FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Record Holders and Past Champion Highlight Elite Fields at
2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Kenenisa Bekele, 5,000m and 10,000m World Record Holder, and
Eliud Kipchoge Lead Men's Course Record Chase
Sub 2:20 Women Rita Jeptoo, 2013 Champion, and Florence Kiplagat,
Half Marathon World Record Holder, Ready to Test 42K Speed
CHICAGO - The Bank of America Chicago Marathon today announced that the
2014 elite competition will feature five men with personal records (PR) of
2:05 or faster, and four women with the potential to break the tape on
Columbus Drive under 2:20.
"This year's field is built for speed and record-breaking performances,"
said Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey
Pinkowski. "We have big expectations due to this group of men and women who
know how to race, dig deep and win."
Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele (2:05:04) and Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:05)
will rekindle their historic track rivalry on the road as both men chase
the record books. Also in the hunt will be Kenya's Sammy Kitwara (2:05:16),
Bernard Koech (2:04:53) and Dickson Chumba (2:05:42).
In the women's race, 2013 champion Rita Jeptoo (2:18:57) will face Kenya's
Florence Kiplagat (2:19:44), Jemima Sumgong (2:20:48) and relative
newcomer, Ethiopia's Birhane Dibaba (2:22:30).
The men's field
Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge began their competition on the start
line more than a decade ago at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in the
5,000m. While the two men have gone head-to-head more than a dozen times in
their careers, their biggest challenge on race day will be the course
record, 2:03:45, set last year by Kenya's Dennis Kimetto. Only five men in
history have broken 2:04 on record-eligible courses.
Bekele transitioned to the marathon this year after an illustrious track
and cross-country career that produced four World Records (he currently
holds the 5,000m and 10,000m records) and over 21 Olympic and World
Champion titles. Similar to Bekele, Kipchoge transitioned from the track to
the roads in 2012, and won his marathon debut at the 2013 Hamburg Marathon
in a course record 2:05:30. He started his 2014 campaign with a win at the
Rotterdam Marathon, clocking an even 2:05:00 despite windy conditions and
uneven pacing.
Far from a two-person race, the 2014 field includes several men with the
raw talent and right speed to join the quest for a new course record.
Kenya's Sammy Kitwara returns to Chicago for a third time and brings
something unique to this year's field: experience on Chicago's famously
fast and flat course. Kitwara finished fourth in his Chicago debut (and
marathon debut) in 2012, running 2:05:54. His speed over the half marathon
distance - the fifth fastest men's time in history (58:48) - ranks him high
among the list of potential winners.
Kenya's Bernard Koech does not have the longest resume in the field, but he
has the second-fastest marathon PR, 2:04:53, from his marathon debut in
Dubai in 2013; and like Kitwara, Koech has incredible half marathon speed.
At the 2013 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon, he produced the fastest
half marathon time run on American soil, beating Kipchoge by running 58:41.
Koji Kobayashi leads a strong contingent of Japanese runners. He started
his year with a personal best at the 2014 Tokyo Marathon, finishing ninth
in 2:08:51. Ecuador's Bayron Piedra rounds out the international field. The
two-time Pan-Am Games silver medalist has little experience over long
distances, but enough speed over 5,000m and 10,000m to clock a fast time.
The American charge will be led by former track star-turned-distance runner
Bobby Curtis of Rochester Hills, Mich. (2:13:24). Joining him will be Craig
Leon of Eugene, Ore. (2:13:52) and Tim Young of Fredericksburg, Va.
(2:15:14). Hot off of his 25K American Record, Christo Landry of Ann Arbor,
Mich. (2:14:44), is ripe for a breakthrough performance, and Matt Llano of
Flagstaff, Ariz., hopes to stride past Ryan Hall's American marathon debut
record of 2:08:24 when he toes the line for the first time.
