FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Defending Champions Mary Keitany and Tatyana McFadden to Return for 2017
TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5
Keitany to go for fourth consecutive title, looking to surpass Paula
Radcliffe in career wins
McFadden, racing as an NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador, seeks record sixth
career title in wheelchair division
New York, June 9, 2017—Both defending women's race champions will return
for the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5, as Mary
Keitany will go for a fourth consecutive victory and NYRR Team for Kids
Ambassador Tatyana McFadden will race for a record-breaking sixth career
title in the wheelchair division.
"Mary and Tatyana have already had tremendous success in their respective
careers racing on the streets of New York City, and we are now eagerly
awaiting November, when they will both have the chance to make history on
the five-borough course," said Peter Ciaccia, president of events for New
York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City Marathon.
"Another top finish for Mary would give her the second most titles in the
event after Grete Waitz, and a victory for Tatyana would write her into the
history books as the most dominant wheelchair racer – male or female – ever
in the event."
Keitany, 35, of Kenya, has won the TCS New York City Marathon each of the
last three years, including a dominating performance last year in which she
surged ahead at Mile 14 to finish the course on a solo run in 2:24:26. Her
3:34 margin of victory was the greatest in the women's race since 1980, and
she became the first able-bodied runner since Grete Waitz to win the event
three years in a row. Keitany is a two-time winner of the Abbott World
Marathon Majors, taking the series titles in 2012 and 2016. This year, she
has already won her third career Virgin Money London Marathon in April,
breaking the women's only marathon record in a blistering time of 2:17:01.
"I'm so excited to return to New York to race for my fourth consecutive TCS
New York City Marathon title," Keitany said. "Being among the all-time
leaders in New York City is truly an honor, and while it will not be easy
to defend my title, surpassing a legendary runner like Paula Radcliffe for
the second-most victories by a woman in the event would be incredible."
McFadden, 28, of Clarksville, Maryland, is a 17-time Paralympic medalist
and the first-ever winner of the Abbott World Marathon Majors wheelchair
series. She has won five career New York City Marathons, including the last
four consecutively. In 2016, she used her favorite hill at Mile 16 – the
Queensboro Bridge – to pull away from the field on her way to a win,
clocking in at 1:47:43, short of her 1:43:04 course-record time set the
year prior. With another victory on the five-borough course, McFadden would
surpass Edith Hunkeler and Kurt Fearnley for the most career wins – by a
male or female – in the wheelchair division.
"I really look forward to racing in New York this year," McFadden said. "I
will be going for my sixth win and a record for the most victories ever by
a wheelchair athlete in the New York City Marathon. Racing through the
streets of New York is always exciting and I'm so proud as always to be an
NYRR Team For Kids Ambassador."
Racing as an NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador, McFadden will represent the
organization's charity running team, a committed group of more than 1,700
adult runners from around the world who add meaning to their miles by
raising funds for NYRR's free youth running programs. The programs serve
more than 215,000 kids locally and nationally, including 115,000 in New
York City's five boroughs. McFadden will also pace the second edition of
the Girls' Run at the NYRR New York Mini 10K on Saturday, June 10, leading
around 500 girls through the 1.4-mile course in Central Park.
The 2017 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday,
November 5, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tristate area from 9:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2 from 9:00
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.
Most Career New York City Marathon Victories – Open Division Women
Athlete Country Victories Years
Grete Waitz Norway 9 1978-1980, 1982-1986, 1988
Paula Radcliffe Great Britain 3 2004, 2007-2008
Mary Keitany Kenya 3 2014-2016
Most Career New York City Marathon Victories – Wheelchair Division Women
Athlete Country Victories Years
Edith (Wolf) Hunkeler Switzerland 5 2004-2005, 2007-2009
Tatyana McFadden United States 5 2010, 2013-2016
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road
Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Over 1,000,000 people
have finished the race since its first running in 1970 with just 127
entrants and 55 finishers running four laps around Central Park. The race
expanded to all five boroughs in 1976 and just celebrated its 40th year as
a five-borough affair. Held annually on the first Sunday of November, the
race features over 50,000 runners including the world's top professional
athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity
runners. Participants from approximately 125 countries tour the city,
starting on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and
running through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx before
ending in Manhattan. The NYRR Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City
Marathon covered 1.8 miles of the race course in Central Park, beginning
near mile 24 and finishing at the famed TCS New York City Marathon finish
line. More than one million spectators and thousands of volunteers line the
city streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the
television broadcast in 175 countries and territories, including viewers in
the New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and via
various international broadcast partners. The race is part of the Abbott
World Marathon Majors, which features the world's top marathons—Tokyo,
Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowns the top
professional male and female marathoners each year. Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business
solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title
sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 47th running of the TCS New
York City Marathon is set for November 5, 2017. To learn more, visit
www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
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