FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Defending Champion Mary Keitany to Lead Powerful Women's Field
at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1
World and Olympic medalist Sally Kipyego
and top-American distance runner Laura Thweatt to make marathon debuts
NEW YORK, September 16, 2015—Defending champion Mary Keitany of Kenya and
2011 World and 2012 Olympic 10,000-meter silver medalist Sally Kipyego of
Kenya, making her marathon debut, will lead an accomplished professional
women's field at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon, set for Sunday,
November 1, it was announced today by Peter Ciaccia, president of events
for New York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City
Marathon.
Joining Keitany and Kipyego will be top American distance runner Laura
Thweatt making her marathon debut, 2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist
Helah Kiprop and 2015 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Rotich, both of
Kenya, as well as 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon champion Tigist Tufa of
Ethiopia.
"We are excited to welcome an extremely talented women's field of marathon
veterans, including our defending champion Mary Keitany, and newcomers to
the marathon distance, including Sally Kipyego and Laura Thweatt, to the
2015 TCS New York City Marathon," said Ciaccia. "Along with Helah Kiprop,
Caroline Rotich, and Tigist Tufa, this star-powered field will lead the way
for a community of 50,000 runners along an amazing journey through the five
boroughs of New York City."
"Having such a talented group of athletes competing in the TCS New York
City Marathon is inspiring to so many in New York City and around the
world," said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road Runners.
"Our mission at New York Road Runners is to help and inspire people through
running, whether that's with one of the more than 50 events we organize
each year or through one of NYRR's many youth and community initiatives,
such as our Run for the Future program that provides college scholarships
to female high school seniors."
Keitany, 33, won the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon with a time of
2:25:07, improving upon her third-place performances in 2010 and 2011. She
finished second at the 2015 London Marathon and won two consecutive London
Marathons (2011, 2012), the latter in 2:18:37, making her the
second-fastest performer in history. Keitany, the 2015 Oakley New York Mini
10K champion, placed fourth at the 2012 London Olympic Marathon and won the
2011–2012 World Marathon Majors series title. On Sunday, she won the 2015
Great North Run by four minutes in 1:07:32.
"I am happy and proud to go back to New York to defend my title," said
Keitany. "To be the defending champion is a great honor, but also a big
responsibility for me. Therefore, I have been doing my own preparation
since June to ensure that I will reach the best shape possible to perform
even better than last year in order to make my supporters happy, who will
be watching me run in the streets of New York."
Kipyego, 29, who lives and trains in Eugene, OR, earned a silver medal in
the 10,000 meters at both the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field
Championships and the 2012 Olympics, where she also finished fourth in the
5000 meters. In 2014, she was the fastest 10,000-meter runner in the world
and won the NYC Half in an event-record 1:08:31. Kipyego won nine NCAA
Division I titles while at Texas Tech University, tied for the most in
history. She has also impressed at the shorter distances in New York,
finishing second at the 2011 NYRR 5th Avenue Mile, third and fourth at the
2011 and 2013 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K, respectively, and won the
3000 meters at the 2015 NYRR Millrose Games.
"I'm very excited to be making my marathon debut in New York this year,"
said Kipyego. "I have had great opportunities to race over different
distances on the streets of New York and I look forward to this new
distance. The distance is definitely daunting but I'm grateful to New York
Road Runners for giving me the opportunity a few years ago to ride on the
lead car, which was a fantastic way to check out the course. I'm simply
thrilled, but nervous at the same time."
Thweatt, 26, of Boulder, CO, is the 2015 USA Cross Country champion and the
2013 and 2014 USA Club Cross Country individual champion. She represented
the United States at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and
finished second at the 2015 USA 15K Championships. In 2014, she made her
half-marathon debut with a time of 1:11:01 and she was the third-fastest
5000-meter runner in the United States. Thweatt, a graduate of the
University of Colorado, also recorded a third-place finish at the 2013 USA
12K Championships.
"Deciding to make my marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon has
been a mixture of total excitement and complete terror," said Thweatt. "I'm
truly humbled and honored to have been given this incredible opportunity
and cannot imagine anything more electrifying than racing 26.2 miles
through the five boroughs. I chose the TCS New York City Marathon because
of its rich history and the opportunity to compete with some of the best in
the world."
Additional Select Athlete Backgrounds and Notable Performances
•Tufa, 28, is the 2015 London Marathon champion, the first Ethiopian
champion since 2001. In 2014, she won both the Shanghai Marathon and the
Ottawa Marathon, and she finished second at the Los Angeles Marathon. She
finished sixth at the 2015 IAAF World Championships Marathon.
•Kiprop, 30, is the 2015 IAAF World Marathon silver medalist. Her
performance at the World Championships and her second-place finish at the
2015 Tokyo Marathon currently rank her second in the Abbott World Marathon
Majors Series IX. She won the 2014 Seoul Marathon and finished fourth at
the 2013 Berlin Marathon, her debut at the distance.
•Rotich, 31, who lives and trains in Santa Fe, NM, is the reigning Boston
Marathon champion and the former event record-holder and two-time champion
(2011, 2013) of the NYC Half. In addition to her 2015 Boston Marathon win,
she has had three other top-five finishes in Abbott World Marathon Majors
races and won the 2013 Prague Marathon.
