Uta
Pippig Begins a New Chapter at the James Joyce Ramble 10K
April 30, 2000
Three
time Boston Marathon champion Uta
Pippig made a smiling return to competitive racing Sunday
at the James Joyce Ramble 10k in Dedham, Massachusetts.
For the past two years Pippig
has been suspended from competing for failing a drug test,
but the spectators lining the course welcomed her back with
cheers and applause.
Uta lost contact with leaders
Pauline Konga and Teresa Wanjiku by the four mile mark and
cruised the last two miles comfortably in third place, acknowledging
the enthusiastic crowd with her ever present smile.
Uta finished over a minute behind the women's winner Pauline
Konga, running 34:33, 5:34 per mile pace.
Surrounded by reporters and photographers
while still in the finishing chute, Uta tried to catch her
breath. "It was fun...it was fun," she said. "I
was disappointed I couldn't hear the actors reading to the
crowd." Passages from James Joyce's books are read
aloud at the mile marks during the race.
The 34-year-old Pippig was suspended
in 1998 for failing a random drug test. Her test revealed
a ratio of testosterone-epitestosterone greater than allowed
by international standards. This was not due to high levels
of testosterone, but rather extremely low levels of epitestosterone.
Pippig has admitted to briefly
using performance-enhancing substances while competing for
East Germany during the 1980s. She
denies using anything since then.
Post-race
drug testing is mandatory for the top three runners at the
Boston Marathon and Pippig never tested positive.
Uta
was chasing the course record of 33:37
set in 1987 by Lorraine
Moller of New Zealand.
That record would fall to women's
winner Pauline Konga (right)
who ran 33:10, 5:20.9 per mile.
Second place finisher Teresa
Wanjiku also beat the old record, running 33:28.
The men's race was won by Simion
Karori in 30:22. That's 4:53.8 minutes per mile.
Uta is now pursuing US citizenship
and hopes to be eligible to compete at the US Olympic Track
& Field Trials in July.
All photos by Running
Past
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