The women's field
Defending champion Rita Jeptoo and her training partner, Jemima Sumgong,
will return to Chicago this October. Jeptoo ran her first career sub 2:20
in last year's race, the fifth fastest time in Chicago Marathon history,
and she returns this fall after smashing the Boston Marathon course record
in April, running 2:18:57. If Jeptoo cracks the 2:20 barrier for a third
time, she will become just the third woman in history to run three career
sub 2:20s. Sumgong, the 2013 Rotterdam Marathon champion, stayed with
Jeptoo through 35K during last year's duel and came home with a
second-place finish and a new personal best of 2:20:48.
Out to prevent a repeat one-two finish by Jeptoo and Sumgong is Kenya's
Florence Kiplagat, the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon champion and the 2011
and 2013 Berlin Marathon champion. Kiplagat pulled out of the 2012 Chicago
Marathon with an injury, and she has made no secret of coming to Chicago
this fall to improve her 2:19:44 personal best from the 2011 Berlin
Marathon.
Twenty-year-old Birhane Dibaba stole the show at the 2014 Suja Rock 'n'
Roll San Diego Half Marathon when she outsprinted Rita Jeptoo with 50
meters to go, winning in 1:09:34. Although Dibaba is the youngest
competitor in the elite field, she has run six marathons. She ran her first
marathon at age 18, and she has finished her last three marathons in 2:23
or under.
Amy Hastings (Providence, R.I.) leads a talented field of American women.
Hastings, the ninth fastest American woman over the marathon distance and
the fifth fastest over 10,000m, made her marathon debut in 2011 in
convincing fashion, finishing second in the Los Angeles Marathon in
2:27:03.
Joining Hastings will be top American finisher at the 2013 Chicago
Marathon, Clara Santucci of Dilliner, Pa., (2:29:54) and Becky Wade of
Houston, Texas, dubbed America's best young marathon runner. Wade made her
debut by winning the 2013 California International Marathon in 2:30:41.
2012 Olympian Lisa Uhl (Des Moines, Iowa), the seventh-fastest American
over 10,000m, will make her marathon debut. Watching the 2013 Bank of
America Chicago Marathon from the finish line inspired Uhl to re-evaluate
her career and ultimately make the move to the marathon.
Athlete quotes
"I am looking forward to coming to Chicago and competing with Kenenisa on
the road this time. I chose Chicago because it has a fast course and I want
to better my personal best. It's also one of the best races in the world."
- Eliud Kipchoge
"I am coming back to Chicago for the third time. Chicago is a nice city and
it has a good sports atmosphere. I will try to run the race of my life this
year, and if God gives me the strength, my target is to run 2:04:28." -
Sammy Kitwara
"I'm very excited to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this fall.
The depth of the field this year is incredible. I'm looking forward to
seeing where I stand against the world's best, as well as how I stack up
against some of the top Americans. Chicago is an exceptionally fast course
so I hope to lower my PB of 2:13 by a few minutes. I've been training well
so I think I have a realistic shot at 2:10 or 2:11, on a great day, maybe
faster." - Bobby Curtis
"I was supposed to compete in the Chicago marathon two years ago but was
out due to injury, but I am happy now to be part of the competition for my
fans and supporters. It is no retreat and no surrender for me; it's a
do-or-die game? and I will give all my best to succeed and make the 12th of
October a great day!" - Florence Kiplagat
"Running the Chicago Marathon has been my dream since I started running,
and it will be my first big race. My goal is to win and run 2 hours, 20
minutes or faster." - Birhane Dibaba
"I can't wait to be racing through the streets of Chicago. As a notoriously
fast course, I am out there to run a PR and compete with some of the
world's best until the very end." - Amy Hastings
For additional athlete quotes, visit chicagomarathon.com/2014elites.
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
In its 37th 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 athlete field, and an estimated 1.7
million spectators. As a result of its national and international draw, the
iconic race assists in raising millions of dollars for a variety of
charitable causes while generating $253 million in annual 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 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will start and finish in Grant
Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 12. In advance of the race,
a two-day Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place Convention
Center on Friday, October 10, and Saturday, October 11. For more
information about the event and how to get involved, go to
chicagomarathon.com.
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