FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Hancock Financial Announces 2016 Boston Marathon
International Elite Field
38 Elite Athletes From 12 Countries Invited For 120th Running on April 18
BOSTON, MA, January 13, 2016-In its 31st year as principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite field for
the 120th running of the Boston Marathon on April 18. A complete field list
follows.
Boston Marathon champions Lelisa Desisa, Caroline Rotich, Geoffrey Mutai
and Wesley Korir return to compete in the world's most historic marathon,
and will be strongly challenged by an exceptional men's and women's
international field. Combined, the team has won 16 Abbott World Marathon
Majors, Olympic and IAAF World Championships medals, and 89 global
marathons.
The chase for the 2016 men's title will be dynamic with six men in the
field holding personal bests under 2:05, and 10 with lifetime bests under
2:06.
Two-time Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa, of Ethiopia, headlines the
group seeking his third title. Desisa ran four marathons last year,
finishing second in Dubai, winning Boston, placing seventh at the World
Championships, and third in New York City. Joining Desisa with course
experience are champions Geoffrey Mutai and Wesley Korir, both of Kenya.
Mutai holds two New York City titles, a Berlin crown, and en route to his
2011 Boston win, recorded a then-World Best time of 2:03:02. Korir has run
Boston three times and is one of the most consistent marathoners in the
world, having won Boston in 2012 and the Los Angeles Marathon twice.
Challenging the champions for the olive wreath are Yemane Adhane Tsegay,
Wilson Chebet, and Michael Kipyego. Tsegay and Chebet finished second and
third, respectively, in Boston last year. Tsegay has won eight global
marathons, and claimed the silver medal at the 2015 IAAF World
Championships Marathon. Chebet is a three-time winner in Amsterdam and a
winner in Rotterdam. Kipyego brings Abbott World Marathon Majors experience
as a past champion of the Tokyo Marathon.
Sub-2:05 men making their Boston debuts are Sammy Kitwara, who was last
year's runner-up in Chicago and is also a former Rotterdam winner; Tsegaye
Mekonnen, who ran to a 2:04:32 debut to earn the 2014 Dubai win; and Vienna
and Amsterdam champion Getu Feleke. Feleke's wife, Olympic gold medalist
Tiki Gelana, will also run Boston this year.
Another fast trio of Hayle Lemi Berhanu, Stephen Chebogut and Deribe Robi
will also contend for the win. Berhanu is the 2015 Dubai and Warsaw
champion, and also won Zurich in 2014. Chebogut is has won marathons in
Eindhoven, Reims and Istanbul, while Robi was runner-up in Eindhoven last
year and won Marrakesh in 2014. All three men ran their personal best
marathon times in 2015.
U.S. elite men include Ian Burrell, who finished as the first American at
the World Championships Marathon this past summer, and Girma Mecheso, who
won the 2014 U.S. 20K Championships. Mecheso will be making his marathon
debut.
San Diego and San Jose Half Marathon champion Jordan Chipangama from Zambia
is also in the field. Chipangama lives and trains in the United States.
Additional international elites include 2011 Pan American gold medalist
Solonei Da Silva from Brazil, Dutch 5,000m champion Abdi Nageeye, two-time
Olympian Cutbert Nyasango from Zimbabwe, Mumbai champion Jackson Kiprop
from Uganda, 2015 Shanghai champion Paul Lonyangata from Kenya, and young
talent Abdelmajid El Hissouf from Morocco.
On the women's side, John Hancock has assembled a fast field with 10 women
holding personal best times under 2:23:23. Tiki Gelana, the 2012 Olympic
Marathon gold medalist, leads the field as she makes her Boston debut.
Gelana, also a past champion of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, is seeking a place
on the 2016 Ethiopian Olympic team with a strong Boston performance.
Also looking for a podium finish are Buzunesh Deba, Tirfe Tsegaye, Mamitu
Daska and Atsede Bayisa. Deba finished second in Boston in 2014 and third
last year, and is the champion of eight marathons held in the United
States. Tsegaye has won marathons in Berlin, Tokyo, Paris and Dubai, while
Daska has had success on the roads of Boston, claiming both the B.A.A. 10K
and B.A.A. Half Marathon. She has also won marathons in Dubai, Houston and
Frankfurt. Bayisa has won Chicago and Paris twice, as well as Saitama.
Bringing Boston experience to the race are 2015 champion Caroline Rotich,
who has run Boston three times; three-time Olympian Jelena Prokopcuka, who
is a two-time New York City winner and two-time Boston runner up; and
Olympian Joyce Chepkirui, who won both Amsterdam and Honolulu last year,
and finished tenth in Boston.
American Neely Spence Gracey will make her highly anticipated marathon
debut in Boston. She comes to the race with a 69:59 half marathon personal
best from her runner-up finish in Philadelphia last year. Sarah Crouch
(formerly Sarah Porter) joins Spence Gracey as part of the American
contingent. Crouch finished sixth in Chicago in 2014 and 12th last year.
She also won the Tallahassee Marathon in 2015. From China, Lamei Sun will
make her Boston debut. Sun won the Dongying Marathon and was runner-up in
Beijing in 2012.
Kenyans Valentine Kipketer, Flomena Cheyech Daniel, and 22-year-old young
talent Purity Cherotich Rionoripo will seek the title as well. Kipketer is
a past champion of Amsterdam and Mumbai, while Daniel has won Paris,
Vienna, Toronto and the Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2014. Rionoripo
won the 2015 Lisbon Marathon and brings 68:29 half marathon speed to the
race.
