Phenomenal in Peoria

Auckland athlete Kim Smith, 27, who is based in the United States, has won the 36th annual Steamboat Classic 4-mile women’s race in Peoria, Illinois, running the third fastest four-mile in history. Covering the rugged course in 19 minutes, 38 seconds, the PJ Star described Smith as a “New Zealand phenom” and that “in one of the classiest races around, Kim Smith was in a class by herself.” Smith, who finished ninth in the 10,000 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, led throughout in a field that also included Olympic marathon gold medalist Constantina Dita of Romania. “I just wanted to go pretty quick from the start and have a solid race, so I went out and ran hard and came away with the result I was hoping for,” said Smith, who shaved 22 seconds off her winning time from a year ago. Smith credited recent altitude training in Boulder, Colorado, with helping improve her speed.