FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two-Time Olympic Medalist Galen Rupp and American Marathon Debut
Record Holder Jordan Hasay Headline Strong Field of American Runners at the
40th Annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Running Legend and 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist
Joan Benoit Samuelson
Chasing Age Group World Record and Sub-Three Marathon
CHICAGO - The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced today that
two-time Olympic medalist Galen Rupp and American marathon debut record
holder Jordan Hasay will lead a deep field of American contenders at the
40th annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Adding an exclamation point
to the elite athlete field, 1984 Olympic gold medalist and 1985 Chicago
Marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson will toe the line in an attempt to
set an age group world record.
"Galen and Jordan are huge talents who have the ability to capture podium
finishes. The last time we had an American male and female place in the top
three together was 1996. And we have a deep field of Americans who can
shake things up this year Luke Puskedra, Diego Estrada, Sam Chelanga, Sarah
Crouch, Becky Wade and Alia Gray, to name a few," said Executive Race
Director Carey Pinkowski. "And Joanie is a legend. To have Joan attempting
a record in Chicago allows us the opportunity to celebrate her as an
American icon and running legend."
American men's field
Rupp, a three-time Olympian, an eight-time USATF 10,000m champion and a
member of the Nike Oregon Project, made his marathon debut in 2016 by
winning the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. He currently holds four American
records in the 10,000m (26:44.36), indoor 3,000m (7:30.16), indoor two-mile
(8:07.41) and indoor 5,000m (13:01.26). He is the 15th-fastest man in
history over 10,000m, and his 5,000m personal record (PR) of 12:58.90 puts
him in an exclusive category of American runners - he is one of only six
Americans to break 13:00 for the distance. At the 2012 London Olympics,
Rupp became the first American since 1964 to land on the podium; he
captured the silver medal after a final 400m lap in a blazing 53.8 seconds.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Rupp earned a bronze medal in the marathon,
proving that he can compete with the best on the global stage. He followed
his Olympic performance with a strong run in Boston in April, finishing
second in 2:09:58.
Sam Chelanga, a two-time NCAA champion in the 5,000m and 10,000m and the
NCAA 10,000m record holder, will make his second attempt at the marathon
distance. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 2015, Chelanga (with a half
marathon personal best of 1:01:04) made his marathon debut at the 2016 U.S.
Olympic Marathon Trials. After briefly moving to the front of the race amid
hot and humid conditions, he eventually lost contact with the lead pack and
dropped out. In 2016, Chelanga won the U.S. 10 Mile Championships, and he
has started 2017 with a bang, winning both the World's Best 10K in San Juan
and the New York Healthy Kidney 10K. He also finished 11th at the IAAF
World Cross Country Championships.
Luke Puskedra and Jeffrey Eggleston boast impressive résumés with 2:10
marathon performances. Puskedra experienced a breakthrough at the 2015
Chicago Marathon, smashing his PR by five minutes and stopping the clock in
2:10:24, making him the fastest American marathon runner in 2015. He
narrowly missed out on the opportunity to represent the U.S. in Rio when he
finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2016. He started
2017 with a strong performance in Boston, finishing ninth in 2:14:45.
Eggleston made his marathon debut in 2010 and ran his personal best
(2:10:52) at the 2014 Gold Coast Airport Marathon in Australia. He has
represented the U.S. at three IAAF World Championships in the marathon
(2011, 2013 and 2015), finishing as high as 13th in 2013. He kicked off
2017 with back-to-back marathons, finishing fourth in Warsaw in April and
then winning the Movistar Marathon in Lima, Peru in May.
Aaron Braun, Diego Estrada and Andrew Bumbalough also bring strong personal
bests to this year's American lineup. Braun, a versatile runner from 5,000m
to the marathon and a 16-time All American at Division II Adams State,
grabbed headlines in 2013 when he won the U.S. 12K National Championships.
He made his marathon debut in 2014 and ran his personal best (2:12:54) in
Houston in 2015. Most recently, he placed fifth at the U.S. 25K National
Championships.
