FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two-time Boston Marathon Winner & Reigning World Champion
Lelisa Desisa to return for October's 125th Running
Desisa And Fellow Ethiopian Kelkile Gezahegn Added
To John Hancock Professional Athlete Field
BOSTON-The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced that two-time
Boston Marathon champion, reigning World Athletics Marathon champion, and
2:04:45 marathoner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia will compete in the 125th
Boston Marathon on Monday, October 11. Desisa joins 13 previously announced
Boston Marathon champions who are racing as part of the John Hancock
Professional Athlete Team.
"Boston has become my second home and I truly cherish my time when I am
there," said Desisa. "I return to compete still chasing my third victory in
the Boston Marathon. Thank you, Boston; I look forward to putting on a good
show for you on Marathon Monday!"
Desisa, who broke the tape first in 2013 (2:10:22) then again in 2015
(2:09:17), returns to Boston for the seventh time. In 2019, Desisa finished
runner-up by a mere two seconds behind winner Lawrence Cherono. In addition
to Boston and the 2019 World Championships, Desisa has previously won the
2018 TCS New York City Marathon, 2013 Dubai Marathon, and earned silver at
the 2013 World Athletics Championships Marathon. His lifetime best of
2:04:45 ranks third in this year's field, featuring nine men who have run
2:06:00 or faster.
Additionally, 2020 Houston Marathon champion and 2:05:56 marathoner Kelkile
Gezahegn will compete for top honors in October. Gezahegn has won marathons
in Houston, Ljubljana, Frankfurt, and Lanzhou since 2017, with four
additional wins in 2016. Gezahegn's personal best of 2:05:56 was set en
route to a third-place finish at the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon. This will be
his Boston Marathon debut.
The complete John Hancock Professional Athlete Team field list can be found
below. For media planning to cover the 125th Boson Marathon both in-person
and from afar, athlete bios, race information, updated media materials, and
credential application information will be available in the coming weeks.
Note: Athletes with ^ next to their names are Masters (40+) athletes)
WOMEN’S OPEN DIVISION
WOMEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY
Yebrgual Melese 2:19:36 (Dubai, 2018) Ethiopia
Edna Kiplagat^ 2:19:50 (London, 2012) Kenya
Mare Dibaba 2:19:52 (Dubai, 2012) Ethiopia
Workenesh Edesa 2:20:24 (Valencia, 2019) Ethiopia
Sutume Kebede 2:20:30 (Tokyo, 2020) Ethiopia
Jordan Hasay 2:20:57 (Chicago, 2017) USA
Besu Sado 2:21:03 (Amsterdam, 2019) Ethiopia
Helah Kiprop 2:21:27 (Tokyo, 2016) Kenya
Bedatu Hirpa 2:21:32 (Frankfurt, 2018) Ethiopia
Atsede Baysa 2:22:03 (Chicago, 2012) Ethiopia
Diana Chemtai Kipyogei 2:22:06 (Istanbul, 2020) Kenya
Desiree Linden 2:22:38 (Boston, 2011) USA
Biruktayit Eshetu 2:22:40 (Toronto, 2019) Ethiopia
Tigist Abayechew 2:22:45 (Dubai, 2020) Ethiopia
Purity Changwony 2:22:46 (Ampugnano, 2021) Kenya
Caroline Rotich 2:23:22 (Chicago, 2012) Kenya
Molly Huddle 2:26:33 (London, 2019) USA
Mary Ngugi 2:27:36 (New York City, 2019) Kenya
Nell Rojas 2:28:09 (Duluth, 2019) USA
Paige Stoner 2:28:43 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Shiho Kaneshige 2:28:51 (Osaka, 2020) Japan
Dakotah Lindwurm 2:29:04 (Duluth, 2021) USA
Netsanet Gudeta 2:29:15 (Paris, 2017) Ethiopia
