44 Elite Athletes from 10 Countries Invited for 121st Running on April 17
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In its 32nd year as principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, John Hancock Financial today announced the elite field for the 121st Boston Marathon on April 17. A complete field list follows.
Six Boston Marathon champions and 15 top U.S. runners will challenge an exceptional men's and women's international field. Combined, the team has won Olympic and IAAF World Championships medals as well as 89 global marathons, including 22 Abbott World Marathon Majors. There will be 19 Olympians in the field.
Marathon world-record-holder Dennis Kimetto leads a field of nine men who have lifetime bests under 2:05:30. Kimetto is a Chicago and Tokyo champion and set the world marathon standard with his 2:02:57 Berlin win in 2014. Kimetto also holds the world 25K record. Close on his heels will be seasoned runners and fellow Kenyans Emmanuel Mutai, Patrick Makau and Sammy Kitwara. Mutai finished second to Kimetto in the 2014 Berlin race, is a London and Amsterdam champion and earned the silver medal at the 2009 IAAF World Championships. Makau is a former marathon world-record-holder, two-time Berlin and Fukuoka winner, and champion in Rotterdam and Frankfurt. Kitwara has run six half marathons under one hour and is coming off a December win in Taipei.
2016 Boston Marathon champion Lemi Berhanu Hayle of Ethiopia will work with countrymen Yemane Tsegay, Dino Sefir and Sisay Lemma as he seeks to defend his title. Tsegay finished third in Boston last year, claimed the silver medal at the 2015 IAAF World Championships Marathon and has nine global marathon wins, including winning Fukuoka this past December. Sefir and Lemma are new to the Boston course. Sefir holds 2016 wins in Ottawa and Barcelona. Lemma won Frankfurt and Vienna in 2015.
Four additional Kenyans will be in the mix. Wesley Korir, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion is joined by Wilson Chebet, a three-time Amsterdam winner and Rotterdam winner, who has finished second and third in Boston. Rising talents Geoffrey Kirui, who won the bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships and Daniel Salel, the 2016 B.A.A. Half Marathon champion, also seek a podium finish in their Boston debuts.
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