Estrada, a 2012 Olympian, shot to the top of the elite ranks in 2015 after
he became the fourth-fastest American half marathon runner in history,
winning the U.S. National Half Marathon Championships in 1:00:51. He
completed his first marathon in Chicago last year, cracking the top 10 in
2:13:56. Estrada took a hard fall at the 10K aid station and ran the final
20 miles on a badly swollen ankle. He returned to Chicago this spring and
placed second to Stephen Sambu at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K.
Bumbalough, the 2013 U.S. 5K National Champion, represented the U.S. on the
track in the 5,000m at the 2011 IAAF World Championships and the 2014 IAAF
Continental Cup. Off the roads, he excelled in cross country, competing for
the U.S. at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He finally
made his marathon debut at the 2017 Tokyo Marathon, running a steady pace
to cross the line in 2:13:58.
Illinois native Chris Derrick and rising star Noah Droddy will be making
their marathon debuts. Derrick made a name for himself as a high school
student at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill. He is a former
American junior record holder in the 5,000m, a 14-time All American at
Stanford University and a three-time U.S. cross country national champion.
He will be making his much-anticipated marathon debut on the heels of two
standout performances: a 1:01:12 at the New York City half marathon and as
one of the elite pacers for Nike's Breaking2 project (where 2014 Chicago
Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge became the fastest marathoner in history
with a stunning 2:00:25 performance).
Droddy's image went viral after his appearance at the 2016 U.S. Olympic
Trials 10,000m. His long hair, mustache, tinted sunglasses and backwards
hat set off a social media bonanza with everyone asking the same question,
"Who is Noah Droddy?" While Droddy, a former Division III All American,
struggled at the trials, he has gained national respect. His most recent
performance at the New York City half marathon, 1:01:48, speaks volumes
about his potential in his marathon debut.
American women's field
Hasay, a member of the Nike Oregon Project, turned heads at the 2017 Boston
Marathon with a spectacular debut performance. She finished third in
2:23:00, the fastest marathon debut ever by an American woman by almost
three minutes, and the fourth-fastest Boston Marathon time in history by an
American woman. Before her impressive performance in Boston, she recorded
the third-fastest time ever by an American woman in the half marathon,
1:07:55, at the Prague Half Marathon (only Molly Huddle and Deena Kastor
have run faster). And prior to turning her attention to the roads in 2016,
Hasay focused on the track, initially making her name as a 1,500m runner
(she competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials as a high school runner). She was
a two-time Foot Locker Cross Country national champion in high school and a
15-time All American at the University of Oregon. The Bank of America
Chicago Marathon marks her second go at the marathon distance.
Becky Wade and Sarah Crouch stand out as two women with the potential to
break 2:30. Wade made a splash in her marathon debut, bursting onto the
elite scene with a 2:30:41 win at the 2013 California International
Marathon. After struggling in her next two marathons, Wade announced her
comeback this year in Houston, landing on the podium in third place in
2:35:57. Crouch, a 13-time Division II All American, returns to Chicago
after strong performances in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She subtracted 12 minutes
from her personal best in 2014 to finish sixth in 2:32:44. After missing
the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2016, Crouch regained her footing in Boston
as the second American woman across the line. She ended the year with a
ninth-place overall finish in Chicago.
Alia Gray, Danna Herrick and Dot McMahan deepen this year's field. Gray,
coached by the legendary Joe Vigil, surprised fans at the 2016 U.S. Olympic
Marathon Trials. After an unconventional build-up due to injury, she
notched a 10th place finish and a personal best of 2:35:47. She arrived in
Chicago last year seeking to dip under 2:30, and ran strong to a new PR,
finishing in an even 2:34:00 and 10th overall.
Herrick recently transitioned from being a self-coached runner to a
professional athlete with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. She
experienced a massive breakthrough this spring in Boston, taking almost six
minutes off of her personal best to run 2:34:53. The Bank of America
Chicago Marathon marks her third appearance in an Abbott World Marathon
Major (AbbottWMM). In addition to running Boston, she raced New York in
2013.
