Before the Emily Sisson crosses the finish line to claim the U.S. 5K championship in New York City race tomorrow, a fleet of elites sped through the Central Park finishing stretch in Saturday’s U.S. 5K Championship. First among them was 2016 Olympic 5,000 meter silver medalist Paul Chelimo, who barely edged out his training partner, Shadrack Kipchirchir, to win in a course-record time of 13:45, and Emily Sisson, who had more breathing room with her win in 15:38, 12 seconds up on Erika Kemp.
In an interview after the race, Chelimo, 28, said this was his first win in a major 5K road race.
“It’s really exciting,” he said. “Winning in New York, too, is the real deal.” His victory won him $12,000, while Kipchirchir, who won last year, took home $8,000 and third-place finisher Stanley Kebenei (who ran 13:53) received $4,000.
In the fast race, the top three men, who all train together in Colorado Springs, Colorado, broke away from the field around mile one. Chelimo said that this was the plan from the start, to go out fast and then make it a duel among the three of them.
“The plan was to make the race honest, and we made it honest from the gun,” Kipchirchir said. “We decided, ‘Let’s push it, and whoever wins, wins.’ It felt like a sprint the whole time.”
In the final mile in Central Park, Chelimo and Kipchirchir pulled away from Kebenei in a neck-and-neck battle to the finish.
“I looked beside me, and Shadrack was still there. I knew it was going to come down to a kick, and I was ready with my kick,” Chelimo said. “We got to 400 meters, Shad was there. Two hundred meters, he’s still beside me. Fifty meters, Shad is beside me, and he wasn’t fading.
“The only way to beat him was to surprise him, and when he responded, it was too late. The race was over.”
“I wanted to win so bad,” Kipchirchir said. “I gave it everything I had. I don’t regret anything. I was like, ‘Don’t give up. Every step counts.’ But I know [Chelimo] is pretty tough. We work out together every day.”
In the women’s race, Sisson, 27, dominated, pulling well ahead of up-and-coming Kemp, 23, before the last mile. Two-time Olympian Amy Cragg Published: Nov 03, 2018 1:31 PM EDT.
“There’s so much energy on the course here,” said Sisson, who won the 2016 U.S. 10K Championships and placed second at the NYC Half Marathon last March. “It really pushed me to the end. My coach always told me in college, if you’re in the lead and you’re feeling strong, just keep going. I’m really happy about how it turned out.”
After getting married in August, Sisson said she took some time off, then ramped up her workouts again this fall at her home in Providence, Rhode Island, with training partner Molly Huddle, Health & Injuries.
“She’s been incredible to train with,” Sisson said. “I’m so excited to watch her compete tomorrow.” Before she cheers on her training partner, Sisson celebrated her win with brunch with friends in the city.
Kemp was the surprise among the top finishers. She joined the Boston Athletic Association’s elite team in August after graduating from North Carolina State University, where she achieved NCAA All-American honors six times in track and cross country. In July, Kemp placed 11th at the Peachtree Road Race 10K, but this is her first major podium finish.
“It was so fun and exciting, especially with all of the people in Central Park,” Kemp said. “The crowds were so much bigger than I expected.” To train for the race, she and her teammates did several hill workouts in Boston, which she said gave her an advantage when facing the climbs on the Manhattan course.
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“My roommate and I were joking before this,” Kemp said, “that we’re more excited to watch the marathon than race the 5K. It’s such a fun weekend in New York.”
Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, Do You Plan Your Runs Based on Time or Distance Runner's World and Bicycling magazines.
