FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Hancock Announces 2019 Boston Marathon U.S. Elite Team
29 Member Team includes Olympians, National Champions, Pan-American
Medalists, Paralympians and Abbott World Marathon Majors Champions
BOSTON, MA, December 18, 2018, 10:00 a.m. EST-John Hancock, the principal
sponsor of the Boston Marathon since 1986, and the Boston Athletic
Association today announced an accomplished U.S. Elite Team for the 123rd
running of the race on April 15, 2019. The group of 29 athletes will race
against a world class international field to challenge for the coveted
olive wreath on Patriots' Day.
"American distance running has never been stronger, and we're honored to
support this talented U.S. Elite Team to showcase their dedication and
passion for being the best of class," said John Hancock Chief Marketing
Officer Barbara Goose. "With defending champions Des Linden and Tatyana
McFadden leading the way, all runners are sure to persevere in the world's
most historic race. We'll be cheering for everyone on Patriots' Day."
"The 123rd Boston Marathon features an elite American field that mixes both
seasoned veterans and those making their Boston debut," said Tom Grilk, CEO
of the B.A.A. "Olympians, podium finishers, and some of the fastest
Americans in history will all toe the line in Hopkinton on Patriots' Day,
aiming to reach the famed Boylston Street finish out in front. We are eager
to welcome America's best to Boston in 2019, and especially look forward to
the return of our two defending American champions in Desiree Linden and
Tatyana McFadden."
Video: https://youtu.be/2tBaBGpiwPA
In the women's open division, reigning Boston Marathon champion Desiree
Linden returns to defend her title. With the win, Linden became the first
U.S. women's open champion in 33 years. Joining Linden are Sarah Sellers,
second at Boston last year, and Jordan Hasay who was third at Boston in
2017, while setting the fastest American debut of all time.
Sara Hall, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon champion joins the trio, as does
Lindsay Flanagan, the 2015 Pan-American Games Marathon silver medalist;
2013 California International Marathon winner Becky Wade; and Sarah Crouch,
the top American at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
In the women's wheelchair division, five-time winner and reigning champion
Tatyana McFadden returns. Last year she powered away to win despite the
adverse conditions. Recent Boston Marathon runner-ups Susannah Scaroni and
Amanda McGrory also return, joined by Arielle Rausin, Massachusetts native
Katrina Gerhard, and L.A. Marathon champion Michelle Wheeler.
In the men's open field, Shadrack Biwott, third this year and fourth in
2017, returns to challenge for the title. He is joined on the John Hancock
Elite Athlete Team by a strong group of American male runners, including
Jared Ward who finished sixth at the 2016 Olympic Marathon; three-time
Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein, who is the third fastest U.S. marathoner of all
time; and four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman.
Jeffrey Eggleston, a three-time IAAF World Championships Marathon team
member; and rising stars Scott Fauble and Elkanah Kibet will contend, as
will Aaron Braun and Boston locals Timothy Ritchie and Brian Shrader.
The American contingent in the men's wheelchair division will be very
strong, led by U.S. star Daniel Romanchuk, fresh off victories at both the
Bank of America Chicago and TCS New York City Marathons. Just 20-years old,
Romanchuk has burst onto the scene and looks to improve upon his
third-place finish in Boston last year. This fall he became the first
American to win the men's wheelchair division in New York, where he
out-sprinted returning Boston champion Marcel Hug.
Rounding out the American men's contingent are Joshua George, Aaron Pike,
James Senbeta, Krige Schabort, and Brian Siemann.
The 2018 Boston Marathon marks the 34th year of John Hancock's landmark
sponsorship of the legendary race. 2019 U.S.A. Elite Team highlights and
field list follows.
2019 Boston Marathon John Hancock U.S. Elite Open Team
Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian, placed sixth at the 2017 Boston
Marathon. He is a multiple national champion in the 10,000m, 10K, 10-mile
and half marathon.
Shadrack Biwott finished third this year in Boston. Last year, he was
second American and fourth overall. Biwott placed fifth at the 2016 TCS New
York City Marathon in a personal best time of 2:12:01.
