FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Carmichael
617-663-4748
2013 Boston Marathon International Elite Field Announced
40 Elite Athletes From 14 Countries Invited For 117th Running on April 15
BOSTON, MA, January 15, 2013-In its 28th year as principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite field for
the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on April 15. A complete field list
follows.
Reigning champions Wesley Korir and Sharon Cherop, both of Kenya, return to
defend their titles, but will be fiercely challenged by a talented
international field of Olympians, World Marathon Majors champions of
Chicago, New York City and Boston, and multiple global marathon winners of
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Cologne, Daegu, Dubai, Eindhoven,
Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Hamburg, Houston, Istanbul, Krakow, Los Angeles,
Milan, Rome, St. Paul, Soweto, Toronto, Turin and the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Last year Korir and Cherop battled not only one of the strongest fields
ever assembled, but also blistering race day temperatures topping 85F.
Korir prevailed over countryman Levy Matebo in the final mile and Cherop
used past experience to surge on the final turn to win the women's race by
two seconds.
Watch 2012 Boston Marathon Highlights: http://youtu.be/0l1HViI5wYM
Challenging Korir for the coveted laurel wreath this year is a fast group
of men including 2011 Boston runner-up and 2011 Chicago champion Moses
Mosop of Kenya. Mosop's 2:03:06 Boston performance was the second-fastest
time ever run over the marathon distance. Joining him in the chase is
two-time Olympian and 2010 New York City winner Gebre Gebremariam of
Ethiopia. Gebremariam has experience on the course, finishing third in 2011
in 2:04:53. Matebo has also committed to return to Boston to improve upon
his second place finish last year and brings additional credentials as
marathon champion in Barcelona and Brussels.
American Ryan Hall, who owns the 2:04:58 U.S. course record in Boston, and
countryman Meb Keflezighi, past New York City winner and Olympic silver
medalist, will work together to bring back a title for the U.S. Both Hall
and Keflezighi have finished as high as third in Boston.
Former Boston champion and former course-record-holder Robert Kiprono
Cheruiyot of Kenya also returns to the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team and
will be joined by the 2012 Eindhoven course-record-holder Dickson Chumba,
also of Kenya. Additional talent from Ethiopia includes 2011 Los Angeles
champion and course-record-holder Markos Geneti, 2012 Paris and Mumbai
runner-up Raji Assefa and the 2012 Hamburg and 2011 Toronto winner Shami
Abdullah Dawit.
Guor Marial from South Sudan is also in the field. Marial was granted
refugee status in the U.S. after fleeing Sudan during the Civil War. Eight
of his brothers and sisters were killed in the conflict. Marial, now a U.S.
resident, went to high school in Concord, New Hampshire, and college at
Iowa State. After qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, but not yet having a
country to run for, the International Olympic Committee honored him with
entry to participate under the Olympic Flag.
Also in contention for the crown are four-time U.S. Olympian Abdi
Abdirahman who will make his debut on the Boston course as will Australian
Olympian Jeffrey Hunt and Canadians Robin Watson and two-time Olympian Eric
Gillis.
Americans Jason Hartmann and Fernando Cabada are also contenders. Hartmann
finished fourth last year and Cabada holds the American record in the 25K.
Joining them to round out the deep field is half marathon specialist Lucas
Rotich of Kenya, who holds a 59:44 half-marathon best and countryman Micah
Kogo, a 59:07 half-marathoner, 10,000m Beijing bronze medalist, and former
10K world-record-holder (27:01).
Headlining the women's field are defending Boston Marathon champion Sharon
Cherop of Kenya, Dubai's two-time winner and 2:19:31 course-record-holder
Aselefech Medessa Mergia of Ethiopia and 2012 World Half-Marathon champion
and Amsterdam's 2:21:09 course-record-holder Meseret Hailu Debele of
Ethiopia. Past Boston champion and 2012 Chicago runner-up Rita Jeptoo of
Kenya returns, as does Mexican national-record-holder Mada Pérez.
Top Olympians Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko of the Ukraine and Americans Shalane
Flanagan and Kara Goucher will present a strong challenge. Gamera-Shmyrko
placed fifth at the London Olympic Marathon and Flanagan and Goucher
finished tenth and eleventh respectively. Flanagan is a three-time
Olympian, winning the bronze medal in the 10,000m in Beijing, and finished
runner-up in her marathon debut in New York City before winning the U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon. Goucher has experience on the Boston course
finishing as high as third in 2009 and fifth in 2011.
