FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 Boston Marathon Champions To Race Historic Fall 125th Boston Marathon
The 125th Boston Marathon will make history as the first Abbott World
Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record bonuses across
open and wheelchair divisions
BOSTON-The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced that 13
Boston Marathon champions with a combined 30 first-place Boston finishes
will headline the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team for the 125th
Boston Marathon. The accomplished group includes World Athletics Marathon
champions, Paralympic medalists, Abbott World Marathon Majors winners, and
Olympians.
The Monday, October 11th Boston Marathon will also feature restructured
prize money awards that will recognize and celebrate world class
performances in Boston, while maintaining the largest prize purse of the
Abbott World Marathon Majors. Among the incentives that will debut in
October are equal course record bonuses for the Open and Wheelchair
Divisions and the introduction of prize money for the inaugural Para
Athletics Divisions. The Boston Marathon will make history as the first
Abbott World Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record
bonuses across open and wheelchair divisions, and the first event to
provide a designated prize purse for athletes with upper limb, lower limb,
and visual impairments. For the 36th year, the prize money awards will be
provided by principal sponsor John Hancock.
"We are delighted to welcome so many champions from such a diverse range of
competition back to Boston for the 125th running of the Boston Marathon,"
said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. President and Chief Executive Officer. "While
October's race marks a long-awaited return to racing, it will also
recognize and celebrate the many world-class athletes competing for an
historic prize purse across multiple divisions."
"The John Hancock Professional Team continues to be a symbol of athletic
excellence and accomplishment," said Kate Ardini, Chief Marketing Officer
at John Hancock. "We are proud to welcome these 13 champions back to Boston
for what will be a memorable 125th Boston Marathon in October."
WOMEN'S RETURNING CHAMPIONS
Joining a competitive field at the Hopkinton starting line will be four of
the last five women's open champions: American Desiree Linden (2018), a
five-time, top-five finisher and two-time Olympian; Kenyan Edna Kiplagat
(2017), a two-time World Athletics Marathon Championships gold medalist and
three-time Abbott World Marathon Majors series champion; Kenyan Caroline
Rotich (2015), who also won the 2010 B.A.A. Half Marathon; and Atsede Baysa
(2016), the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion and two-time
Paris champion.
"I can't wait to line up in this year's historic fall edition of the Boston
Marathon," said Linden. "Experience goes a long way in Boston and lining up
with so many great champions, who have proven they know how to win on this
course, will be an extra challenge on race day. I'm training hard and more
motivated than ever to be ready to put together a memorable performance
this October."
In the women's wheelchair race, two-time champion and course record holder
Manuela Schär returns to defend her title. Schär, a three-time Paralympic
medalist for Switzerland, won Boston in 2017 and 2019 and is the only woman
ever to have clocked a sub-1:30 marathon. Also among the wheelchair
contenders is five-time Boston champion and 17-time Paralympic medalist
Tatyana McFadden, who will race the 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and marathon
at the Tokyo Paralympic Games for Team USA.
"I feel very blessed to be able to witness such a huge step towards
equality and recognition of our sport," said Schär of the equal course
record bonuses. "The Boston Marathon has always played a big role when it
comes to 'first times in history.' After such a long time of not being able
to race marathons, this will make it extra special to return to the streets
of Boston and I can't wait."
MEN'S RETURNING CHAMPIONS
A trio of men's open champions with lifetime bests under 2:07:30 return
with hopes of earning a second Boston Marathon title. Kenya's Geoffrey
Kirui, the 2017 Boston winner and 2017 World Athletics Marathon champion,
enters with a lifetime best of 2:06:27. From Ethiopia is Lemi Berhanu, best
known for skipping across the Boylston Street finish en route to winning in
2016. Yuki Kawauchi, winner of more than 30 international marathons and the
Japanese record holder in the 50K, looks to become the first man from Japan
since Toshihiko Seiko in 1987 to earn two Boston Marathon titles.
"Last year was a tough one for everyone. Boston is, for me, the exact right
motivation and light at the end of the tunnel, as it will be for all
returning champions and participants," said Kirui. "This is the marathon
where I feel at home, and I have big dreams for October."
Four men's wheelchair champions with a combined 16 titles will also return
on October 11. Defending champion Daniel Romanchuk of Illinois leads the
charge. A 2016 and 2021 Paralympian for Team USA, Romanchuk made history by
winning the 2019 race and Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII at just
20 years old. Course record holder Marcel Hug of Switzerland returns
looking for his fifth victory, having won four straight Bostons from 2015
through 2018. Ernst van Dyk of South Africa, the most decorated champion in
race history with ten titles, also will compete, alongside 2012 winner and
former course record holder Josh Cassidy of Canada.
"As a young wheelchair racer, if someone said 'marathon,' I thought
'Boston.' It has always been on the leading edge of inclusion as the first
major marathon to have a wheelchair division, and it's so incredible to see
it setting the example again as the first major marathon to have pay equity
between the runners and wheelchair division for the course record," said
Romanchuk. "I can't wait to join everyone else racing from Hopkinton toward
that finish line on Boylston Street again!"
BOSTON MARATHON OPEN CHAMPIONS
WOMEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY BOSTON WINS
Edna Kiplagat 2:19:50 (London, 2012) Kenya 2017
Atsede Baysa 2:22:03 (Chicago, 2012) Ethiopia 2016
Desiree Linden 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011) USA (MI) 2018
Caroline Rotich 2:23:22 (Chicago, 2012) Kenya 2015
MEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY BOSTON WINS
Lemi Berhanu 2:04:33 (Dubai, 2016) Ethiopia 2016
Geoffrey Kirui 2:06:27 (Amsterdam, 2016) Kenya 2017
Yuki Kawauchi 2:07:27 (Otsu, 2021) Japan 2018
BOSTON MARATHON WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS
WOMEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY BOSTON WINS
Manuela Schär 1:28:17 (Boston, 2017) Switzerland 2017, 2019
Tatyana McFadden 1:31:30 (Grandma's, 2019) USA (MD) 2013-2016, 2018
MEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY BOSTON WINS
Marcel Hug 1:18:04 (Boston, 2017) Switzerland 2015, 2016,
2017, 2018
Ernst van Dyk 1:18:04 (Boston, 2017) South Africa 2001-2006,
2008-2010, 2014
Josh Cassidy 1:18:25 (Boston, 2012) Canada 2012
Daniel Romanchuk 1:21:36 (Boston, 2019) USA (IL) 2019
For the 36th year, John Hancock will serve as principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Boston Marathon was
moved from its traditional date of the third Monday in April to Monday,
October 11. The fall race will feature a field size of 20,000 participants,
as well as a rolling start for the first time. The in-person race will be
complemented by a virtual race, which will be held from Friday, October 8
through Sunday, October 10. The full international field, including the
Para Athletics Divisions field, will be announced the week of August 9-16.
ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through
sports, especially running. The B.A.A. manages the Boston Marathon, and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round programming. The
Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with
international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York
City. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been
John Hancock. The 125th Boston Marathon is scheduled to take place on
Monday, October 11, 2021. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit
www.baa.org.
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