McMahan made her marathon debut at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in
2006, running 2:43:27. She returned to Chicago in 2010 and 2012, and she
lowered her PR to 2:31:48 in between in 2011. She finished in the top 10 of
both the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. McMahan, who
represented the U.S. at the 2013 IAAF World Championships Marathon, became
a masters runner in 2016, celebrating her 40th year by finishing as the
first master in New York (2:38:46) and then again in Boston in 2017
(2:36:28). McMahan's new goal is to finish as the first master in all six
AbbottWMM.
Kristen Heckert and Michelle Lilienthal round out this year's field of top
Americans. Heckert, a local runner with Full Potential Running/New Balance,
will make her sixth appearance at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and
her second as part of the elite field. She capped off a stellar 2016 season
with a 15th-place finish and a personal best at last year's Chicago
Marathon, running 2:39:37. Prior to Chicago, she set PRs in the 5K, 8K and
10,000m. Lillienthal boasts a marathon PR of 2:34:50. She is a two-time
Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier with roots in the Midwest; she first made
a name for herself as a seven-time champion at Iowa City High.
Joan Benoit Samuelson
Adding to an outstanding lineup of top Americans, Samuelson hopes to
rewrite the record books by accomplishing something no woman has done
before: running a sub-three marathon at age 60 (the current record is
3:01:30). Samuelson ran into the record books in Chicago in 1985 when she
beat one of the most competitive women's fields in history, defeating world
record holder Ingrid Kristiansen and Olympic bronze medalist and defending
Chicago Marathon champion Rosa Mota. Samuelson set an American record in
2:21:21 (a record that stood until 2003).
"Storytelling is important to me and it's how I motivate myself," Samuelson
said. "My race decisions often reflect my narrative. Once I turned 60 I
knew that the Oct. 8 Chicago race would represent the next chapter in my
career."
Samuelson made progress in her story in 2008 when at the Olympic Trials she
succeeded in securing a sub 2:50 at age 50. "I thought that was my last
competitive marathon, but there were more stories for me to tell," she
said.
"In 2009, the 40th anniversary of the New York City Marathon was the 25th
anniversary of my Olympic gold medal, and the 25th anniversary of my
Chicago win fell on 10-10-10. I couldn't pass up those numbers."
American men's field
Name Personal best
Galen Rupp 2:09:58 (Boston, 2017)
Luke Puskedra 2:10:24 (Chicago, 2015)
Jeffrey Eggleston 2:10:52 (Gold Coast, AUS 2014)
Aaron Braun 2:12:54 (Houston, 2015)
Diego Estrada 2:13:56 (Chicago, 2016)
Andrew Bumbalough 2:13:58 (Tokyo, 2017)
Sam Chelanga --
Chris Derrick Debut
Noah Droddy Debut
American women's field
Name Personal best
Jordan Hasay 2:23:00 (Boston, 2017)
Becky Wade 2:30:41 (Sacramento, 2013)
Dot McMahan 2:31:48 (Duluth, 2011)
Sarah Crouch 2:32:44 (Chicago, 2014)
Alia Gray 2:34:00 (Chicago, 2016)
Michelle Lilienthal 2:34:50 (St. Paul, 2013)
Danna Herrick 2:34:53 (Boston, 2017)
Kristen Heckert 2:39:37 (Chicago, 2016)
About the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
In its 40th year, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon welcomes thousands
of runners from more than 100 countries and all 50 states, including a
world-class elite field, top regional and Masters runners, race veterans,
debut marathoners and charity runners. The race's iconic course takes
runners through 29 vibrant neighborhoods on an architectural and cultural
tour of Chicago. Annually, an estimated 1.7 million spectators line the
streets cheering on more than 40,000 runners from the start line to the
final stretch down Columbus Drive. As a result of the race's national and
international draw, the Chicago Marathon assists in raising millions of
dollars for a variety of charitable causes while generating $277 million in
annual economic impact to its host city. The 2017 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon, a member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, will start and
finish in Grant Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. In
advance of the race, a two-day Abbott Health & Fitness Expo will be held at
McCormick Place Convention Center on Friday, October 6, and Saturday,
October 7. For more information about the event and how to get involved, go
to chicagomarathon.com.
Visit the Bank of America newsroom for more Bank of America news.
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