Nine Olympians to Headline 2018 USATF 5K Championships at Abbott Dash to the Finish Line

The 2018 Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K and USA Track & Field (USATF) 5 km Championships take plce on Saturday, November 3 and will feature nine Olympians the day prior to the TCS New York City Marathon and will be broadcast live on USATF.TV as part of the 2018 USATF Running Circuit. Abbott will be returning as the title partner of the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line and USATF 5K Championships – both hosted by New York Road Runners (NYRR) – through 2021.

The professional athletes in the USATF 5 km Championships this year will contend for a $60,000 prize purse – the largest of any 5K race in the world.

Shadrack Kipchirchir, who won the USATF 5 km Championships, will be returning to defend his title. He will be challenged in the men’s field by Olympic 1500-meter gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz, Olympic 5000-meter silver medalist Paul Chelimo, and three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein.

The women’s field will be headlined by Olympians Amy Cragg and Kim Conley, 2018 USA Cross-Country champion Emily Infeld, United Airlines NYC Half runner-up Emily Sisson, and last year’s top returning finisher from the event, Lauren Paquette.

Last year’s USATF 5 km Championships took place at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K for the first time, as NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador Molly Huddle won her 25th U.S. title on the women’s side, breaking the course record in a time of 15:24, while Kipchirchir won his second U.S. title on the men’s side in 13:57. Kipchirchir successfully defending his USATF 10 Mile Championships title on October 6.

Following in the footsteps of the professional athletes will be more than 10,000 runners participating in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, including top local athletes and people visiting from around the world. The mass race will offer a $13,000 NYRR member prize purse. Travis Mahoney of Old Bridge, NJ, and Canadian Olympian Erin Teschuk of Greenville, SC, won last year’s Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.

Abbott, the title sponsor of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, will be the sponsor of the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K for the third consecutive year. Abbott, a global healthcare company, helps people live fully with life-changing technology and celebrates what’s possible with good health.

The Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K annually provides TCS New York City Marathon supporters, friends and families the opportunity to join in on the thrill of marathon race week. The course begins on Manhattan’s east side by the United Nations, then takes runners along 42nd Street past historic Grand Central Terminal and up the world-famous Avenue of the Americas past Radio City Music Hall. It then passes through the rolling hills of Central Park before finishing at the iconic TCS New York City Marathon finish line.

USATF 5 km Championships – Men’s Field

USATF 5 km Championships – Women’s Field

(i)= indoors

About New York Road Runners (NYRR): In 2018, NYRR is celebrating 60 years of helping and inspiring people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, free youth running initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners.  To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

About USATF: 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 country's No. 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, visitwww.usatf.org.