Aaron Braun, 13th at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, is a
versatile road runner. Braun is a national champion in the 12K and was top
American at the 2015 Houston Marathon.
Sarah Crouch has finished top-ten three times at the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, including this year where she was top American and ninth
overall. She is a past champion of the Tallahassee Marathon and finished
11th at the 2016 Boston Marathon.
Jeffrey Eggleston has raced on three IAAF World Championships Marathon
teams, placing as high as 13th in 2018. He has won the Pittsburgh,
Woodlands, Lima and San Diego Marathons and has been runner-up in Brisbane,
Pittsburgh and at Twin Cities.
Scott Fauble was the second American and seventh overall at the 2018 TCS
New York City Marathon. Fauble placed fourth in the 10,000m at the 2016
Olympic Trials and represented the United States at the 2017 IAAF World
Cross Country Championships.
Lindsay Flanagan, the 2015 Pan American silver medalist in the marathon,
finished 11th at the 2017 Boston Marathon and set her personal best of
2:29:25 at the Frankfurt Marathon this year.
Sara Hall is the tenth fastest U.S. women's marathoner of all time having
set her 2:26:20 mark at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon. Hall has earned national
titles in the marathon, 20K, 10-mile, mile and cross country. She is
married to Ryan Hall, who is a John Hancock Elite Athlete Ambassador and
holds the American course record of 2:04:58 at the Boston Marathon.
Jordan Hasay set an American debut record of 2:23:00 with her third-place
finish in Boston in 2017. She then ran the second fastest marathon of all
time by a U.S. woman at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where
she placed third in 2:20:57. Hasay is an 18-time All American and a
national champion at 15K and 20K.
Elkanah Kibet, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, has
had two top-ten finishes at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At the
2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon, Kibet finished top American and
16th overall. He was 8th in Boston in 2018.
Desiree Linden, a two-time Olympian, returns to Boston as defending
champion. A top-five finisher in eight Abbott World Marathon Majors,
additional accomplishments include placing seventh at the 2016 Olympic
Games Marathon, tenth at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon, second
at the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and second in the 10,000m
at the 2015 Pan American Games. In addition to her 2018 win in Boston, she
placed second in 2011.
Timothy Ritchie, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon champion, ran for the U.S.
at the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where he placed 23th.
Ritchie is the head men's cross country coach at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the fourth fastest U.S. marathoner of all time with a
2:07:47 personal best. Career highlights for the three-time Olympian
include finishing ninth at the 2008 Olympic Marathon, winning the bronze
medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and finishing 13th
at the 2012 Olympic Games 10,000m.
Sarah Sellers ran through freezing rain and torrential wind this year to
finish second behind Des Linden. In her 2017 marathon debut, Sellers won
the Huntsville Marathon. In New York this year she finished 18th.
Brian Shrader is a versatile runner on the track and roads. He made his
half marathon debut in Boston this year at the B.A.A. Half Marathon,
running 1:05:26. He also made his marathon debut in 2018, running 2:13:31
at the USA Championships in Sacramento.
Becky Wade, a champion of the California International Marathon, finished
11th at the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon and tenth at the 2017 Bank of
America Chicago Marathon.
Jared Ward placed third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and
followed with a sixth-place finish at the Olympic Marathon in Rio de
Janeiro, less than a minute and a half out of medal contention. In 2017
Ward was tenth at the Boston Marathon and this year, he finished top
American and sixth overall at the TCS New York City Marathon.
2019 Boston Marathon U.S. Elite Wheelchair Team
Joshua George is an 11-time Boston Marathon finisher and 4-time
Paralympian. He has recorded wins at both the Bank of America Chicago and
Virgin Money London Marathons over the course of his career.
Katrina Gerhard is an Acton, Mass., native and current student-athlete at
the University of Illinois. She won the 2018 B.A.A. 10K and placed ninth at
the 2017 Boston Marathon.
Tatyana McFadden is a five-time Boston Marathon champion and won last
year's rain-soaked race. McFadden has won 22 Abbott World Marathon Majors
races and has earned 17 Paralympic medals.
Amanda McGrory has finished on the Boston Marathon podium four times,
including a pair of runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2017. McGrory is a
seven-time Paralympic medalist, including three medals at the 2016
Paralympic Games.
