20 years old, Evan has gone from college freshman a year ago, to toeing the line against some of track’s best runners in some of the world’s most amazing European venues.  The first major venue for Evan in Europe was the Herculis Super Grand Prix meeting in Monaco where he mixed it up with a very strong field in the 3000m. This race was the subject of episode 4 in the “Wisconsin to Worlds” series at RunnersWorld.com. Check it out after the jump. Read the full article

Boaz Cheboiywo put another notch on his road racing belt Saturday by snagging the runner up spot and $5,000 in prize money at the Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This result, on the heels of a 4th place finish at the Peachtree 10k a month ago, serves as evidence of Boaz’ emergence as one of the most prominent runners on the U.S. Road Racing Circuit this summer.

Boaz was with the lead group of five runners until the 8k when the eventual winner, Ed Muge, pulled away. Despite the strong move from Muge, Boaz tried to battle back in the last mile but Muge was able to hold him off for the win in 28:04 with Boaz four seconds back finishing second in 28:08.

Also from KIMbia, Gilbert Okari finished fourth in 28:21, Simon Bairu, in his first race in his build up to the NYC Marathon, was 7th in 28:44, and James Koskei finished 14th in 30:00.

In the women’s race, KIMbia’s own Rebecca Donaghue was fifth place in 32:46. An impressive 22 second personal best for Rebecca in her first race since coming back from a European campaign that saw her post two other PB’s in the 1500m and 5000m.

Full Results and Prize Money information for the Beach to Beacon can be found here.