Also focused on the podium are Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia, who is past
champion of Frankfurt, Houston, and Dubai; Alemita Abera Begna of Ethiopia,
champion of Houston, Daegu and Istanbul; three-time Olympian Sabrina
Mockenhaupt of Germany, champion of Frankfurt and two-time winner of
Cologne and two-time Olympian René Kalmer of South Africa, who is the past
marathon champion of Soweto and Johannesburg.
Additional talent includes Diana Chepkemoi Sigei of Kenya, Yolanda
Caballero of Colombia, and Olympians Karolina Jarzynska of Poland, Ana
Dulce Félix of Portugal, and Burundi national-record-holder Diane
Nukuri-Johnson. Additional Americans on the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team
include Serena Burla, Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce and Alissa McKaig.
The 2013 Boston Marathon marks the 28th 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.
About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation
John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a
leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in
Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, John Hancock celebrates 150
years of serving clients across the United States, while Manulife
celebrates its 125th anniversary.
Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and
primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial
Corporation 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$515 billion (US$523 billion) as at
September 30, 2012. 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 a broad
range of financial products and services, 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,
and on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.
2013 John Hancock Elite Athlete Team
117th Boston Marathon April 15, 2013
MEN Personal Best Time Country
Moses Mosop 2:03:06 (Boston, 2011) Kenya
Gebregziabher "Gebre" Gebremariam 2:04:53 (Boston, 2011) Ethiopia
Markos Geneti 2:04:54 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Ryan Hall 2:04:58 (Boston, 2011) USA
Levy Matebo 2:05:16 (Frankfurt, 2011) Kenya
Shami Abdullah Dawit 2:05:42 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Dickson Chumba 2:05:46 (Eindhoven, 2012) CR Kenya
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot 2:05:52 (Boston, 2010) Kenya
Wesley Korir 2:06:13 (Chicago, 2012) Kenya
Raji Assefa 2:06:24 (Paris, 2012) Ethiopia
Abdihakem "Abdi" Abdirahman 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006) USA
Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi 2:09:08 (Houston, 2012) USA
Jeffrey Hunt 2:11:00 (Beppu, 2010) Australia
Jason Hartmann 2:11:06 (Chicago, 2010) USA
Eric Gillis 2:11:28 (Toronto, 2011) Canada
Fernando Cabada 2:11:53 (Houston, 2012) USA
Guor Marial 2:12:55 (San Diego, 2012) NR South Sudan
Robin Watson 2:13:37 (Rotterdam, 2012) Canada
Micah Kogo 59:07 (S. Shields, 2012) Kenya
Lucas Rotich 59:44 (Den Haag, 2011) Kenya
WOMEN Personal Best Time Country
Aselefech Medessa Mergia 2:19:31 (Dubai, 2012) CR Ethiopia
Meseret Hailu Debele 2:21:09 (Amsterdam, 2012) CR Ethiopia
Mamitu Daska 2:21:59 (Frankfurt, 2011) Ethiopia
Rita Jeptoo 2:22:04 (Chicago, 2012) Kenya
Sharon Cherop 2:22:39 (Dubai, 2012) Kenya
Madai Pérez 2:22:59 (Chicago, 2006) NR Mexico
Alemita Abera Begna 2:23:14 (Houston, 2012) Ethiopia
Tetiana Gamera-Shmyrko 2:24:32 (London, 2012 Ukraine
Kara Goucher 2:24:52 (Boston, 2011) USA
Shalane Flanagan 2:25:38 (Houston, 2012) USA
Ana Dulce Félix 2:25:40 (New York, 2011) Portugal
Yolanda Caballero 2:26:17 (Boston, 2011) Colombia
Sabrina Mockenhaupt 2:26:21 (Berlin, 2010) Germany
Diana Chepkemoi Sigei 2:26:53 (Dubai, 2011) Kenya
Karolina Jarzynska 2:27:16 (Yokohama, 2011) Poland
Serena Burla 2:28:27 (Seoul, 2012) USA
Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce 2:29:35 (Houston, 2011) USA
René Kalmer 2:29:59 (Yokohama, 2011) RSA
Diane Nukuri-Johnson 2:30:13 (London, 2012) NR Burundi
Alissa McKaig 2:31:56 (Houston, 2012) USA
NR=National Record CR=Course Record
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