FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sub-2:20 Performers Lucy Kabuu and Florence Kiplagat to Clash
at 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Kenyan Women Look to End 10-Year Winless Streak in Chicago
CHICAGO - The Bank of America Chicago Marathon today announced that two of
the fastest female marathon runners in the world will compete in the
October 7 race, as sub-2:20 performers Lucy Kabuu and Florence Kiplagat,
both of Kenya, will match strides on Chicago's flat and fast course. Kabuu
currently has the No. 3-ranked performance of the year and No. 14 all-time
after her 2:19:34 at the Dubai Marathon in January; while Kiplagat is
ranked No. 18 all-time after winning the 2011 BMW Berlin Marathon in
2:19:44.
"Lucy and Florence are two of the most exciting athletes in the sport,"
said Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. "They are both relatively new
to the marathon, which, combined with what they have accomplished on the
track and in cross country, promises a very bright future ahead. The Bank
of America Chicago Marathon is a course that will suit them well and I
think these two athletes will push each other to even greater heights."
Kabuu is a two-time Olympian with top 10 finishes in the 10,000 meters at
the 2004 and 2008 Games. After breaking from competition in 2009 and 2010
to recover from injury and start a family, she turned her attention to the
roads and found immediate success. Dubai was her first marathon, and her
debut ranks as the second fastest all-time (behind marathon world
record-holder Paula Radcliffe). In April, she placed fifth at the 2012
Virgin London Marathon, narrowly missing out on making her third Olympic
team.
Kiplagat is Kenya's 10,000 meter record-holder (30:11.53) and has won two
gold medals on the world stage-the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country title
(long course) and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon title. After she was
unable to finish the 2011 Boston Marathon, Kiplagat conquered the marathon
distance in Berlin, besting stalwarts Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain and
Irina Mikitenko of Germany for the win. Her bid to make her first Olympics
fell agonizingly short; with the top three finishers qualifying for the
Kenyan team, she placed fourth in her country's marathon trials (2012
London Marathon) and 10,000 meter trials.
It was also announced that Kenya's Caroline Rotich, the fourth place
finisher from the 2011 Boston Marathon with a personal best of 2:24:26,
will compete in her first Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Incredibly, it has been 10 years since a Kenyan woman broke the finish tape
in Chicago-that being Catherine Ndereba in 2001 in a then-world record of
2:18:47. In fact, since Ndereba's runner-up performance the following year,
a Kenyan woman has not finished among Chicago's top three, and only Joyce
Chepchumba (fourth, 2004) has finished among the top five. This trio of
Kenyan athletes will look to put an end to the winless streak at the 2012
event.
About the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Celebrating its 35th year and a member of the World Marathon Majors, the
Bank of America Chicago Marathon annually attracts 45,000 participants,
including a world-class elite runner and wheelchair field, and an estimated
1.7 million spectators. As a result of its national and international draw,
each year, the iconic race assists in raising millions of dollars for a
variety of charitable causes while generating $170 million in economic
impact to its host city according to a report by the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign's Regional Economics Applications Laboratory
(R.E.A.L.). The 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will start and finish
in Chicago's Grant Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. In
advance of the race, a two-day Health & Fitness Expo will be held at
McCormick Place Convention Center on Friday, October 5, and Saturday,
October 6.
www.chicagomarathon.com
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