FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Defending Champions, International Medalists Return for B.A.A. 5K and
B.A.A. Invitational Mile
American record holders Molly Huddle and Ben True seek B.A.A. 5K titles,
while global medalist Dawit Seyaum leads B.A.A. Invitational Mile field.
BOSTON - The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced an elite
field of world class competitors for the 2017 B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A.
Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 15, two days prior to the
2017 Boston Marathon®. Rhode Island's Molly Huddle and New Hampshire's Ben
True will return to Boston each aiming to earn their fourth B.A.A. 5K
titles.
Following the B.A.A. 5K, Ethiopia's Dawit Seyaum will lead world-class
fields at the ninth annual B.A.A. Invitational Mile. The B.A.A.
Invitational Mile will also include Middle School 1K races and Scholastic
Mile races featuring youth athletes from the eight cities and towns of the
Boston Marathon course.
A $39,900 (USD) prize purse will be distributed to the top finishers of the
B.A.A. 5K, while a $14,500 (USD) prize purse will be available in the
B.A.A. Invitational Mile.
Huddle and True are established veterans and New England favorites on the
roads of Boston, having won a combined total of six B.A.A. 5K races since
2011. Huddle has placed first three years in a row, while True broke the
tape out front of the men's race in 2011, 2012, and 2015. Last year, True
placed second to Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel, who also returns to defend
his title. Huddle and True both established American and event records at
the 2015 B.A.A. 5K, with Huddle timing 14:50 and True finishing in 13:22.
The aforementioned Gebremeskel is the reigning B.A.A. 5K champion, winning
last year's contest by two seconds over True. Like True and Huddle,
Gebremeskel has won three B.A.A. 5K titles (2013, 2014, and 2016). In 2015,
Gebremeskel dropped down in distance to win the B.A.A. Invitational Mile.
Kenya's Stephen Sambu, owner of four top-five finishes at the B.A.A. 5K in
addition to wins at the B.A.A. 10K and B.A.A. Distance Medley, also returns
to Boston seeking the $7,500 top prize.
Huddle will be joined on the starting line by training partner and
Providence resident Emily Sisson, as well as last year's B.A.A. 5K
runner-up Buze Diriba of Ethiopia. Sisson is coming off a U.S.
record-setting half marathon debut in New York City, and boasts a 5000m
best of 15:02.10 on the track. Diriba ran 15:28 at last year's B.A.A. 5K,
and was sixth in the 2016 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women's
Hospital. In addition, Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne, a former world
champion at 1500m, is entered.
American Olympian Marielle Hall and B.A.A. High Performance Team members
Sarah Pagano, Elaina Balouris, Jen Rhines, Emma Bates, Katie Matthews and
Margo Malone will all be racing as well. A field of 10,000 participants
will take part in the B.A.A. 5K, the first event of the 2017 B.A.A.
Distance Medley. The race starts and finishes on Charles Street adjacent to
Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, and passes the Boston Marathon
finish line on Boylston Street approximately 2.4 miles into the race.
Returning to the B.A.A. Invitational Mile after a year hiatus is 2015
champion Dawit Seyaum. In 2015, Seyaum set an event record of 4:35.4. Since
then she's won a silver medal at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships
and placed sixth at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Challenging Seyaum will be Olympians Nicole Sifuentes (CAN), Dominique
Scott-Efurd (RSA), and Violah Lagat (KEN), as well as perennial road mile
ace Heather Kampf. Lagat won the Carlsbad 5000 in 15:35 on April 2, and
Kampf has finished second at the B.A.A. Invitational Mile three times.
B.A.A. High Performance Team members Emily Lipari and Lauren Johnson will
also race the three-lap course before finishing at the Boston Marathon
finish line on Boylston Street. This will be Johnson's first race as a
member of the B.A.A. High Performance Team.
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile men's field features Canadian Olympic finalist
Nate Brannen, B.A.A. High Performance Team member Daniel Winn, and 3:51
miler Will Leer. Jamaican Olympian Kemoy Campbell, former NCAA All-American
Cristian Soratos, and 2015 third place finisher Frezer Legesse are also
entered.
A detailed start list and schedule of events for both the B.A.A. 5K and
B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below. The men's event record for the
B.A.A. 5K stands at 13:22, set by Ben True in 2015, while the women's event
record is 14:50 run by Molly Huddle in 2015. The men's and women's event
records for the B.A.A. Invitational Mile are 4:03.3 (Nick Willis, 2013) and
4:35.4 (Dawit Seyaum, 2015).
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile includes six races, held shortly after the
2017 B.A.A. 5K. The first two races feature middle school age students from
the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course - Hopkinton,
Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The
girls' and boys' Middle School 1K races include runners between sixth and
eighth grade and finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston
Street.
Following the Middle School 1K races is the Scholastic Mile, which features
girls' and boys' races for high school students from the eight cities and
towns of the Boston Marathon course. The Scholastic Mile follows the same
three-lap, USATF-certified course the professional mile athletes run,
finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line.
SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2017 - SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9:30 a.m. B.A.A. 5K, Boston Common
12:00 p.m. Girls' Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:10 p.m. Boys' Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:25 p.m. Girls' Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:35 p.m. Boys' Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:50 p.m. Men's Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
1:10 p.m. Women's Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
MEN'S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road 5K PB Track 5000m PB
Ben True 31 USA/NH 13:22 (AR, B.A.A. 5K '15) 13:02.74 (outdoors)
Dejen Gebremeskel 27 ETH 13:11 12:46.81 (outdoors)
Stephen Sambu 28 KEN/AZ 13:21 13:13.74 (indoors)
Philip Langat 26 KEN 13:32 13:48.0 (outdoors)
Chris O'Hare 26 GBR/MA DB 13:42.00 (outdoors)
Thomas Curtin 23 USA/MA 14:28 13:27.64 (outdoors)
Brian Shrader 25 USA/AZ 13:59 13:29.13 (outdoors)
James Kibet 29 KEN N/A 13:36.7 (outdoors)
Matt McClintock 23 USA/NC N/A 13:29.58 (indoors)
Ross Millington 27 GBR N/A 13:36.39 (outdoors)
Parker Stinson 25 USA/CO N/A 13:31.70 (outdoors)
Matt Hillenbrand 24 USA/MA N/A 13:49.24 (outdoors)
Joe Stilin 27 USA/NC 13:59 13:32.21 (outdoors)
Kirubel Erassa 23 USA/GA 14:00 13:27.55 (outdoors)
Johnny Crain 24 USA/NC 14:02 13:59.83 (outdoors)
Andrew Heyes 26 GBR 14:12 13:53.41 (outdoors)
WOMEN'S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road 5K PB Track 5000m PB
Molly Huddle 32 USA/RI 14:50 (AR, B.A.A. 5K '15)14:42.64 (outdoors)
Buze Diriba 23 ETH 15:00 14:50.02 (outdoors)
Emily Sisson 25 USA/RI 15:42 15:02.10 (indoors)
Marielle Hall 25 USA/PA 17:09 15:06.05 (indoors)
Nancy Nzisa 21 KEN 15:59 15:39 (outdoors)
Kalkidan Gezahegne 25 BRN N/A (4:00.97 for 1500m) 8:37.47 (3K indoors)
Amy van Alstine 29 USA/AZ 15:30 15:22.98 (outdoors)
Sarah Pagano 25 USA/MA 15:54 15:26.79 (outdoors)
Jen Rhines 42 USA/MA 15:21 14:54.29 (outdoors)
Emma Bates 24 USA/MA 15:57 15:32.46 (outdoors)
Elaina Balouris 25 USA/MA 16:07 15:45.58 (outdoors)
Katie Matthews 26 USA/MA 15:50 15:32.89 (outdoors)
Margo Malone 23 USA/MA 17:35 15:59.13 (outdoors)
Liv Westphal 23 FRA/MA N/A 15:28.71 (outdoors)
Elinor Kirk 27 GBR 16:09 15:37.65 (outdoors)
Lauren Howarth 26 GBR 16:00 15:44.28 (outdoors)
Kaitlin Goodman 30 USA/RI 16:31 15:29.89 (outdoors)
Joanna Thompson 24 USA/NC 16:43 16:03.13 (indoors)
B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and women)
Place Open Masters Push Rim Wheelchair
1 $7,500 $300 $300
2 $4,000 $200 $200
3 $2,500 $100 $100
4 $1,500
5 $1,000
6 $750
7 $600
8 $400
9 $300
10 $200
GRAND TOTAL: $39,900
MEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road Mile PB Track Mile PB
Will Leer 32 USA/CO 3:53.1 3:51.82 (outdoors)
Nate Brannan 34 CAN/OH 3:51.9 3:52.63 (outdoors)
Cristian Soratos 24 USA/MT 4:00.0 3:54.23 (indoors)
Daniel Winn 25 USA/MA 3:56.6 3:56.73 (outdoors)
Frezer Legesse 26 USA/OK 4:05.2 3:57.24 (outdoors)
Kemoy Campbell 26 JAM/MA 4:10.6 4:00.98 (indoors)
WOMEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road Mile PB Track Mile PB
Dawit Seyaum 20 ETH 4:35.4 N/A (3:58.09 1500m)
Nicole Sifuentes 30 CAN/MI 4:23.2 4:27.93 (indoors)
Heather Kampf 30 USA/MN 4:22.0 4:27.23 (outdoors)
Lauren Johnson 29 USA/MA 4:30.5 4:25.04 (outdoors)
Dominique Scott-Efurd
24 RSA/AR 4:35.4 4:28.47 (indoors)
Violah Lagat 28 KEN/AZ 4:25.1 4:28.82 (outdoors)
Emily Lipari 24 USA/MA 4:27.19 4:31.68 (indoors)
Cory McGee 24 USA/MA 4:30.3 4:28.55 (outdoors)
Shannon Osika 23 USA/MI 4:25.1 4:28.45 (outdoors)
Megan Krumpoch 24 USA/MA 4:41.83 4:32.03 (indoors)
Place Men Women
1 $3,000 $3,000
2 $2,000 $2,000
3 $1,000 $1,000
4 $750 $750
5 $500 $500
TOTAL $7,250 $7,250
GRAND TOTAL: $14,500
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.'s Boston Marathon is the world's
oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.
Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John
Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon
Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin,
Chicago, and New York City. More than 60,000 runners will participate in
B.A.A. events in 2017. The 121st Boston Marathon will be held on Monday,
April 17, 2017. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit
www.baa.org.
MEDIA
For further information, please contact .
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