Kellys Arias 2:29:36 (Hamburg, 2016) NR Colombia
Julia Griffey 2:29:58 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Tish Jones 2:31:00 (London, 2019) Great Britain
Bethany Sachtleben 2:31:20 (Lima, 2019) USA
Dot McMahan^ 2:31:48 (Duluth, 2011) USA
Sydney Devore 2:32:39 (Pittsburgh, 2018) USA
Hilary Dionne 2:33:03 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Brittany Charboneau 2:33:14 (Atlanta, 2020) USA
Dawn Grunnagle^ 2:33:14 (Berlin, 2019) USA
Susanna Sullivan 2:33:27 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Heather Lieberg^ 2:34:07 (St. Paul, 2019) USA
Caitlin Phillips 2:34:43 (Berlin, 2019) USA
Laurie Knowles^ 2:36:01 (Chicago, 2016) USA
Courtney Olson 2:36:21 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Brittany Moran 2:36:22 (Sacramento, 2019) Canada
Marie-Ange Brumelot 2:36:23 (Chicago, 2019) France
Emma Spencer 2:37:05 (Berlin, 2018) USA
Rachel Hyland 2:37:22 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Andrea Pomaranski 2:37:39 (Duluth, 2021) USA
AnnMarie Kirkpatrick 2:37:49 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Gina Rouse^ 2:38:41 (Atlanta, 2020) USA
Nina Zarina 2:38:50 (Duluth, 2021) USA
Jordan O'Dea 2:38:57 (Lowell, 2019) USA
Christina Murphy^ 2:39:15 (Columbus, 2013) USA
Lindsay Nelson 2:39:33 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Hilary Corno^ 2:42:14 (Chicago, 2018) USA
Caroline Chepkoech Debut (1:05:07 Half) Kazakhstan
Monicah Wanjuhi Debut (1:07:29 Half) Kenya
Elaina Tabb Debut (1:10:44 Half) USA
MEN'S OPEN DIVISION
MEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY
Asefa Mengstu 2:04:06 (Dubai, 2018) Ethiopia
Lemi Berhanu 2:04:33 (Dubai, 2016) Ethiopia
Lelisa Desisa 2:04:45 (Dubai, 2013) Ethiopia
Benson Kipruto 2:05:13 (Toronto, 2019) Kenya
Wilson Chebet 2:05:27 (Rotterdam, 2011) Kenya
Filex Kiprotich 2:05:33 (Daegu, 2019) Kenya
Dejene Debela 2:05:46 (Chicago, 2019) Ethiopia
Kelkile Gezahegn 2:05:56 (Rotterdam, 2018) Ethiopia
Thomas Kiplagat 2:06:00 (Seoul, 2019) Kenya
Felix Kandie 2:06:03 (Seoul, 2017) Kenya
Paul Lonyangata 2:06:10 (Paris, 2017) Kenya
Tsedat Ayana 2:06:18 (Dubai, 2020) Ethiopia
Geoffrey Kirui 2:06:27 (Amsterdam, 2016) Kenya
Yuki Kawauchi 2:07:27 (Otsu, 2021) Japan
Abrar Osman 2:07:46 (Amsterdam, 2019) Eritrea
Jake Robertson 2:08:26 (Otsu, 2018) New Zealand
Bayelign Teshager 2:08:28 (Los Angeles, 2020) Ethiopia
Abdi Abdirahman^ 2:08:56 (Chicago, 2006) USA
Scott Fauble 2:09:09 (Boston, 2019) USA
Colin Bennie 2:09:38 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Scott Smith 2:09:46 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Stephen Scullion 2:09:49 (London, 2020) Ireland
Augustus Maiyo 2:10:47 (Atlanta, 2020) USA
Dylan Wykes 2:10:47 (Rotterdam, 2012) Canada
Parker Stinson 2:10:53 (Chicago, 2019) USA
Matt McDonald 2:11:10 (Chicago, 2019) USA
CJ Albertson 2:11:18 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Reid Buchanan 2:11:38 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Jonas Hampton 2:12:10 (Atlanta, 2020) USA
Tyler Pennel 2:12:34 (Atlanta, 2020) USA
Tyler Jermann 2:12:40 (Chandler, 2020) USA
Rory Linkletter 2:12:54 (Chandler, 2020) Canada
Jarrett Leblanc 2:13:51 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Carlos Trujillo 2:14:21 (Chicago, 2012) Guatemala
Luke Humphrey^ 2:14:39 (San Diego, 2011) USA
Nitendra Rawat Singh 2:15:18 (Guwahati, 2016) India
Daniel Ortiz Perez 2:15:41 (Valencia, 2020) Mexico
