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Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson Claim 5th Avenue Mile Victories

Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson Claim 5th Avenue Mile Victories

Sep 13, 2015 by Taylor Dutch
Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson Claim 5th Avenue Mile Victories




On a sunny Sunday afternoon in New York City, middle distance veterans Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson claimed their third and fourth 5th Avenue Mile victories, respectively. 
 
Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis ran a comfortable 3:54.8 to take his third 5th Avenue Mile victory on the streets of Manhattan. Willis surged ahead of the pack with roughly 200m remaining in the race. After looking around and finding himself with a comfortable lead at 100m to go, Willis celebrated early and ran into the finish line for a winning time of 3:54.8. The performance marked his third 5th Avenue Mile win. He took titles in 2008 and 2013. 
Willis was followed by a pair of international standouts in Great Britain’s Chris O’Hare and Henrik Ingebrigtsen of Norway. O’Hare closed for the runner-up finish in 3:55.9 while Ingebrigtsen finished third in 3:56.1. Willis, O’Hare and Ingebrigtsen all competed for their respective countries in the 1500m at the World Championships in Beijing weeks ago. Willis finished sixth in the championship final while representing New Zealand. O’Hare and Ingebrigtsen failed to qualify out of the preliminary rounds to race in the final in Beijing. 

2012 5th Avenue Mile Champion Matt Centrowitz closed for fourth overall in a time of 3:56.1. The World Championship silver medalist was returning from finishing eighth in the 1500m at the World Championships in Beijing. 
 
NJ*NY’s Ford Palmer led the men’s race early on, coming into the 400m mark at 61 seconds and leading into the 800m mark to earn the $1,000 bonus prize at halfway. As the pace picked up, Palmer faded to 16th at the finish while Willis claimed his third 5th Avenue win of his career. 
 
 
Minutes later, 2011 1500m World Champion Jenny Simpson claimed her fourth 5th Avenue title in a winning time of 4:29.1. The race came down to the wire in the final meters as Simpson and World Championship finalist Shannon Rowbury surged into the finish together. Simpson had the stronger kick Sunday afternoon and broke the tap just 0.30 seconds ahead of Rowbury. 

On Friday night, Rowbury beat Simpson in the mile at the Brussels Diamond League meeting with a third-place finish in 4:22.10 while Simpson closed for fourth in a new personal best of 4:22.18. Sunday proved to be Simpson’s day as she ran her way to her fourth 5th Avenue Mile victory. Simpson claimed victories in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Last year, Simpson became the first woman to win three 5th Avenue Mile titles, and she extended the historic streak Sunday afternoon. 
Susan Kuijken of the Netherlands closed for third overall in 4:29.9. The European 5K bronze medalist continued to move down in events after racing a tough double in the 5K and 10K at the World Championships in Beijing. Kuijken was followed by three-time USATF Road Mile Champion Heather Kampf who finished fourth in 4:30.2. 

RESULTS HERE



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