Trailblazers of the sport Kathrine Switzer, Jacki Marsh-Dixon, Deena Kastor and members of the ‘Six Who Sat’ honored in Central Park
New York, June 11, 2022 – Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi and the United States’ Susannah Scaroni won the open and wheelchair division race titles, respectively, on Saturday at the 50th anniversary of the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race.
After winning the United Airlines NYC Half in March, Teferi, a two-time Olympian, returned to Central Park to capture her first Mini 10K title in 30:43, the second-fastest time in event history. She is the first athlete to win both races in the same year and held off Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, who finished second in 30:52. American marathon record-holder Keira D’Amato was third, running a 31:03 to become the fastest American in the open division in the event’s 50-year history. The defending Olympic, New York City and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya was fifth in 31:19.
In the wheelchair division, two-time Paralympic medalist Scaroni took her fourth consecutive event title in a blistering 21:10, a time that both bettered her own event record as well as the world-best 10K time previously set by Manuela Schär at the 2019 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. The U.S. podium sweep in the wheelchair division also included Jenna Fesemyer in second in 24:34 and Hannah Dederick in third in 25:29.
The Mini 10K, which began in 1972 as the first women-only road race known as the Crazylegs Mini Marathon, has gone on to garner more than 200,000 total finishers to date. Former NYRR President Fred Lebow named the race after the miniskirt, which back then was in vogue. A total of 72 women finished the first race, and three weeks later, Title IX was signed into law, guaranteeing girls and women the right to participate in school sports and creating new opportunities for generations of female athletes.
To mark the 50th anniversary, several trailblazers and pioneers of the sport were honored at the start line, including Jacki Marsh-Dixon, the first Mini 10K champion; Kathrine Switzer, the 1974 New York City Marathon champion who also ran the first Mini 10K; Deena Kastor, Olympic medalist and 2004 Mini 10K champion; and Lynn Blackstone, Pat Barrett, Jane Muhrcke, and Nina Kuscsik, four of the “Six Who Sat” at the 1972 New York City Marathon. Both Switzer and Blackstone ran the Mini 10K on Saturday, while Kastor participated as an NYRR Run for the Future graduation 5K race buddy.
Mastercard® served as title sponsor of the event for the second time, and as part of its on-going partnership with NYRR also served as the presenting sponsor of professional women’s athlete field. Shalane Flanagan, 2017 TCS New York City Marathon champion, ran the Mini 10K this year as a Mastercard® ambassador.
About New York Road Runners (NYRR)
NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire 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, virtual races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features a wide population of 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.