Luis Carlos Rivero 2:15:43 (Seville, 2020) Guatemala
Thomas Toth 2:16:28 (Toronto, 2019) Canada
Pardon Ndhlovu 2:16:47 (Houston, 2019) Zimbabwe
Brian Harvey 2:17:05 (St. Paul, 2014) USA
Alex Taylor^ 2:17:08 (Duluth, 2019) USA
Patrick Reaves 2:17:45 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Peter Bromka^ 2:19:04 (Sacramento, 2019) USA
Chip O'Hara^ 2:21:20 (Tempe, 2020) USA
Eric Blake^ 2:22:49 (Sacramento, 2018) USA
Blue Bendum^ 2:23:43 (Boston, 2014) USA
Jemal Yimer Debut (58:33 Half NR) Ethiopia
Leonard Barsoton Debut (59:09 Half) Kenya
Harvey Nelson Debut (1:01:48 Half) USA
Girma Mecheso Debut (1:02:16 Half) USA
David Bett Debut (1:02:31 Half) Kenya
Paul Hogan Debut (1:04:23 Half) USA
WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR DIVISION
WOMEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY
Manuela Schär 1:28:17 (Boston, 2017) Switzerland
Susannah Scaroni 1:30:42 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Tatyana McFadden 1:31:30 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Jenna Fesemyer 1:37:02 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Shelly Woods 1:37:44 (Padova, 2008) Great Britain
Margriet van den Broek 1:38:33 (Boston, 2017) Netherlands
Arielle Rausin 1:40:51 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Vanessa de Souza 1:45:19 (Oita, 2018) Brazil
Michelle Wheeler 1:45:55 (Oita, 2018) USA
Yen Hoang 2:01:06 (Boston, 2019) USA
Eva Houston N/A USA
MEN'S WHEELCHAIR DIVISION
MEN PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY
Marcel Hug 1:18:04 (Boston, 2017) Switzerland
Ernst van Dyk 1:18:04 (Boston, 2017) South Africa
Josh Cassidy 1:18:25 (Boston, 2012) Canada
Hiroki Nishida 1:20:28 (Boston, 2017) Japan
Kota Hokinoue 1:20:54 (Seoul, 2013) Japan
Aaron Pike 1:20:59 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Daniel Romanchuk 1:21:36 (Boston, 2019) USA
Tomoki Suzuki 1:21:52 (Tokyo, 2020) Japan
James Senbeta 1:24:27 (Boston, 2017) USA
Simon Lawson 1:25:06 (Boston, 2017) Great Britain
David Weir 1:26:17 (Boston, 2016) Great Britain
Sho Watanabe 1:26:22 (Seoul, 2017) Japan
Johnboy Smith 1:29:44 (Berlin, 2017) Great Britain
Tristan Smyth 1:29:53 (Berlin, 2018) Canada
Hermin Garic 1:32:27 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Callum Hall 1:32:49 (Seoul, 2019) Great Britain
Christian Clemmons 1:38:08 (Grandma's, 2019) USA
Tiaan Bosch 1:39:01 (Dubai, 2020) South Africa
PARA ATHLETICS DIVISIONS TOP CONTENDERS
NAME PERSONAL BEST COUNTRY CLASSIFICATION
Chaz Davis 2:31:48 USA T12 (Vision Impairment)
Misato Michishita 2:56:14 Japan T12 (Vision Impairment)
Tayana Passos 3:22:27 Brazil T13 (Vision Impairment)
Marko Cheseto Lemtukei 2:37:23 USA T62 (Lower Limb Impairment)
Adam Popp 3:17:35 USA T63 (Lower Limb Impairment)
Liz Willis 4:57:43 USA T64 (Lower Limb Impairment)
Danielle McLaughlin 3:50:50 USA T64 (Lower Limb Impairment)
For the 36th year, John Hancock will serve as principal sponsor of the
Boston Marathon. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Boston Marathon was
moved from its traditional date of the third Monday in April to Monday,
October 11. The fall race will feature a field size of 20,000 participants,
as well as a rolling start for the first time. The in-person race will be
complemented by a virtual race, which will be held from Friday, October 8
through Sunday, October 10.
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