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UNITED AIRLINES NYC HALFMarch 15, 2015Juan Luis BarriosLeonard KorirStephen SambuNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: We have our men's winners. Today's men's race tied for the closest finish in race history with the 2008 race. Our winner, Leonard, is a graduate from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, in 2012, and a two‑time NCAA Champion. Our two exciting finishers are also training partners together in Tucson under James Li, who also coaches Bernard Lagat. The guys are going to go down the line and talk about the race today, and we'll open it up for some questions. Talk about the exciting finish and what you tried to do. LEONARD KORIR: So first of all, I want to thank United Airlines for inviting us, and also I want to thank New York Road Runners and all the organization for inviting us to the race. It was really a very good race. I like New York. I went to school here. I wanted to give all I could to win this race because I love this place. So I thank all of you guys and thank you for inviting us. Thank you. STEPHEN SAMBU: Yeah. I'd like to thank everybody, New York Road Runners and United Airlines, for making this event great. And also everybody here today, my friends over here, we pushed so hard, especially me and the three of us. We pushed from the beginning. It was a really tough race. It's really hard to lose at the line, like I was winning and then I lose at the line. It's really tough. But it's good. It's good because this is my training partner. So it's good. JUAN LUIS BARRIOS: Well, first I need to say thank you for everything, for the hospitality here in New York. I love the course of the race. It's an amazing course. For me, today was one of my best times in the half marathon, and also it's with my friends. Sambu is one of them. But the race, I think maybe the last three years for me, it's the best race to date. Q. Leonard, did you know you had a chance to win the race when he burst forward and then started that kick? Did you know you had a chance to get him? You train with him every day. LEONARD KORIR: You know what, I think with half a mile to go, I knew Stephen was very strong. So I was telling myself, just hang in there. I knew, I was telling myself, I'll be number2, number2. But with 1K, I saw Stephen was not going, and something was in my head, you know what, win this thing, win this thing. I just gave it all I got, and I found myself on the finish line. But I know Stephen easily could have won the race. I just tell myself maybe today was my day. So that's why I won. Q. Stephen, you dictated the pace throughout the race. Was that your strategy, to kind of take hold of the race and consistently push up front? STEPHEN SAMBU: Yeah, it's always‑‑ I like running in front all the time. I like pushing the pace. For me, I don't like going slow. If I run hard, I know like it's going to be all us for the run. If you run easy, somebody can just come and go. So if you run hard‑‑ because from the beginning, we start pushing and pushing, and the group started reducing, reducing, and then it was four guys. From 15 guys to only 4, and that's better than everybody's over there. So we run hard until the end. Q. Stephen, you like to run‑‑ you say you like to push the pace. You control the race the whole time. Did you think you had it won? And did you think that this was yours to have? STEPHEN SAMBU: Yeah, I thought it is my day. That's why I was pushing a lot, but it didn't happen. Next time. Q. Just a followup. For both of you, is this the closest race, distance race you've ever run? Tell me about it. STEPHEN SAMBU: Yes, this is the closest because he just passed me at the line. I was just crossing the line, and he just came like very close. It's the closest race I've ever run, ever. Q. Leonard, what does it mean to win in New York after going to IONA and winning here in the city? LEONARD KORIR: It means a lot. First, I think this is my first win in the half marathon. And then second of all, I went to school here. I know in 2012 I ran the 10K, and I got second in New York. So I think New York is a very good atmosphere for me to run in. I think in the future I will be hoping to run the full marathon in New York maybe, God willing, and then hoping I might also win. So yeah. Q. In the future, do you mean this year? LEONARD KORIR: I don't know. Not this year, but in the future, yeah. Q. Jose, you ran with these guys the whole time, and then you finished, obviously, third. What did you see when these two guys started to sprint to the finish line? Did you see who won? Did you know who was going to win? JUAN LUIS BARRIOS: Well, I lost contact in the last K, but I know about Sambu. He's a good runner on the track. So maybe he would win. Maybe he can run in the last 100 meters. But after 21K, everyone can win. In my opinion, one guy make the race, another guy won the race. That's my opinion. Q. Stephen, I just have to ask. This has to hurt. I mean, can you just describe like a feeling? Was it a complete shock or surprise? Did you see him coming? Did you have anything extra? Just tell us a little bit about your emotions as you see him‑‑ as you made your move and you felt him coming. STEPHEN SAMBU: It was unbelievable, like I didn't know it was coming. When I was almost at the finish line, I didn't know it was that close. Then when I was trying to cross the line, he was just crossing the line. So it was‑‑ I didn't believe he just passed me at the line. It was bad. It was painful. But it's okay. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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