FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Defending Champions Stanley Biwott and Mary Keitany to Lead World-Class
Professional Athlete Field at 2016 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday,
November 6
Star-studded American contingent that includes Dathan Ritzenhein and Molly
Huddle to challenge Biwott and Keitany, who will go for a fourth-straight
Kenyan sweep
New York, September 14, 2016 — Kenyans Stanley Biwott and Mary Keitany will
return to the streets of New York City's five boroughs on Sunday, November
6, when they go for their second and third consecutive TCS New York City
Marathon titles, respectively, announced Peter Ciaccia, president of events
for New York Road Runners and race director of the TCS New York City
Marathon. The duo will go for a fourth-straight Kenyan sweep of the TCS New
York City Marathon titles, headlining a star-studded field that also
includes 18 Olympians and three celebrated American women making their
marathon debuts.
"We are thrilled to welcome back Stanley and Mary in what is one of the
most celebrated TCS New York City Marathon fields in recent memory,” said
Ciaccia. "Our professional athlete field is stacked with international
champions and Americans who are changing the face of long-distance running
in our country. It's a great group to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our
five-borough course.”
Biwott, 30, will race the five-borough course for the third time, having
won the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon after breaking through in the final
two minutes to finish in 2:10:34. He was fifth in his New York City debut
in 2013, and since then has finished as runner-up at the Virgin Money
London Marathon in both 2014 and 2016. Biwott was part of the lead pack at
the Rio 2016 Olympic Marathon before dropping out mid-race. His
half-marathon best of 58:56, run at the 2013 Ras Al Khaimah Half-Marathon
in the United Arab Emirates, currently ranks him as the 13th-fastest man in
history.
"New York is special to me because it was here I won my first title in the
Abbott World Marathon Majors,” Biwott said. "After last year, my name has
been spread worldwide, and I have been considered among the top athletes in
the world. That's why I always like to return to New York, where I left a
piece of my heart.”
Keitany, 34, has won the TCS New York City Marathon each of the last two
years, and with a victory this year she would become the first female
able-bodied runner to win three consecutive New York City Marathon titles
since Grete Waitz claimed five straight wins from 1982 to 1986. Keitany,
who represented her country at the London 2012 Olympics, made her marathon
debut at the 2010 New York City Marathon, snagging the third spot on the
podium. Keitany is the second-fastest woman in history and the Kenyan
record-holder (2:18:37). The mother of two is also the 2011 and 2012 London
Marathon champion, the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon champion, and the
former half-marathon world record-holder (1:05:50).
"I am very excited again to go to New York and defend my title,” Keitany
said. "I am happy that I will get to try and defend for the third time,
because I have won in 2014 and 2015. This year, I am very excited and happy
that, if it is possible, I can win for the third time and can make history.
If you win two or three times, it is not easy. If you do it, you can make
history.”
The two defending champions and the rest of the international athletes will
join a previously announced talented American professional runner field
that includes 12 men and 13 women who participated in the 2016 U.S. Olympic
Team Marathon Trials and three athletes who will be making their marathon
debuts. Two-time Olympians Molly Huddle and Kim Conley, along with U.S.
triathlete and Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen, will make their highly
anticipated marathon debuts in the women's field, while three-time Olympian
Dathan Ritzenhein will race the five-borough course for the third time in
the men's field.
Additional Top Men's Professional Runner Backgrounds and Notable
Performances
- Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, 20, of Eritrea, was the marathon gold medalist at
the 2015 IAAF World Championships, becoming the youngest ever world
marathon winner at the age of 19. He finished fourth at the Rio 2016
Olympic Marathon, just missing out on the podium.
- Lelisa Desisa, 26, of Ethiopia, was the runner-up at the 2014 TCS New York
City Marathon and finished third in 2015, and he was second at this year's
Boston Marathon after winning the race in both 2013 and 2015. Desisa was
also the silver medalist at the 2013 IAAF World Championships Marathon.
- Moses Kipsiro, 30, of Uganda, owns three World Championship medals; the
two-time Olympian finished fourth at the Beijing 2008 Olympics over 5000
meters. He will make his TCS New York City Marathon debut after setting a
personal-best marathon time of 2:15:48 earlier this year in Hamburg.
- Lucas Rotich, 26, of Kenya, owns a personal-best marathon time of 2:07:17
from his win at the 2015 Hamburg Marathon. He began his 2016 racing season
with a win at the Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan, finishing in 2:09:11, and
then won the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in May.
- Dathan Ritzenhein, 33, of Grand Rapids, MI, is a three-time Olympian who
will race the New York City Marathon for the third time. He was 11th in his
26.2-mile debut at the 2006 New York City Marathon in 2:14:01, and he
returned in 2010 to take eighth place in 2:12:33.
Additional Top Women's Professional Runner Backgrounds and Notable
Performances
- Joyce Chepkirui, 28, of Kenya, was runner-up at March's United Airlines NYC
Half for the second consecutive year, losing out on the title to Molly
Huddle by just eight hundredths of a second. She will be making her TCS New
York City Marathon debut; her best-ever finish at a major marathon was when
she placed third at this year's Boston Marathon.
