Conner Mantz confronts Beach To Beacon 10K champion for unsportsmanlike move
"There was a lot of room on the left, but he saw me passing him and ran me into the fence. My momentum was gone," said Mantz
Photo by:
Kevin Morris
There was drama at the finish line of the 25th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on Saturday, as second-place finisher Conner Mantz called out race champion Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune after he was pushed and cut off with less than 200 metres to go. Yihune won the 10K race in 27:56, with Mantz finishing two seconds back and missing out on an additional $5,000 purse.
Mantz reportedly pleaded his case at the finish and took to social media to call out Yihune for his unsportsmanlike behaviour. “With less than 200m to go, I made a big surge to pass him again,” wrote Mantz. “There was a lot of room on the left, but he saw me passing him and ran me into the fence. My momentum was gone. I will look forward to my next chance to race Addisu Yihune.”
Video footage of Yihune’s contact with Mantz was uploaded to Instagram and TikTok, prompting many to question why the race organizers did not disqualify the Ethiopian athlete. In the comments section, some have even speculated that if this incident had occurred in a track race with just 200 meters to go, Yihune would have likely faced disqualification.
@lyssmarie43 #beachtobeacon two elites pushing for the win
Yihune was awarded USD $10,000 for his win, and Mantz was given $5,000 for second place. Two-time world 5,000m champion Muktar Edris of Ethiopia was third, finishing the race in 28:06 to round out the podium.
The women’s race saw the long-awaited return of Canadian half marathon record holder Andrea Seccafien, who returned from a stress fracture in February to finish 14th overall in 34:20. “The process of getting fit again has just started, but I have worked way too hard to get here to be embarrassed of my result,” Seccafien wrote on her Instagram.
The reigning Boston Marathon champion, Hellen Obiri, engaged in a thrilling battle with Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay in the final kilometre of the race. Obiri managed to edge out Tesfay by one second, securing her first Beach To Beacon 10K victory in an impressive time of 31:37. Keira D’Amato, the U.S. half marathon record holder, finished 20 seconds behind the leaders, claiming the third spot in 31:58.
The Beach to Beacon 10K was D’Amato’s final race in preparation for the marathon at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest later this month. She will be one of three marathon runners representing Team USA.
The race saw over 6,500 finishers, including a field of more than 25 elite athletes. For full results from the race, check here.
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