Famiglietti takes men's title; Flanagan repeats at USA 5 km Championships

PROVIDENCE - Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) unleashed a powerful kick to win his second men's 5 km title in 13:42, while Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) cruised to her second consecutive women's title in 15:28 on Sunday at the USA 5 km Championships in Providence, Rhode Island. Famiglietti played it cool in the early stages, content to let fellow 2008 Olympian Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wis.) and Luke Kipkosgei (KEN) take the early pace. After passing the first mile in 4:23, Tegenkamp moved to the front to push the pace with Kipkosgei and Dan Browne (Beaverton, Ore.) only a step behind. At two miles, as Tegenkamp looked to be pulling away from the field, Famiglietti emerged from the pack and began to close the ten meter gap. As the pair turned on to Canal Street, he drew even with Tegenkamp and with about 800 meters to go, took the lead. Making the final turn, Famiglietti attacked the only major hill on the course and kicked to an eight-second win. Kipkosgei took third in the open standings in 13:58, while Browne took fourth overall and third in the championships division with a time of 14:01. Flanagan, the Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, appeared to have a much more relaxed day as she passed the first mile in 4:44, leading Ireland's Mary Cullen by almost five-seconds. After passing two miles in 9:45, Flanagan was comfortably in the lead and looked easy as she approached the finish at the State House. Cullen finished second in 15:46 while Jane Gakunyi of Kenya took third-place overall. Renee Metivier Baille (Flagstaff, Ariz.) took fourth overall in 15:53 to claim second in the championship and local favorite Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) finished fifth overall in 15:56 to round out the top-three U.S. finishers. The championship, hosted by the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K was the seventh stop for men and the sixth for women on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC). Famiglietti and Flanagan took home $8,000 each for their overall and championship victories. The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series that features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2008 circuit has nine events for men and seven events for women. Dan Browne now leads the men's circuit with 44 points and Deena Kastor leads the women with 45. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled. The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners. For more information on the 2008 USARC and USA 5 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.

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