FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Hancock Announces 2019 Boston Marathon Elite Ambassador Team
BOSTON, MA, March 27, 2019-John Hancock today announced its Elite Athlete
Ambassador Team for the 2019 Boston Marathon to be held on April 15.
Boston Marathon champions Meb Keflezighi, Tatyana McFadden, Bill Rodgers,
Joan Benoit Samuelson, Greg Meyer and Uta Pippig will join Shalane
Flanagan, Ryan Hall, Deena Kastor, Becca Pizzi and Team Hoyt as ambassadors
for this year's race.
"As Patriots' Day nears, we welcome our 2019 Elite Ambassador Team for the
Boston Marathon," said John Hancock Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Goose.
"Through their mentorship and inclusiveness, these accomplished athletes
inspire runners of all ages and abilities during race week and throughout
the year at John Hancock sponsored events. The team has become an integral
part of our community."
Ambassadors will cheer on the 30,000 participants racing from Hopkinton to
Boston on Patriots' Day and attend media, community and race week events,
including making appearances at the Runner's Seminar at the Expo, surprise
"meet and greets" near the finish line, and at the John Hancock Elite
Athlete press conference on April 12 at 10 a.m. at the Fairmont Copley.
Meb Keflezighi: The 2014 Boston Marathon champion, Keflezighi is a
four-time Olympian and one of America's most accomplished runners. He is
the only American man to have won the Boston and New York City Marathons
(2009) and earned an Olympic Marathon medal (silver, 2004).
Tatyana McFadden: A Boston Athletic Association invited wheelchair elite
racer this year and the defending champion, McFadden is one of the most
decorated athletes of all time. She won four gold medals at the 2016
Paralympics in Rio and has multiple wins at the Boston, New York, Chicago
and London Marathons.
Bill Rodgers: Four-time Boston Marathon champion (1975, 1978-80) and
four-time New York City Marathon champion (1976-79), Rodgers continues to
inspire runners of all ages and abilities. Rodgers also won the Fukuoka
Marathon and is a former world record holder in the 25K.
Joan Benoit Samuelson: The first woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon,
Samuelson is a two-time Boston Marathon winner and Chicago Marathon winner.
In 1979, as a 21-year-old college senior, Samuelson won the Boston Marathon
and set an American best (2:35:15). In 1983, she won again, setting a
world standard of 2:22:43. This year she will run the race in celebration
of the 40th anniversary of her 1979 win.
Greg Meyer: The 1983 Boston Marathon champion, Meyer won the 1980 Detroit
and the 1982 Chicago Marathons and set ten U.S. road racing records and two
world records (15K, Ten Mile) during his career. He is the coach of the
John Hancock Employee Running Program for the Boston Marathon.
Uta Pippig: The first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon three
consecutive times (1994-96), Pippig is also a three-time Berlin Marathon
champion (1990, 92, 95). She competed for Germany at the 1992 and 1996
Olympic Games and gained U.S. citizenship in 2004. Pippig has been a coach
of Team Hoyt.
Shalane Flanagan: A four-time Olympian Flanagan ran the fastest time
(2:22:02) ever by an American woman at the 2014 Boston Marathon. She won
the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games 10,000m and in the Olympic
Games Marathon was sixth in 2016 and ninth in 2012. Flanagan won the 2017
TCS New York City Marathon and holds multiple American records.
Ryan Hall: American record holder in the 20K, 30K and half marathon, Hall
also owns the U.S. course record on the Boston Marathon course (2:04:58).
He won the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and finished runner-up at the
2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. At the 2008 Olympic Games Marathon, he
finished 10th.
Deena Kastor: A three-time Olympian, Kastor won the bronze medal in the
marathon at the 2004 Olympics. The U.S. record holder in the marathon
(2:19:36), Kastor has won 18 national titles across various distances and
earned two silver medals at the World Cross Country Championships. She won
the 2005 Chicago Marathon, the 2006 London Marathon, and the 2008 U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon.
Becca Pizzi: In 2016 and 2018, Becca Pizzi ran 7 marathons on 7 continents
in 7 days as part of the World Marathon Challenge. Not only was she the
first American woman to ever complete the challenge, she won 13 of the 14
marathons and holds the course record. Becca has run over 50 marathons,
including 21 Boston Marathons.
Team Hoyt: Dick and Rick Hoyt have raced together in more than 1,100
sporting events, including 32 Boston Marathons. Over three decades they
have inspired race participants and fans with their determination and
willpower to defy all expectations. Rick continues to race with Bryan
Lyons, keeping his Boston Marathon streak currently at 36.
The 2019 Boston Marathon marks the 34th year of John Hancock's landmark
sponsorship of the legendary race. For additional information about the
elite athlete program and sponsorship, please visit
https://www.johnhancock.com/citizenship/boston-marathon.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 CAD$1.1 trillion (US$794 billion) as of December
31, 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 more than 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.
###
|