•Priscah Jeptoo, 30, of Kenya, is the 2013 New York City Marathon champion.
She clinched the 2012–2013 World Marathon Majors series title with
victories at both the New York and London marathons in 2013, a silver-medal
performance at the 2012 Olympic Marathon, and a third-place finish at the
2012 London Marathon. She is the fifth-fastest half-marathoner of all time.
•Aselefech Mergia, 30, of Ethiopia, is the 2015 Dubai Marathon champion and
the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon bronze medalist. She won the
Dubai Marathon in 2012 in a personal best of 2:19:31, becoming the
eighth-fastest marathoner in history. She earned a silver medal at the IAAF
World Half-Marathon Championships and won the 2010 London Marathon.
•Buzunesh Deba, 27, of Ethiopia, who lives and trains in the Bronx,
finished third at the 2015 Boston Marathon and is a two-time runner-up at
the New York City Marathon (2011, 2013). Deba, the 2014 NYC Half runner-up,
has won eight of the 17 marathons she has completed in her career and set a
personal best of 2:19:59 to finish second at the 2014 Boston Marathon.
•Sara Moreira, 30, of Portugal, finished third place in her marathon debut
at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. She is a two-time Olympian (2008,
2012) and owns four European Championships medals: one gold (2013 indoor
3000 meters), two silvers (2009 indoor 3000 meters, 2010 outdoor 5000
meters), and one bronze (2012 outdoor 5000 meters).
•Jelena Prokopcuka, 38, of Latvia, is a two-time champion of the New York
City Marathon (2005, 2006), one of only seven women to win two titles. In
her other four New York City Marathon appearances, she placed third (2007,
2013), fourth (2014), and fifth (2004). She holds seven Latvian national
records and is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004).
Name |
Marathon
Personal
Best |
Twitter |
| Mary Keitany, KEN |
2:18:37 |
|
| Aselefech Mergia, ETH |
2:19:31 |
|
| Buzunesh Deba, ETH |
2:19:59 |
@DebaBuzunesh |
| Priscah Jeptoo, KEN |
2:20:14 |
|
| Tigist Tufa, ETH |
2:21:54 |
|
| Jelena Prokopcuka, LAT |
2:22:56 |
|
| Caroline Rotich, KEN |
2:23:22 |
@ccrotich |
| Helah Kiprop, KEN |
2:24:03 |
|
| Christelle Daunay, FRA |
2:24:42 |
|
| Sara Moreira, POR |
2:24:49 |
|
| Ana Dulce Felix, POR |
2:25:15 |
|
| Anna Incerti, ITA |
2:25:32 |
@AnnaIncerti |
| Marisol Romero, MEX |
2:31:15 |
|
| Alana Hadley, USA |
2:38:34 |
@AlanaHadley |
| Kaci Lickteig, USA |
2:44:15 |
|
| Caroline Wostmann, RSA |
2:44:57 |
@11Caz11 |
| Cassie Fien, AUS |
2:54:21 |
@cassiefien |
| Sally Kipyego, KEN |
Debut |
@sallykipyego |
| Laura Thweatt, USA |
Debut |
@thweatt11 |
The 2015 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday,
November 1, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tri-state area from 9:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2 from 9:00 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. ET. The race will also be live on abc7NY.com and via the
WatchABC app, as well as via WatchESPN on computers, tablets, smartphones,
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360, and
Xbox One for those who have video subscriptions from affiliated providers.
Additionally, the race will be available in Spanish via ESPN Deportes+.
Pre-race coverage will be carried live in the New York tri-state area on
WABC-TV, Channel 7 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and pre- and post-race coverage
will be also be carried live nationally on ESPN's live multi-screen sports
network ESPN3 from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. ESPN3 will
also present a view of the finish line from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Additional race-weekend events will be carried live in the New York
tri-state area on WABC-TV, Channel 7 on Friday, October 30, from 5:30 to
6:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 31, from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. A national
compilation show will air after the race from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on ABC.
International viewers can watch the broadcast from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
via a variety of global broadcast partners (international viewers should
check local listings).
For the latest TCS New York City Marathon news and media information and to
apply for a TCS New York City Marathon credential to cover the event on
race day, please visit the NYRR online media center at nyrr.org/mediacenter
and follow us on Twitter @nyrrnews.
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road
Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Held annually on the
first Sunday in November, the race features the world's top professional
athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity
runners. The race began in 1970 with just 127 entrants running four laps
around Central Park, and expanded citywide in 1976. In 2014, a record
50,530 runners from 130 countries toured New York City's five boroughs,
including the one-millionth finisher in the history of the event, starting
on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and running
through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, before ending
in Manhattan at the iconic Central Park finish line. More than one million
spectators line the city streets to cheer on the runners, while millions
more watch the live television broadcast in the United States and around
the world. The race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series
featuring the world's top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago,
and New York—and crowning the top professional male and female marathoners
of the series. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT
services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier
partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. To
learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.com.
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