FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympians, NYC Champions Among Added Athletes to 2017 Bank of America
Chicago Marathon Elite Field
CHICAGO - Today, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced changes to
the elite field for the Oct. 8, 2017 race.
Men's field
Stanley Biwott (KEN) will make his Bank of America Chicago Marathon debut
as the seventh-fastest man in history over the marathon distance (2:03:51)
and the 11th-fastest in history over the half marathon on a record-eligible
course (58:56). Biwott made his mark in the Abbott World Marathon Majors
with a victory at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon, and with a standout
performance at the 2016 London Marathon, finishing second to Eliud Kipchoge
(KEN) in a career best, 2:03:51 (Biwott and Kipchoge share the 30K world
record, 1:27:13, set during the London Marathon). Biwott has finished in
the top five of 10 marathons.
Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) gained international attention at the 2016 Rio Olympics
when he finished the marathon with a silver medal. However, he initially
made a name for himself in 2010 when, just two months after his 20th
birthday, he became the youngest athlete to break 2:06 in the marathon with
a 2:05:23 performance in Rotterdam. He has run well in Chicago, finishing
third in 2010 and coming back in 2012 to chase Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) to the
line for second place and a new personal best, 2:04:52. His 2017 campaign
started with a second-place finish at the Houston half marathon and wins at
the New York City Half Marathon and the Bogota Half Marathon.
Bernard Kipyego (KEN) returns to Chicago after finishing third in 2011 and
sixth in 2012. He started his international career 14 years ago as a junior
competitor, and he has represented Kenya on the track (5,000m and 10,000m),
in cross-country and on the roads. He won a silver medal at the 2009 IAAF
World Half Marathon Championships where he clocked a swift 59:59, and he
has consistently run under 60 minutes in the half marathon six times and
under 2:07 in the marathon five times. He set his current personal best,
2:06:19, in Amsterdam in 2015. He is a two-time winner of the Amsterdam
Marathon (2014, 2015).
Ezekiel Chebii (KEN) opened his marathon career in 2014 by winning the
Madrid Marathon while setting a course and all-comers record (2:09:15). He
returned to Madrid in 2015 to pick up another win, and he hit his stride in
the marathon in 2016 when he ran 2:06:07 in Amsterdam to finish fifth. He
became the 16th-fastest man in history over the half marathon distance in
2012 (59:10). Chebii started his 2017 season at the Otsu Lake Biwa Marathon
with a win.
Yuki Takamiya (JPN) and Jordan Chipangama (ZAM) have withdrawn from the
race.
Women's field
Brigid Kosgei (KEN) is relatively new to the Abbott World Marathon Majors,
and she has only been competing in marathons for the past two years. Within
that timeframe, she has won three marathons, and she set her personal best,
2:24:45, at the 2016 Lisbon Marathon for a runner-up finish. She started
2017 with a new personal best in the half marathon, 1:07:35, an
eighth-place finish in Boston, and a win at the Bogota Half Marathon.
Maegan Krifchin (USA) is an exciting runner who went into her marathon
debut in 2015 completely under the radar and ran away with a 2:33:30 PR -
the ninth-fastest time posted by an American woman that year. She followed
her debut with another big performance at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon
Trials. In spite of high heat and humidity, Krifchin finished seventh,
running a disciplined race with nearly identical half splits to come home
in 2:33:34 (the 13th-fastest American time in 2016). Heading into the
trials, she won the 2015 Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in a
personal best, 1:09:51.
Men's field updates
Name Personal Best
Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:03:51 (London, 2016)
Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) 2:04:52 (Chicago, 2012)
Ezekiel Chebii (KEN) 2:06:07 (Amsterdam, 2016)
Bernard Kipyego (KEN) 2:06:19 (Amsterdam, 2015)
Yuki Takamiya (JPN) Withdrawn
Jordan Chipangama (ZAM) Withdrawn
Women's field updates
Name Personal Best
Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:24:54 (Lisbon, 2016)
Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:33:30 (Hamburg, 2015)
About the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
In its 40th year, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon welcomes thousands
of runners from more than 100 countries and all 50 states, including a
world-class elite field, top regional and Masters runners, race veterans,
debut marathoners and charity runners. The race's iconic course takes
runners through 29 vibrant neighborhoods on an architectural and cultural
tour of Chicago. Annually, an estimated 1.7 million spectators line the
streets cheering on more than 40,000 runners from the start line to the
final stretch down Columbus Drive. As a result of the race's national and
international draw, the Chicago Marathon assists in raising millions of
dollars for a variety of charitable causes while generating $277 million in
annual economic impact to its host city. The 2017 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon, a member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, will start and
finish in Grant Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. In
advance of the race, a two-day Abbott Health & Fitness Expo will be held at
McCormick Place Convention Center on Friday, October 6, and Saturday,
October 7. For more information about the event and how to get involved, go
to chicagomarathon.com.
Visit the Bank of America newsroom for more Bank of America news.
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