INDIANAPOLIS
– Colleen De Reuck has been named the 2009 Masters Athlete of the Year
by USA Track & Field’s Masters Committee. De Reuck was honored
on Saturday, December 5, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Indianapolis,
Ind. The event is held in conjunction with USA Track & Field’s 2009
Annual Meeting.
At 45 years old, Colleen De Reuck is the oldest
woman ever to win a major U.S. championship, having won the 2009 U.S.
20 km Championships by a margin of 17 seconds. De Reuck took control
before the halfway point of the race to win the women’s crown in 1 hour
07 minutes 21 seconds.
At the Boston Marathon this year, not
only was De Reuck in contention throughout the entire race, she took
the lead on three separate occasions. She was crowned the masters
winner and finished an astounding eighth overall, covering the course
in 2:37:57.
De Reuck’s other top performances in 2009 includes
finishing second overall in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in
2:32:37. The race also played host to the USA Masters Marathon
Championships, which saw De Reuck win the W45 age group, and the USA
Women’s Marathon Championships, in which she finished as the runner-up.
De Reuck also won the masters division at the Falmouth Road Race and
finished fifth overall.
“It is great that master runners get
recognized for their achievements,” said Colleen. It is an honor to
receive this award, I am very excited and thrilled.”
“The
most astounding thing about Colleen is that she is a four-time Olympian
and she has continued running,” said USATF Masters Long Distance
Running Committee Chair Don Lein. “Most of our Olympians do not compete
as masters, but she has continued on, showing her love for the sport
and her love for running. She continues to have outstanding
performances which is why we are honoring her.”
About Masters track & field and long-distance running
Millions
of Americans take part in masters long distance running or track and
field, with roughly 53 percent of all male and 40 percent of female
road-race finishers being over age 40. A celebration of fitness and
healthy living at any age, masters competition features men and women
over the age of 40, setting new standards for what is possible as
Americans age.
About USA Track & Field
USA
Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult
runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.
USA
Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult
runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org