Aaron Pike is both a winter and summer Paralympian, having competed in both
track and field, biathlon, and cross-country skiing. His career best finish
in Boston is seventh (2017).
Arielle Rausin has competed at the Boston Marathon five times, with a
career best finish of fifth last year. Rausin graduated from the University
of Illinois and owns a business which produces wheelchair racing gloves.
Daniel Romanchuk won both the TCS New York City Marathon and Bank of
America Chicago Marathon in 2018. A rising star, he finished third in
Boston 2018 and set a pair of World Records on the track in the 800m and
5000m.
Susannah Scaroni was last year's Boston Marathon runner-up. Scaroni also
placed second at the 2018 BMW Berlin Marathon and NYC Half Marathon and won
the 2018 Peachtree Road Race. She was a 2016 Paralympian.
Krige Schabort is a six-time Paralympian and two-time Paralympic medalist
in the marathon (bronze in 1992, silver in 2000). Schabort has won the TCS
New York City Marathon twice.
Brian Siemann is a two-time Paralympian and finished 25th at the 2016
London Paralympic Marathon. His fastest Boston came in 2017, when he
finished in 1:26:46.
James Senbeta qualified for three events at the 2016 Paralympic Games - the
800m, 5000m, and Marathon. He is a former course record holder at the
Falmouth Road Race.
Michelle Wheeler is the reigning LA Marathon champion, having won the 2018
race in 2:16:36. Also in 2018 she placed tenth at the New York City
Marathon and fifth at the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon.
2019 Boston Marathon USA Elite Team
Jordan Hasay 2:20:57 (Chicago, 2017)
Desiree Linden 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011)
Sara Hall 2:26:20 (Ottawa, 2018)
Lindsay Flanagan 2:29:25 (Frankfurt, 2018)
Becky Wade 2:30:41 (Sacramento, 2013)
Sarah Crouch 2:32:27 (Chicago, 2018)
Sarah Sellers 2:36:37 (New York City, 2018)
Dathan Ritzenhein 2:07:47 (Chicago, 2012)
Abdi Abdirahman 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006)
Jeffrey Eggleston 2:10:52 (Gold Coast, 2014)
Jared Ward 2:11:30 (Rio de Janeiro, 2016)
Elkanah Kibet 2:11:31 (Chicago, 2015)
Timothy Ritchie 2:11:56 (Sacramento, 2017)
Shadrack Biwott 2:12:01 (New York City, 2016)
Scott Fauble 2:12:28 (New York City, 2018)
Aaron Braun 2:12:54 (Houston, 2015)
Brian Shrader 2:13:31 (Sacramento, 2018)
Tatyana McFadden 1:35:05 (Boston, 2017)
Susannah Scaroni 1:33:17 (Boston, 2017)
Amanda McGrory 1:33:13 (Boston, 2017)
Arielle Rausin 1:41:26 (Boston, 2017)
Katrina Gerhard 1:40:34 (Boston, 2017)
Michelle Wheeler 1:45:22 (Oita, 2018)
Daniel Romanchuk 1:26:26 (Boston, 2017)
Joshua George 1:21:47 (Boston, 2017)
Aaron Pike 1:22:09 (Boston, 2017)
James Senbeta 1:24:27 (Boston, 2017)
Krige Schabort 1:23:44 (Boston, 2012)
Brian Siemann 1:26:45 (Boston, 2017)
The full elite international field will be announced in a few weeks. For
additional information about the elite athlete program and sponsorship,
please visit www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/sportspartnerships.html
or follow us @jhboston26 and @johnhancockUSA on Twitter.
About John Hancock and Manulife
John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading
international financial services group that helps people make their
decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in
the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice,
insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups
and institutions. Assets under management and administration by Manulife
and its subsidiaries were over CAD$1.1 trillion (US$863 billion) as of
September 30, 2018. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the
TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at
manulife.com.
One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock
supports approximately 10 million Americans with a broad range of financial
products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans,
and college savings plans. Additional information about John Hancock may be
found at johnhancock.com.
###
|
