FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Hancock Financial Announces
2014 Boston Marathon International Elite Field
46 Elite Athletes From 13 Countries Invited For 118th Running on April 21
BOSTON, MA, January 21, 2014-In its 29th year as principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite field for
the 118th running of the Boston Marathon on April 21. A complete field list
follows.
Reigning champions Lelisa Desisa and Rita Jeptoo will return to defend
their titles, but will be challenged by the fastest field ever assembled
for the world's most historic marathon.
The international John Hancock Elite Athlete Team includes 46 athletes from
13 countries and includes Olympic medalists, World Marathon Majors
champions of Chicago, New York City, Tokyo and Boston, and champions of
more than 80 global marathons.
Seven men in the field have run under 2:05:30, including Desisa, who is
ranked #1 in the world by Track & Field News for his 2013 wins in Boston
and Dubai and his silver medal finish at the 2013 IAAF World Championships
Marathon. Dennis Kimetto, who is ranked #2 in the world for his 2013
course record wins in Chicago and Tokyo may be Desisa's strongest
challenger. Kimetto holds the world record in the 25K and has a personal
best 2:03:45 from his Chicago win.
Joining the duo is Moses Mosop, who ran the second-fastest time ever run
over a certified marathon distance with his 2:03:06 second-place finish in
Boston in 2011. Mosop then went on to win Chicago the same year. Ethiopians
Gebre Gebremariam and Markos Geneti have also run sub-2:05 and have
experience on the course. Gebremariam has finished third at Boston twice
and won in New York City in 2010. Geneti won Los Angeles and last year
finished sixth in his Boston debut.
Last year's runner up and former 10K world-record-holder Micah Kogo returns
for redemption after missing the crown by five seconds. Other strong
challengers will be three-time Amsterdam winner and Rotterdam champion
Wilson Chebet and young talent Tilahun Regassa, who has also won Rotterdam.
They are joined by Frankline Chepkwony, who is past champion in Seoul and
Zurich, and Shami Dawud, who holds the course record in Hamburg.
Three-time Olympian Meb Keflezighi, past New York City winner and Olympic
silver medalist, and three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein will work
together with Jason Hartmann, Brett Gotcher, Nick Arciniaga and Jeffrey
Eggleston to bring back a title for the U.S. Keflezighi has finished as
high as third in Boston and Hartmann has finished fourth the past two
years.
Joining them to round out the deep men's field are April Lusapho, third
place finisher in New York City last year, and AdilAnani, who won Beppu and
Casablanca. Also in contention are young talents Olympian Jeffrey Hunt,
Warsaw winner Vitaliy Shafar, 2:06 marathoner Eric Ndiema, Lisbon champion
Paul Lonyangata, and Gongju winner Joel Kimurer.
On the women's side, the historic win will be difficult to secure with nine
women owning personal best times under 2:23. Headliners include the top
four finishers from last year's race: Rita Jeptoo, Meseret Hailu, Sharon
Cherop and Shalane Flanagan.
After winning Boston for the second time, Jeptoo went on to win Chicago in
2:19:57 and was the only woman in the world last year to break 2:20. Hailu
returns with valuable experience after beating 2012 Boston champion
Cheropby three seconds to secure second place. Cherop returns for her
fourth Boston Marathon with an improved personal best of 2:22:38 earned
this past fall with a runner-up finish in Berlin. Three-time Olympian
Flanagan was in the hunt until the final stretch and finished only seven
seconds outside of a podium spot.
Challenging these women will be 2011 Boston Marathon champion Caroline
Kilel and 2011 runner up Desiree Davila Linden. Both women are back in top
form with Kilel setting a new 2:22:34 best in Frankfurt and Linden
determined to beat her 2:22:38 Boston Marathon American course record.
Ready to mix things up are Mare Dibaba, who has a personal best of 2:19:52
and recently won Xiamen; Jemima Sumgong, who was runner up in Chicago last
year and in Boston in 2012; Eunice Kirwa, who has a 2:21:41 best and Seoul
champion Flomena Chepchichir.
Two-time New York City runner up Buzunesh Deba is in the field with eight
U.S. marathon wins to her name. Joining Debaare Olympic Marathon bronze
medalist Tatiana Petrova Arkhipova, who returns after maternity leave, and
Aleksandra Duliba, the national marathon record holder from Belarus. Each
expects podium finishes in their Boston debuts.
Also joining the field are Yeshi Esayias, who has won or placed runner up
in nine marathons; Rotterdam champion Philes Ongoriand Belaynesh Oljira,
who is making her transition to the roads after winning the bronze medal in
the 10,000m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Additional Americans headlining the John Hancock team are Amy Hastings,
Serena Burla and Adriana Nelson. Each brings strong credentials to the race
as does Canadian national-record-holder Lanni Marchant, former Tokyo
champion Noriko Higuchi, Colombian elite Yolanda Caballero, and Adriana
Aparecida da Silva from Brazil.
