Courtesy: USATF

Olympic Trials champion Christine Clark leads the five-person team that will compete for Team USA in the women's marathon at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Edmonton, Canada. USA Track & Field announced the women's marathon team on Wednesday.

Named to Team USA are Clark, Christine Clifton, Jill Gaitenby, Jennifer Tonkin and Kim Pawelek. The women's marathon race closes the Championships on August 12.

Clark, a 38-year-old pathologist and mother of two from Anchorage, Alaska, pulled one of the biggest upsets in U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials history with her 2:33:31 victory on a warm day in Columbia, S.C. The Montana State graduate was seeded #22 but defeated a field of the country's best marathoners. Last September in Sydney, Australia, she set another personal record (2:31:35) to finish a strong 19th in the Olympic Marathon and became the #1 ranked U.S. marathoner for the year. Clark lowered her personal best by 9:03 in 2000.

Christine Clifton, 28, of Leesburg, Virginia, ran 2:32:45 to finish 7th at the 2000 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and earn her ticket to Edmonton. In her first serious marathon attempt, the former Woodbridge, Connecticut, resident produced the third- fastest U.S. marathon performance in 2000.

Jill Gaitenby, 34, qualified for the U.S. marathon team with her 2:36:45 at this year's Boston Marathon - good for 14th place and a personal best by nearly 13 minutes. Gaitenby, formerly of Boston, now trains at Mt. Laguna, Calif. with the Fila Discovery USA program.

Jennifer Tonkin, 30, of Seattle, Wash. ran 2:38:30 at the 2000 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon for her spot on the World team. The Macalester College graduate finished 10th at the last U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (2:40:31), and in 1999 she was the U.S. marathon championship runner-up.

Kim Pawelek, 27, finished 7th at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:39:16. The 1999 USA Marathon Champion at Twin Cities and USA Running Circuit Grand Prix runner-up resides in Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

The alternates for the team are Michelle Simonaitis of Salt Lake City, Utah and Rachel Cook, of Santa Cruz, Calif.

The USA men's marathon team - led by world record holder Khalid Khannouchi and his teammates David Morris, Josh Cox, Eddy Hellebuyck and Mike Dudley - was announced last month. The men's marathon race will kick off the Championships on August 3 with the winner crossing the finish line during the opening ceremonies.

At the World Championships, the USA has earned three medals (gold, silver and bronze) in the marathon. Mark Plaatjes won the world title at Stuttgart, Germany in 1993, Marianne Dickerson struck silver at Helsinki, Finland in 1983, and Steve Spence took home the bronze at Tokyo, Japan in 1991.

At the 2001 World Championships, prize money for the first time will be extended to the top eight finishes rather than medalists only. The new award structure will be: individual events ($60,000, $30,000, $20,000, $15,000, $10,000, $6000, $5000 and $4000), relay ($80,000, $40,000, $20,000, $16,000, $12,000, $8000, $6000 and $4000) and marathon team ($20,000 for first to $6000 for sixth place).