Ethiopians Tadelech Bekele, Fatuma Sado, and Fate Tola, who lives and
trains in Germany, have impressive credentials as well. Bekele ran a
2:22:51 in Dubai in 2015; Sado is past winner of Los Angeles, Xiamen,
Warsaw, Hamburg and Beijing; and Tola has won Vienna twice.
"We welcome back our past champions and an exceptional elite field from
around the world for the 120th running of the Boston Marathon," said Rob
Friedman, head of Sponsorship and Event Marketing at John Hancock. "During
our sponsorship we have hosted more than 700 elite athletes from 46
countries, and each year these talented athletes run a strategic and
exciting race for millions of fans around the globe. We wish this year's
team all the best in their final Boston Marathon preparations and look
forward to cheering for them on Marathon Monday."
"We already look forward to welcoming these top international marathoners
to Boston in April," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. "Our team
works year-round to play host and set a stage worthy of the caliber of
professional athletes that will run here along with the rest of the
splendid athletes in our field. We wish the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team
members good luck with their training with fewer than 100 days to go until
our 120th race."
The 2016 Boston Marathon marks the 31st year of John Hancock's landmark
sponsorship of the legendary race. For additional information about the
elite athlete program and sponsorship, please visit
www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/sportspartnerships.html or follow us
@jhboston26 on Twitter. A complete field list follows.
2016 John Hancock Elite Athlete Team
120th Boston Marathon April 18, 2016
| MEN | Country | Personal Best |
| Geoffrey Mutai | Kenya | 2:03:02 (Boston, 2011) |
| Sammy Kitwara | Kenya | 2:04:28 (Chicago, 2014) |
| Tsegaye Mekonnen | Ethiopia | 2:04:32 (Dubai, 2014) |
| Lelisa Desisa | Ethiopia | 2:04:45 (Dubai, 2013) |
| Yemane Adhane Tsegay | Ethiopia | 2:04:48 (Rotterdam, 2012) |
| Getu Feleke | Ethiopia | 2:04:50 (Rotterdam, 2012) |
| Wilson Chebet | Kenya | 2:05:27 (Rotterdam, 2011) |
| Hayle Lemi Berhanu | Ethiopia | 2:05:28 (Dubai, 2015) |
| Stephen Chebogut | Kenya | 2:05:52 (Eindhoven, 2015) |
| Deribe Robi | Ethiopia | 2:05:58 (Eindhoven, 2015) |
| Wesley Korir | Kenya | 2:06:13 (Chicago, 2012) |
| Michael Kipyego | Kenya | 2:06:48 (Eindhoven, 2011) |
| Paul Lonyangata | Kenya | 2:07:14 (Shanghai, 2015) |
| Jackson Kiprop | Uganda | 2:09:32 (Mumbai, 2013) |
| Cuthbert Nyasango | Zimbabwe | 2:09:52 (Prague, 2014) |
| Abdi Nageeye | Netherlands | 2:10:24 (Amsterdam, 2015) |
| Abdelmajid El Hissouf | Morocco | 2:10:35 (Seoul, 2015) |
| Solonei Da Silva | Brazil | 2:11:32 (Padova, 2011) |
| Jordan Chipangama | Zambia | 2:11:35 (Duluth, 2015) |
| Ian Burrell | USA | 2:13:26 (Houston, 2014) |
| Girma Mecheso | USA | Debut; HM 1:02:16 (Houston, 2015) |
| |
| WOMEN | Country | Personal Best Time |
| Tiki Gelana | Ethiopia | 2:18:58 (Rotterdam, 2012) |
| Buzunesh Deba | Ethiopia | 2:19:59 (Boston, 2014) |
| Tirfi Tsegaye | Ethiopia | 2:20:18 (Berlin, 2014) |
| Mamitu Daska | Ethiopia | 2:21:59 (Frankfurt, 2011) |
| Atsede Bayisa | Ethiopia | 2:22:03 (Chicago, 2012) |
| Flomena Cheyech Daniel | Kenya | 2:22:44 (Paris, 2014) |
| Tadelech Bekele | Ethiopia | 2:22:51 (Dubai, 2015) |
| Jelena Prokopcuka | Latvia | 2:22:56 (Osaka, 2005) |
| Valentine Kipketer | Kenya | 2:23:02 (Amsterdam, 2013) |
| Caroline Rotich | Kenya | 2:23:22 (Chicago, 2012) |
| Joyce Chepkirui | Kenya | 2:24:11 (Amsterdam, 2015) |
| Fatuma Sado | Ethiopia | 2:24:16 (Toronto, 2015) |
| Purity Cherotich Rionoripo | Kenya | 2:25:09 (Lisbon, 2015) |
| Fate Tola | Ethiopia/Germany | 2:25:14 (Berlin, 2012) |
| Lamei Sun | China | 2:27:55 (Beijing, 2012) |
| Sarah Crouch | USA | 2:32:44 (Chicago, 2014) |
| Neely Spence Gracey | USA | Debut; HM 1:09:59 (Philadelphia, 2015) |
About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based
financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the
United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as
John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a
diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management
services through its extensive network of employees, agents and
distribution partners. Assets under management and administration by
Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$888 billion (US$663 billion) as at
September 30, 2015. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the
TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife 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, investments, 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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