Only six weeks removed from the Olympic Marathon trials, the Hansons-Brooks (powered by Saturn) women wasted no time shifting gears--kicking off the summer racing season with fast 5 km finishes at the 30th annual Freihofer's Run for Women.
The Hansons-Brooks women were led by Desiree Davila in 11th place (16:30), followed by Melissa White in 15th (16:45), Dot McMahan in 18th (17:09) and Yolanda Flamino in 21st (17:30). Davila was edged out of a top-ten finish by Olympian Kathy Butler of Great Britain, but held on for top-American honors by out-pacing former Cornell University All-American Emily McCabe (Durham, NC) in the final mile.
Benita Johnson (Australia) won her third consecutive title--joining Lynn Jennings and Marla Runyan as the only women to win three Freihofer's titles. She was challenged by runner-up Amane Gobena (Kenya), who ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Johnson for most of the race. It wasn't until the final half-mile that Johnson took control--opening up a 16-second advantage before finishing in 15 minutes, 45 seconds.
For complete results, click here.