- Gladys Cherono, 33, of Kenya, owns the second-fastest time in the TCS New
York City Marathon women's field after Keitany; her winning time of 2:19:25
at the 2015 Berlin Marathon also makes her the seventh fastest women's
marathoner of all-time. She previously won gold at the 2014 IAAF World Half
Marathon Championships and silver over 10,000 meters at the 2013 IAAF World
Championships.
- Molly Huddle, 32, of Providence, RI, will make her 26.2-mile debut at the
TCS New York City Marathon following her participation at the Rio 2016
Olympic Games, where she broke the 10,000 meter American record. The
two-time United Airlines NYC Half defending champion will run the TCS New
York City Marathon as an NYRR Team for Kids Ambassador, raising awareness
and funds for NYRR's free youth running programs.
- Sally Kipyego, 30, of Kenya, was the silver medalist in the 10,000 meters
at both the London 2012 Olympics and 2011 IAAF World Championships. The
2014 NYC Half champion made her 26.2-mile debut at the 2015 TCS New York
City Marathon, but did not finish.
- Aselefech Mergia, 31, of Ethiopia, was the runner-up at the 2015 TCS New
York City Marathon, finishing in 2:25:32. She is a three-time winner of the
Dubai Marathon and was declared the winner of the 2012 London Marathon
after doping convictions nullified the results of the first two finishers.
Top Professional Men
Name Personal-Best Marathon Twitter Handle
Stanley Biwott, KEN 2:03:51
Lelisa Desisa, ETH 2:04:45 @LelisaDesisa
Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, ERI 2:07:47
Lucas Rotich, KEN 2:07:17
Dathan Ritzenhein, USA 2:07:47 @djritzenhein
Ryan Vail, USA 2:10:57 @ryanvail
Hiroyuki Yamamoto, JPN 2:11:48
Matt Llano, USA 2:12:28 @MattLlano
Shadrack Biwott, USA 2:12:55 @skiptoob
Tyler Pennel, USA 2:13:32 @TylerPennel
Craig Leon, USA 2:13:53 @CLeonRun
Christo Landry, USA 2:14:30 @RunChristo
Moses Kipsiro, UGA 2:15:48
Top Professional Women
Name Personal-Best Marathon Twitter Handle
Mary Keitany, KEN 2:18:37
Aselefech Mergia, ETH 2:19:31
Gladys Cherono, KEN 2:19:25 @gladyscheronob1
Buzunesh Deba, KEN 2:19:59 @debabuzunesh
Joyce Chepkirui, KEN 2:24:11
Lanni Marchant, CAN 2:28:00 @LJM5252
Kellyn Taylor, USA 2:28:40 @kjxcountry16
Janet Bawcom, USA 2:29:45 @janetruns
Sara Hall, USA 2:30:06 @SaraHall3
Neely Gracey, USA 2:35:00 @neelysgracey
Sally Kipyego, KEN 1:08:31 (half marathon)
Molly Huddle, USA 1:07:41 (half marathon) @MollyHuddle
Kim Conley, USA 1:09:44 (half marathon) @KimConley
Gwen Jorgensen, USA 32:12 (10K) @gwenjorgensen
The 2016 TCS New York City Marathon total prize purse of $803,000 will
include a $100,000 first-place prize, as well as a USA Division for both
men's and women's professional runners for the first time in a decade. In
order to contend for the first-place USA Division prize of $25,000,
athletes must have U.S. citizenship and not be eligible to represent
another country in international competition.
The 2016 TCS New York City Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon
Majors, a series made up of the world's six largest and most renowned road
races – the Tokyo, Boston, Virgin Money London, Bank of America Chicago and
TCS New York City Marathons. This year's series will also include the 2016
Rio Olympic Games Marathon. Points are allocated to the top five finishers
in each race, with a $1 million prize split by the men's, women's and
wheelchair champions.
The 2016 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday,
November 6, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tristate 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.
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. Over 1,000,000 people
have finished the race since its first running in 1970 with just 127
entrants and 55 finishers running four laps around Central Park. The race
expanded to all five boroughs in 1976 and is now in its 40th year as a
five-borough affair. Held annually on the first Sunday of November, the
race features 50,000 runners including the world's top professional
athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity
runners. Participants from over 125 countries tour the city, 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. In 2015, the inaugural NYRR Youth Invitational at the TCS New
York City Marathon gave young runners the opportunity to run 1.8 miles of
the race course in Central Park, beginning near mile 24 and finishing at
the famed TCS New York City Marathon finish line. More than one million
spectators and thousands of volunteers line the city streets in support of
the runners, while millions more watch the live television broadcast in the
New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and via various
international broadcast partners around the world. The race is part of the
Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world's top
marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowns
the top professional male and female marathoners each year. 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. The 46th running of the
TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 6, 2016. To learn more,
visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
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