"The essence of the Boston Marathon has been competition, and the John
Hancock Elite Athlete Team brings together a group of competitors who are
driven to win," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. "In addition to
running some of the fastest marathons ever, they represent a group of
proven winners who have seized victory across the World Marathon Majors and
other leading events, as well as capturing Olympic and World Championship
medals. They offer every promise of enriching yet further the competitive
lore of Boston."
"We are proud to present this outstanding group of international athletes
who will set the pace for the field of 36,000 runners from around the globe
in what will undoubtedly be an inspirational race for runners and fans
everywhere," said Rob Friedman, head of Sponsorship and Event Marketing at
John Hancock.
The 2014 Boston Marathon marks the 29th year of John Hancock's landmark
sponsorship of the race. For additional information about the John Hancock
Elite Athlete Team and sponsorship, please visit
www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/sportspartnerships.html or follow us at
@jhboston26 on Twitter.
2014 John Hancock Elite Athlete Team
118th Boston Marathon April 21, 2014
MEN Personal Best Time Country
Moses Mosop 2:03:06 (Boston, 2011) Kenya
Dennis Kimetto 2:03:45 (Chicago 2013) CR Kenya
Lelisa Desisa 2:04:45 (Dubai, 2013) Ethiopia
Gebregziabher Gebremariam 2:04:53 (Boston, 2011) Ethiopia
Markos Geneti 2:04:54 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Wilson Chebet 2:05:27 (Rotterdam, 2011) Kenya
Tilahun Regassa 2:05:27 (Chicago, 2012) Ethiopia
Shami Dawud 2:05:42 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Eric Ndiema 2:06:07 (Amsterdam, 2011) Kenya
Frankline Chepkwony 2:06:11 (Eindhoven, 2012) Kenya
Micah Kogo 2:06:56 (Chicago, 2013) Kenya
Adil Annani 2:07:43 (London, 2012) Morocco
Paul Lonyangata 2:07:44 (Xiamen, 2013) Kenya
Dathan Ritzenhein 2:07:47 (Chicago, 2012) USA
Joel Kimurer 2:07:48 (Gongju, 2013) Kenya
Lusapho April 2:08:32 (Hannover, 2013) CR South Africa
Mebrahtom Keflezighi 2:09:08 (Houston, 2012) USA
Brett Gotcher 2:10:36 (Houston, 2010) USA
Jeffrey Hunt 2:11:00 (Beppu, 2010) Australia
Jason Hartmann 2:11:06 (Chicago 2010) USA
Nicholas Arciniaga 2:11:30 (Houston, 2011) USA
Vitaliy Shafar 2:11:52 (Frankfurt, 2013) Ukraine
Jeffrey Eggleston 2:12:03 (Chicago, 2012) USA
WOMEN Personal Best Time Country
Mare Dibaba 2:19:52 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Rita Jeptoo 2:19:57 (Chicago, 2013) Kenya
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong 2:20:48 (Chicago, 2013) Kenya
Meseret Hailu Debele 2:21:09 (Amsterdam, 2012) CR Ethiopia
Eunice Kirwa 2:21:41 (Amsterdam, 2012) Kenya
Sharon Cherop 2:22:28 (Berlin, 2013) Keya
Caroline Kilel 2:22:34 (Frankfurt, 2013) Kenya
Desiree Davila Linden 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011) USA
Flomena Chepchichir Chumba 2:23:00 (Frankfurt, 2013) Kenya
Buzunesh Deba 2:23:19 (New York, 2011) Ethiopia
Tatiana Petrova Arkhipova 2:23:29 (London, 2012) Russia
Aleksandra Duliba 2:23:44 (Chicago, 2013) NR Belarus
Yeshi Esayias 2:24:06 (Frankfurt, 2013) Ethiopia
Philes Ongori 2:24:20 (Rotterdam, 2011) Kenya
Belaynesh Oljira 2:25:01 (Dubai, 2013) Ethiopia
Shalane Flanagan 2:25:38 (Houston, 2012) USA
Yolanda Caballero 2:26:17 (Boston, 2011) Colombia
Amy Hastings 2:27:03 (Los Angeles, 2011) USA
Lanni Marchant 2:28:00 (Toronto, 2013) Canada
Serena Burla 2:28:01 (Amsterdam, 2013) USA
Noriko Higuchi 2:28:49 (Tokyo, 2011) Japan
Adriana Nelson 2:28:52 (London, 2008) USA
Adriana Aparecida da Silva 2:29:17 (Tokyo, 2012) Brazil
About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife Financial, a leading
Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia,
Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and
Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company
offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth
management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and
distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its
subsidiaries were C$575 billion (US$559 billion) as at September 30, 2013.
Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE,
and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the
Internet at manulife.com.
The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of
the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and
administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance,
annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care
insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance.
Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.
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