October 3, 2010
Antonio Vega (Mizuno/Team USA Minnesota) was crowned champion of the 2010 USA Running Circuit in an awards ceremony held after today’s Twin Cities Marathon and 10 Mile, the final events on the 2010 circuit. He led all US men with 44 points on the circuit, followed by Mo Trafeh with 39 points and Sean Quigley with 31. Antonio picked up a $6,000 check from USATF for his circuit win.
Aside from three weeks in July, Vega led the men’s standings from start to finish this year. He kicked off the year in high fashion, winning the US Half-Marathon title in Houston in January in a PB 61:54, his first-ever US title. Racing in three more USA road championships during the year, Vega never finished lower than fourth place, with 3rd at the 15K championships at Gates River Run; 4th at the 7 Mile championships at Bix 7; and 2nd at the 10 mile championship at the Bobby Crim 10 Mile.
Beyond his high placings, Vega has also been running ran faster than ever at all distances, setting new PB’s this year at 3000m, 4 miles, 10K, 7 miles, 15K, 10 miles, half-marathon, and the marathon. Next up on his competition schedule will be the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships in Nanning, China, on October 16th, and the ING New York City Marathon on November 7th.
From Antonio: “”Winning the USARC championship is a honor and a accomplishment that I am very proud of. It really has given me the confidence to continue to keep developing as a runner and going after some more championships.” Looking ahead to his next two major races: “China will be my first chance to represent the US in a world championship. I want to run as well as possible against the world’s best, and also I hope I can help the US men’s team challenge for a team medal. After that, New York City!”
From Jim Estes, USATF Associate Director of LDR Programs/Marketing: “Our long-term goal with the USARC is to get event organizers, sponsors, and athletes to continue to raise their levels and also together bring more finances into the sport to help new athletes stay in the sport and develop. Antonio is the perfect example of this. We hope the prize money and bonuses he earned this year will give him the type of financial support he needs to focus continuing to develop as a top athlete and look ahead to such major goals as next year’s world championships and the 2012 London Olympics.”
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Accompanying Photos: Antonio breaking the tape at the US Half-Marathon Championships in Houston in January (rights reserved by Victah Sailer/PhotoRun) and Antonio receives his $6,000 bonus check from USATF on October 3rd in St. Paul (contact Katie Landry, Internet Publishing Coordinator of USATF at Katie.Landry@usatf.org).
